The La Salle Explorer baseball team enters the 2005 season with a renewed sense of optimism and promise as they look to build on their 20 win season in 2004, the program's first such season in 5 years. The Explorers return a solid core of veterans led by captains senior Anthony Boscaglia, juniors George Hudock and Mike Essery, and sophomore Rich Prall and welcome an exciting mix of 12 freshmen and one transfer, sophomore Dan Waters.
La Salle will tackle a very challenging and exciting schedule in 2005. The Explorers will open with a three game set at nationally ranked Florida International in mid February. The Explorers will then return home to Hank DeVincent Field at the end of February to host a very tough Albany University in three games. Spring Break will be spent in Florida as La Salle faces three Big East opponents in Pittsburgh , St. John's, and Boston College. The Explorers will also face Florida International for the fourth time and the 2004 Atlantic 10 champions, St. Bonaventure. In mid-March the Explorers will travel to Richmond to face Virginia Commonwealth, an annual top 40 team.
The Explorers will then play their traditional 24-game A-10 schedule, squaring off in weekend sets against Fordham, Massachusetts, Saint Joseph's, Dayton, Xavier, Duquense, Richmond and George Washington. The 2005 squad will also face non-conference games against cross-town rivals Villanova, Penn and Temple. And finish out the schedule slating Delaware, Lehigh, Lafayette, Delaware St., Monmouth and Rider.
La Salle returns three fulltime position starters in Prall, George Hudock and senior Ryan Parfitt and will look to them to carry the load offensively. Head Coach Lee Saverio hopes the strong late season play of sophomores Billy Kern at second base and John Vincent in the outfield carry over to their sophomore seasons.
The pitching staff will be led by Boscaglia, who looks to improve on a team high 5 wins from last season. The staff will be anchored by a strong bullpen led by sophomore closer Gerard Breslin and supported by set up men senior Matt Kirsch and junior John Reifsnyder.
Catchers
Prall enters the 2005 season as the Explorers starting catcher and one of the team's top offensive threats. As a freshman, Prall started all 49 games in which he played and led the Explorers with a .365 average. Rich also showed some pop with the bat as he led the team with 29 RBI's and tied for second with six homeruns and 12 doubles. He threw out 23 would-be base stealers, proving he is a defensive as well as offensive threat. The coaching staff will look for his strong leadership to help lead a young pitching staff.
Backing up Prall will be junior Chris Boucher and sophomore Kevin McLoughlin. Boucher's defense improved dramatically this fall and his excitement and hard work will make him a contributor this spring behind the plate. McLoughlin converted to a catcher this fall and worked hard on improving all his catching skills. His swing has also greatly improved and he will be looked upon to contribute off the bench with his bat.
First Base
Hudock will be the Explorers starting first baseman after leading the team with nine home runs in 2004 and hitting .287. George's powerful bat will be in the middle of the order all year and his athleticism will also allow him to see time in the outfield and at designated hitter.
Backing up Hudock at first base will be freshman Fran O'Kane. Saverio likes the raw power that O'Kane flashed in the fall and hopes the powerful freshman can hit his way into the lineup. Both Reifsnyder and freshman Grant Harm are outstanding defensive first basemen and both will be called upon late in games to handle the first base position.
Second Base
Kern opens 2005 as the Explorers starting second baseman. Kern came on like wildfire at the end of 2004 and finished the season hitting a lofty .400 in 15 starts. He will be counted on for his steady defense and timely hitting as well as his ability to put the ball in play as he only struck out four times in 65 at bats.
Challenging Kern at second base will be freshman John Rickards. Rickards had a strong fall as he played a superb defensive second base and hit the ball as well as anyone. He is one of the hardest workers and best athletes on the team and will be in the lineup almost every day either at second, third, outfield or as the DH.
ShortStop
Freshman Derick Reis will open the season as the Explorers starting shortstop. Reis had a strong fall campaign and showed steady defense throughout. Challenging Reis for time at shortstop will be Essery, who was sidelined in the fall with a knee injury, but looks to improve upon his .272 average from last season. The coaching staff is looking to Essery's great leadership qualities and enthusiasm to aid him on the diamond and help command his team. Also seeing time will be freshman Matt Dunaway. Dunaway is one of the fastest players on the 2005 squad and Saverio hopes that his speed will gain him a spot in the top of the Explorers lineup. Both Essery and Dunaway may also see time at second and third bases as Saverio tries to get their left handed bats and athleticism in the lineup against right-handed pitching.
