Baseball Starts 75th Season with MIT, Lasell

SUFFOLK vs. MIT
Date Time Venue Video Stats Program Series Last Meeting   Last Suffolk Win Streak	Tuesday, March 8 3:00 PM East Boston Memorial Park East Boston, Mass. Suffolk Playsight GoSuffolkRams.com Digital Program 24-35-1 March 19, 2019, T, 3-3 (12) April 8, 2011, 6-5 T1

SUFFOLK vs. LASELL
Date Time Venue Video Stats Program Series Last Meeting Last Suffolk Win Streak	Wednesday, March 9 3:00 PM East Boston Memorial Park East Boston, Mass. Suffolk Playsight GoSuffolkRams.com Digital Program 31-2 March 21, 2021, W, 11-2 Same W3

BOSTON – After shuffling its regularly scheduled season-opening weekend, the wait for first pitch of the 2022 Suffolk baseball campaign is just a day away as the Rams are in store for back-to-back battles at East Boston Memorial Park March 8-9. First, MIT stops by Tuesday with the Lasers paying Eastie a visit on Wednesday. Both battles have 3 p.m. first pitches. 

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

RAPID REWIND
Suffolk played a COVID condensed campaign a year ago compiled of 23 contests. The Rams, who competed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC for the first time, managed to compile a 4-4 league ledger to reach the POD B Finals, however, a conference crown was not in the picture for the blue-and-gold who lost at in the best-of-three game series at Endicott to end the year 11-12. 

RAMS RETURNERS
Suffolk brings back over 50 percent of its 125-run offense from last season that helped the Rams reach the CCC postseason its first year in the league.  

Blase Cormier (.321, 27 H, 16 runs), who is 62 hits away from becoming just the sixth player in program history to collect 200 career hits, will return to his post at first base. Utility player Christian Seariac is back after leading the CCC in batting average (.477) and on-base percentage (.545) a year ago. Both Cormier (third-team) and Seariac (first-team) were All-CCC performers a year ago.  

The Rams outfield will feature Marc Birbiglia (12 H, 10 R) and Luke Harder (17 H, 11 RBI, 8 R) with a strong veteran presence in graduate student Michael James Jr. and seniors Shane Lake, Steven Shamnoski, Timothy McCarthyand Gino DeSimone back in the mix as well. 

FIFTH-YEAR PHENOMS
Four different Rams opted in to keep their collegiate playing days going and took advantage of the NCAA eligibility waiver. Three of the fifth year players started with Suffolk from the get-go in Blase Cormier, Ben Isaak and Steven Shamnoski, while Christian Seariac is back for this second season as a grad transfer.

This group was responsible for 64 hits, 23 RBI and 35 runs, nearly 30 percent of Suffolk's scoring, a year ago. 

RAMS ROOKIES
Over the off-season head coach Anthony Del Prete went to work to bring in 12 new faces to the Suffolk baseball roster for the 2022 season. The group is divided evenly in half between true collegiate freshmen and transfers. 

Billy Beneke, Christo Danos, Cole Hilliard, Max Iorio, Shreyas Parikh and Pierce Salbego are all in store for their first-year on the college scene. Jonny Gilbride, Dylan January, Harry Painter, Nick Reiser, Garret Roberts and Joe Ward, meanwhile, look for a fresh start in blue-and-gold after starting their careers with COVID condensed seasons at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels, respectively. Gilbride, Painter and Roberts come to Boston from UMass Lowell, while January and Reiser made their way to title town from Franklin Pierce. Ward had roots at George Washington before becoming a Mutt.

MORE READING: Dozen Rookies to Boost Baseball in 2022

GEOGRAPHY 101
Suffolk's 34-player roster spreads eight states. The bulk of the Rams are Bay State locals with 19 Massachusetts natives, while the Empire State is represented by six New Yorkers. A quartet has come down from New Hampshire with California, Connecticut, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Vermont represented by one student-athlete each.

