Coach Mac’s Last Hurrah

Head Coach: Dennis McManus, 31^st season

2014 Record: 22-16, Ranked 4^th in LEC

Graduations Loses: Tucker Regan, Spencer Webb, Ryan Wakefield, Zack Cogswell, Jeff Runnals, Brandon Cox, Rob Madonna.

Captains: Danny Armstrong, Paul Reny

With five of the seven senior losses coming from the pitching staff, Coach Dennis McManus is excited to see if this team can stay up to par with its reputation of being one of the best fielding teams in the entire Little East Conference. “We quietly had one of the very best defenses in the nation (7^th out of approximately 400 D3 teams) last year. Most of the team that will be on the field is made up of returners and veterans,” he said. “We have a very experienced nucleus returning with great leadership. We've gotten to a point where the retuning players teach the newcomers our way of doing things - both on and off the field.” This year’s newcomers, particularly in fielding positions, were picked well in terms of how they will adapt to their new environments, and will have someone with valued experience to feed off of. “We have a tremendous amount of depth in particular in the outfield. We have a lot more team speed than in recent years so we will utilize that as well.” In saying that, four freshman have been introduced to PSU’s outfield; Ian Grimes (Milford, CT), Pete Esposito (Cranston, RI), Luke Mancini (Scotia, NY), and Zach Brandt (Belmont, Mass.). A big standout player in the preseason also happened to come from the catcher position, in freshman Cam Ruziak (Sterling, Mass) and will have excellent guidance in senior captain Dan Armstrong (Danville, NH; .269 BA in 2014) and senior Justin Walsh (Goffstown, NH; .283 BA in 2014).

There are 12 newcomers on the 34 man roster, so learning the ways of this team is essential for improving. In arguably one of the toughest conferences in the country, PSU is penciled in at the 5 spot; right around where they were last year. Senior Brian Thompson (Southington, Conn.; .285 BA in 2014), junior Paul Reny (South Portland, Maine; .304 BA in 2014), and sophomore Jarek Krajewski (Cranston, R.I.; .301 BA in 2014) will look for another productive season at the plate. “With the flexibility I think we have, there are a number of line-ups we could use. Initially, we will start a veteran line-up, but ultimately, the players themselves will determine the line-up/batting order through their play,” said McManus.

The Panthers are also looking for big play from their pitching staff, as 16 of the 22 wins came from pitchers who are returning for another year. “Although we did lose a lot of innings from last year's staff, I think we were much more top-heavy last year than this year. We are deeper than in the past with some quality arms. In the last few years we had a hard time identifying our back end of the rotation because of lack of experience or ability. This year we actually have 8 or 9 pitchers that are being considered as starters,” said McManus. Sophomore ace Curtis Arsenault (Berlin, NH) is coming off an outstanding freshman year, pitching a 2014 season-high 50 innings to compliment 4 wins and a 2.54 ERA. Arsenault, along with seniors Cody Gilchrist (Tyngsboro, Mass; 40.2 IP in 2014) and Josh Young (Somersworth, NH; 37 IP in 2014) look to take on the bulk of innings pitched once again.

“I'm as excited about this coming season as much as I've ever been. Everyone has been working very hard. This group deserves good things to happen to them. It's going to be strange knowing it's my last go around - My hope is that it will be a rewarding season.”

Panther baseball kicks off the 2015 season in sunny Fort Myers, Florida on the 15^th as they take on St. Lawrence College at noon.