Third Base
Freshman Grant Harm leads a pack of Explorers trying to win the third base job. Harm flashed outstanding fielding skills in the fall and his ability to stay in the line up will depend on how he swings the bat. Also challenging for time at third base will be senior Phil Marino. Marino had a great fall swinging the bat and will be one of La Salle's top offensive left-handed threats. Phil will also see time as the DH against right handed pitchers. Reifsnyder may also see time at third base as he is probably the best defensive third baseman on the roster. His baseball smarts will see him on the diamond at the end of games.
Left Field
Vincent, who was one of the Explorers best hitters by the end of the season after a slow start, is slated as the starting left fielder. Coach Saverio has seen Vincent gain strength across the board and hopes he can continue to improve in 2005. Also seeing time in left field will be Hudock and freshman Tyler Warren. Warren will be used late in games as a defensive replacement.
Center Field
Holding down centerfield for La Salle for the third year in a row will be Parfit. He will be one of the Explorers top offensive threats and looks to improve upon his 2004 season in which he hit .319 with six home runs and 27 runs batted in. Parfit's speed and athleticism will be used on the bases as he looks to be a table setter for the Explorers this season and hopes to improve upon his eight stolen bases from last year.
Right Field
Freshman Dennis Burge will open the 2005 season as La Salle's starting right fielder. Burge is one of the top athletes on the squad and has the strongest throwing arm in the outfield. Saverio hopes that Burge continues to show improvement at the plate and become a mainstay in the Explorer lineup. Burge will also see time in the mound as both a starter and reliever.
Pitching
In 2004, the La Salle Explorers pitching staff which included only one newcomer, posted a 5.74 ERA, an improvement of over four runs of its 9.75 ERA in 2003. The La Salle staff saw improvement in nearly every category. Walks decreased from 234 in 2003 in 312 innings pitched to 207 in 400 innings pitched and strikeouts increased from only 187 in 2003 to 281 last year. Opposing team batting average dropped from a whopping .365 in 2003 to .300 in 2003. The La Salle staff held teams to four runs or less in 20 games and posted six shutouts marking the first shutout for La Salle in over three years.
Boscaglia will anchor the La Salle starting staff. He was the Explorers most consistent starting pitcher last season and finished with a career high five wins in 13 starts. Boscaglia also took part in three Explorer shut outs and pitching coach John Duffy will look for him to show leadership both on and off the mound to help a young Explorer pitching staff.
Also challenging for weekend spots in the A-10 will be sophomore transfer Dan Waters, along with freshmen Brandon Geib, Dennis Burge and walk-on Craig Mushko, as well as junior Jarrod Ringer. Waters experienced a good amount of success at Maryland last season in a limited role and looks to re-gain his velocity which made him one of the top pitching recruits on the East Coast coming out of high school in 2003. Mushko, the biggest surprise of the La Salle Fall season, impressed the entire coaching staff pitching in the upper to mid 80s. Geib is the hardest thrower on the staff and has the most upside of any Explorer pitcher. Duffy will look to Geib to be one of La Salle's top pitchers by the end of the season. Burge will also challenge as a starter and as a reliever.Ringer hopes to rebound from a red shirt season following a broken foot. In 2004 Ringer got off to an extremely strong start posting a 2-0 record and a 1.54 ERA in 2 appearances. He will be counted on to duplicate his outstanding start from 2004.
Bullpen
Anchoring the bullpen will be Breslin. As a freshman Breslin was arguably La Salle's most dependable pitcher. He notched six saves and three wins in breaking La Salle's single season record with his 26 appearances.
Helping Breslin in the bullpen will be a duo of lefthanders including senior Matt Kirsch, and sophomore Jeremy Rosen. Kirsch excelled in his role as a left-handed specialist, also breaking the record for single season appearance record with his 26 appearances. Rosen who joined the team mid way through the 2004 season possesses one of the best change ups on the staff, and will be counted upon in many late game situations.
Breslin will receive help in the bullpen from five right-handed pitchers Reifsnyder, junior Harold Grant and freshmen Mike Caruso, John DiPiero, and Jamie Cowan. Reifsnyder was the top right-handed set up man in the bullpen last season as he notched a record of 3-0 in 21 games with an ERA of 4.26. Grant looks to continue an impressive fall and will be counted on to provide the Explorers with innings as both a long reliever and spot starter.
A trio of freshmen led by Cowan will look to compete for innings both as starters and relievers. In the fall Cowan showed great command of his fast ball. High school team mates Caruso and DiPiero, both of which had solid falls will also look for playing time. Caruso is looking to regain his top velocity which would allow him to challenge for time as a starter. DiPeiro possesses an outstanding slider and Duffy foresees DiPiero as one of La Salle's top set men in 2005.
