Riverdale, N.Y. (September 14, 2005)--Several current and former Manhattan College baseball players took to the field this past summer in collegiate summer leagues and professional baseball. In all, 13 current Jasper players, seven of which are pitchers, participated in collegiate summer leagues. All three Jaspers playing in the Cape Cod League this summer lent their services to the Chatham A's, who came within one win from making the championship series. The Danbury Westerners, the Vermont Mountaineers, and the Manchester Silkworms, all of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, each had two members of the active Jasper Baseball roster suit up for their squads. In the pro ball arena, three former Jaspers played for minor league affiliates of major league clubs, while one played professionally in the independent Can-Am League.
GoJaspers.com has been closely following all of these players and is pleased to bring you the final installment of our Summer Baseball Update Series.
CAPE COD LEAGUE
Chatham A's
Thanks in part to the services of Nick Derba, Chris Cody, and Josh Santerre, the Chatham A's finished the regular season at 28-15. The A's made a legitimate run at the Cape Cod League crown, but fell to the eventual league champion Orleans Cardinals in the Eastern Division finals.
Derba, who is entering his junior year as a Jasper, played in 24 games for Chatham, 23 of which were starts behind the plate. Despite Derba's average being .211, the Archbishop Molloy product compiled a .362 OBP. Derba made three plate appearances during the A's three post-season games. In his three times at the dish, he recorded a hit and a walk.
Behind the plate, Derba developed great chemistry with some of the best arms in collegiate baseball, which includes potential top-five draft pick lefty Andrew Miller from UNC-Chapel Hill. Also throwing to Derba were two familiar faces, Jasper southpaws, senior Chris Cody and junior Josh Santerre. Cody was a main cog in the A's starting rotation, as he posted a 3-3 record in seven starts to go with a 4.08 ERA. The senior lefty whiffed 34 batters in 39.2 innings during his stint with Chatham.
Santerre, on the other hand, made all of his nine appearances out of the bullpen. The Vermont native registered a 1-1 record with 1.56 era.
NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE (NECBL)
Six current Jaspers saw action in the NECBL this summer. Sophomore first baseman Matt Rizzotti and sophomore outfielder Eric Nieto played for Vermont, senior designated hitter John Fitzpatrick and junior hurler Jesse Darcy took to the field for Manchester, and pitchers senior Kyle Wirtz and junior Jeremy Shaw toed the rubber for Danbury. All three teams featuring Jasper players qualified for the playoffs.
Vermont Mountaineers
After posting a 25-19 record, Vermont qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Mountaineers went on to capture the Northern Division crown with a two-game sweep of Keene, but fell in the finals to the Newport Gulls.
Rizzotti split time between designated hitter and first base for the NECBL runner-up Mountaineers. Starting in 36 of his 38 appearances, Rizzotti batted .347 during regular season play, which was the best on the team and fifth-best in the entire league. The left-handed slugger drove in a total of 21 runs for Vermont and led the NECBL with a .451 on-base percentage.
Rizzotti's performance allowed the sophomore to add to his personal trophy case this summer. Adding to his collection of awards and distinctions, which already include MAAC Rookie of the Year and MAAC Player of the year, Rizzotti picked up the NECBL Sportsmanship award and earned a place on the All-League squad for his efforts.
Nieto played in 27 games for the Mountaineers, making 17 starts. The sophomore finished the season with a .161 batting average and three RBI.
Manchester Silkworms
Manchester finished the season at 22-20. Leading the Silkworms offensively was Manhattan's senior designated hitter John Fitzpatrick. The burly slugger primarily saw action at the DH spot, but also spent some time playing first base.
In all, Fitzpatrick led Manchester in six major categories--batting average (.306), slugging percentage (.537), On-base percentage (.407), RBI (29), doubles (11), and homeruns (5). His marks for doubles and RBI set new franchise records, while his five homers tied the team record. Fitzpatrick also put together one of the best single-game performances of the summer in the NECBL, when he went 4-6 with two long balls, seven RBI, and 11 total bases on June 27 at Danbury.
Fitzpatrick's efforts were good enough to land him a place on the NECBL All-Star team next to Rizzotti. At the league's Home Run Derby, Fitzpatrick put nine balls over the fence to win the contest.
The Silkworms also had some Manhattan flavor to their pitching staff, as junior Jasper hurler Jesse Darcy appeared in eight game for Manchester, starting four. Darcy went 1-1 with 2.96 ERA in 27.1 innings of work. He also fanned 17 batters and notched a complete game.
