2010 MASCAC Baseball Preseason-Poll

Buzzards Bay, MA --- Westfield State and Worcester State have been selected to share the MASCAC crown after a voting by the leagues eight head coaches last week. The two squads collected three first-place votes for a total of 58 points. Bridgewater State also notched a pair of first place votes to finish in third with 50 points while MCLA tallied 32 points in fourth.

The 2009 Worcester State Baseball team went 13-1 in the MASCAC in regular season play, capturing the regular season title and hosted the MASCAC Championship tournament with high hopes on making it to the NCAA Division III New England Regional’s for the second consecutive year.  Those expectations were dashed as the Lancers left it all out on the field in a disappointing loss to rival Westfield State in the championship game.  The bitter taste left from the 4-3 setback to the Owls will act as the fuel that drives the Lancer’s charge in their 2010 campaign.

At the end of the 2009 season, the Blue and Gold boasted an impressive accolade list that included: 30 wins (second most in school history), 15th-year head coach Dirk Baker earning his 300th win, their third ever All- American selection in Matt Hart and a record five All-MASCAC First-Team honorees.

Four of the five first-teamers are returning for the 2010 season and look to lead WSC toward another MASCAC tournament run.

Leading the way includes what could be the most dominant 1-2 punch in Worcester State history, seniors Mike Borowiec (Spencer, MA) and Joey Lucier (Brockton, MA).  The pair of aces prove to be a double-edged sword combining for 70 strikeouts while posting an 8-4 record in 2009.

Borowiec came back from Tommy John surgery last year and pitched with a purpose as he led the MASCAC in wins (6) and ERA (2.91) while he also tied for second in innings pitched (55.2) and finished fourth in games started (9).

Lucier marked his second straight appearance on the all-conference first-team as he had the second lowest ERA in the MASCAC (3.35).  The strong right-hander has notched 129 strikeouts and seven wins during his three year career at WSC.

Worcester State will also rely on sophomore Tyler Metcalf (Bellingham, MA) who compiled a 4-1 record and collected 23 strikeouts on his way to a 2.52 ERA in a notable freshman outing.  Junior Bobby DeVito (Webster, MA) paced the Lancers in strikeouts (43) and will also see his share of innings in 2010.  Wheaton junior transfer, Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA) will be an imposing force standing at 6 ft 4 inches coming from the left side.  Kasik delivered a 3-0 record and a 1.69 ERA for the Lyons in 2009 in NEWMAC action as a reliever and now hopes to make his mark at Worcester State in the rotation.

Rounding out the WSC’s exceptional pitching staff is senior Kevin Hayes (Medford, MA) who will be the teams closer after taking on a set-up role last season. Hayes had a 1.30 ERA to compliment his 2-2 record to go along with 25 strikeouts in 22 appearances last year. Hayes has three career saves to his credit which is four off the school record set by last year’s ninth inning specialist Pat Good.

With the loss of All-American and MASCAC Player of the Year, Matt Hart, there will be a void both in center field and the leadoff spot for the Lancers.  All-MASCAC selection, senior Nick Caparell (North Attleboro, MA) will look to patrol the outfield in Hart’s stead as he will man right field for the second straight season.  Caparell had a breakout junior year for the Blue and Gold in 2009 with the MASCAC’s fifth highest batting average (.377).  He was also third in hits (58) and second in runs scored (51) runs batted in (45) and total bases (95).

Junior Corey Abbascia (Shrewsbury, MA) batted a noteworthy .327 in 2009 and looks to take over the responsibilities in center field while junior CCRI transfer, Corey McDonald (Hudson, MA) and freshmen Chris Creen (Worcester, MA) will both see some time in left.  Sophomore Jake Sanderski (Millbury, MA) also may see some action in the outfield as well as the designated hitter after he marked an impressive freshmen campaign batting .374 in 39 games.

Going around the horn in the infield, starting with junior first baseman Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA), who looks to be presence in the middle of the Lancer lineup, as he crushed 13 long balls, 45 RBI and batted .395, all second best in the MASCAC last year.  Fluegge also showed that he can flash some leather as he led the squad with a .989 fielding percentage.

Four-year starter Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA) should continue his stellar defensive play at second base after eclipsing the school mark for assists in a season (112) in 2009 and as he may prove be a terror on the base paths.  LaPrade broke the school record for steals (33) as he lead WSC toward 147 team steals, which was third-best in the NCAA Division III.  Senior TJ Magnell (Leominster, MA) was LaPrade’s partner up the middle throughout their playing days at Leominster High School and looks to continue that tradition this year as he comes back from an injury plagued season in 2009.  Magnell batted .330 with 16 RBI in 30 games last year. 

Transfers, sophomore Tyler McElman (Marlboro, MA) and junior Paul Rodriguez (San Antonio, TX) will both see some time at third base.  McElman transferred from AIC, while Rodriguez comes all the way up from NAIA Wayland Baptist in the Lone Star state.

Behind the plate for WSC will be junior Johno Hinkell (North Adams, MA).  Hinkell rounds out the Lancers who were named to the All-MASCAC team in 2009 as he had an impressive sophomore year batting .352 while acquiring four homers and 16 RBI.  Sophomores Ben Mullin (Burlington, MA) and Jack Rafferty (Thompson, CT) return from last season.  Freshmen Shawn Trombley (Leominster, MA) and Kurt Sabacinski (Worcester, MA) join the trio as new faces that may also see some time behind the dish.

Worcester State opens their season with a double-header this Saturday against William Paterson.  This will be followed with their annual trek down south to Winter Haven, FL the following week.  They will play 10 games, facing familiar opponents such as NAC champion Husson and New Jersey powerhouse Rowan.  WSC also plays NCAA participant WPI twice on March 25 and April 5 while they travel to Babson on March 28, who won the NEWMAC.

The Blue and Gold open their conference slate with a double-header against Mass Maritime on April 2 at Buzzards Bay.

Preview Written by Sports Information Graduate Assistant Chris Gusha