Danbury Westerners
Danbury compiled a 20-22 record for the summer. Contributing to the Danbury bullpen were Jasper pitchers Kyle Wirtz and Jeremy Shaw.
Shaw finished second on the pitching staff with 14 appearances, all in relief. The righty surrendered only 20 hits, while striking out 17 in 23.2 innings.
In a short stint with the Westerners, Wirtz held opponents to a .159 batting average, which was good enough for tops on the team. He compiled a 2.63 earned-run average and a 1-1 record over seven appearances, one of which was a start.
ATLANTIC COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE (ACBL)
Four players represented Manhattan in this collegiate wooden-bat summer league.
New York Generals
Junior outfielder Marc Giordano and sophomore pitcher Matt Nevins saw time for the Generals, who finished fourth in the Kaiser Division.
Giordano started 15 games for New York, hitting .170 with three runs batted in.
Nevins went 1-3 in eight outings with the Generals. The sophomore right-hander started three games and had an ERA of 5.04.
Kutztown Rockies
With the help of Jaspers Dom Lombardi and Brian Fulcher, the Rockies finished second in the Wolff division at 25-15.
Seeing significant action at third base, Lombardi appeared in 21 games overall, starting 20. The 5-9 local product out of St. Raymond's scored 17 runs and batted .226 with a .385 OBP.
Fulcher was one of the Rockies' workhorses out of the pen with a 1.69 ERA. The righty held opponents to just a .202 average, while fanning 26 batters in 26.2 innings. He was 2-2 overall.
PROFESSIONAL:
FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE
Palm Beach Cardinals
The Palm Beach Cardinals captured the Florida State League Championship in four games over the Lakeland Tigers.
Parisi began the year, which was his second in professional baseball, with the Swing of the Quad Cities, the St. Louis Cardinals Full-Season Single A affiliate. During his stint with the Swing, Parisi posted a 5-5 record with a 4.08 ERA, whiffing 66 batters over 86.0 innings.
After earning a promotion to the Advanced A Florida State League earlier this summer, Mike Parisi has been a major piece of the Palm Beach Cardinals' championship run. Parisi started game three of the championship series, and the right-hander allowed just one run over seven innings to put the Lakeland Tigers on the brink of elimination. In the 4-1 victory, the Jaspers' all-time strikeout leader struck out eight, while walking only two. Parisi was tough in tough situations, as held the Tigers at 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
The former Jasper ace also started game one of the semi-finals against the Vero Beach Dodgers. After allowing three runs on a first-inning homer, Parisi did not surrender another run, and struck out four in seven innings, on his way to the victory
During the regular season with Palm Beach, Parisi went 5-6 over 13 starts. His 3.23 earned-run average was the lowest of any Cardinals' starter who made more than ten starts.
NORTHWEST LEAGUE
Boise Hawks
First baseman Chris Gaskin played the second most games this season for the Chicago Cubs' Short-Season A-Ball affiliate, the Boise Hawks. Over 65 games, Gaskin hit .256 with 6 homers, which was the second highest total on the squad, and a team-leading 39 RBI. The 6-4 right-handed hitter also drew a team-best 23 walks on the year.
At 34-42, the Hawks finished three games off the pace of Northwest Division Champion Spokane.
ARIZONA ROOKIE LEAGUE
In his first year playing professional baseball, former Manhattan pitcher Steve Bronder went 1-1 for the Cubs of the Arizona Rookie League. The 2005 Manhattan graduate posted a 3.80 ERA over 21.1 innings in six relief appearances.
Jasper fans may remember Bronder for throwing the program's first no-hitter in over 18 years on April 24, 2005.
The Cubs' Rookie League affiliate finished the season's second half with a 9-19 win-loss tally.
CAN-AM LEAGUE
Brockton Rox
Outfielder Matt Cucurullo continued his professional baseball career with the Brockton Rox on the independent Canadian-American League this past summer. Manhattan's former RBI record-holder was inactive for a two-week span during the season due to injury, but that did not negatively affect his numbers. In the four games right after his return, Cucurullo batted .429 in the lead-off spot.
Over his second season in the league, Cucurullo finished sixth in the league in batting at .326. In 66 games, the leftfielder hit 5 homers and drove in 29 runs.
At 29-17, the Rox were North Division Champions for the season's second half, but they were eliminated in the playoffs by Quebec.