CLASS CATEGORIES
The 34 Rams hail from every Suffolk class including a pair of graduate students. In addition to the grads, there are 11 seniors and six juniors to round out the upperclassmen. Six sophomores and nine freshmen represented the Rams' underclassmen.

POSITION PIECES
The Rams have 18 true fielders with 16 student-athletes that could see time on the hill.

When broken down, there are a pair of first basemen, five catchers, six infielders, four outfielders and one utility player.

On the mound, there are 11 righties, one southpaw, and four positional pitchers.

SKIPPER'S SECTION
Anthony Del Prete is back on Suffolk's bench for his eighth season. Under his leadership, the Rams made four consecutive NCAA Regional Runs from 2015-18. 

Del Prete's coaching staff features long-time assistant, John O'Brien, who is back for his 19th season. Former Rams Mac Jacobson and Jhonneris Mendez returned to their Rams roots as assistant coaches as well. 

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk baseball's 75th season features the team's first full season in the CCC and is back to a full 40-game regular-season slate after back-to-back COVID condensed campaigns.

First pitch is set to take place in New England for the second straight season and fourth time in the Anthony Del Prete era as a three-game series is on tap with Lasell this weekend, March 5-6.

A Tuesday, March 8 tilt with MIT precedes Suffolk's Spring Break trip that is back on the calendar after a year away, however, the Rams will fly to a new destination in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Ripken Experience March 12-18. 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Just over a week out from first pitch of its first-ever full of a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) campaign, the Suffolk baseball team was picked sixth in the CCC Coaches Preseason Poll.

MORE READING: Baseball Selected Sixth in CCC Coaches Preseason Poll

OPENING ACT

• Suffolk is set to begin its season in New England for the third straight season and fourth time under Anthony Del Prete's guidance.
• The Rams look to capture their first opening day win since taking down Albion, 7-3, to begin the 2018 season.
• In the Del Prete era, the Rams are 3-4 in the first outing of the season.
• Since 2000, Suffolk is 12-10 in the first game of the year.
• Suffolk and MIT will meet in the season debut for the first time. 

EYES ON THE ENGINEERS
MIT heads into Tuesday's tilt 0-3 on the year after falling to three top-20 opponents – then-No. 19 North Carolina Wesleyan (7-0), then-No. 4 John Hopkins (12-2) and then-No. 2 SUNY Cortland (7-1) – in Baltimore, Maryland Feb. 26-27. The Engineers were outscored 26-3 in the Free State. 

Kyle Sonandres was the most successful at the plate with two hits in his five plate appearances. Graham Cartwright (2-7), Teddy Schoenfeld (3-12), Nick Aiello (2-11), Michael Finch (2-11) and Tyler Godfrey (2-6) have multiple hits to their credits as well. Cartwright, Phillip Hood and Jake Sonandres each brought in one run apiece for MIT's offense with Scoenfeld, Aiello and Hood scored one run each.  

The Engineers cycled through 14 different arms over their three games in Maryland. Adam Katz (2.25 ERA), Graham Cartwright (9.82 ERA) and Casey Bussone (15.00) were MIT's starters. Katz has served the most time on the hill with 4.0 innings on his line, while Cartwright has fanned the most hitters with six Ks in 3.2 frames of work.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• The Suffolk, MIT series is one of the oldest in program history, dating back to sit 24-35-1 all-time against the Engineers. 
• Suffolk and MIT will meet for the first time since March 19, 2019. That battle in Cambridge ended in a 3-3 stalemate after 12 complete innings. 
• The Rams look for their first win over the Engineers since a 6-5 decision May 8, 2011. 
• Suffolk has never defeated MIT under Anthony Del Prete's guidance (0-4-1). 

EYES ON THE GAME

LASERS LOOK
Lasell has had its 2022 debut postponed three times and will get its campaign underway Wednesday in Eastie. 

A year ago, the Lasers made their way to the GNAC tournament as they third seed where they fell in the semifinals to second seed Johnson & Wales to wrap up the year, their first competing under head coach Billy Uberti, 8-19. 

Ross Audet has the biggest bat back in the line-up. A year ago, the all-league player, sat third on the team with 25 hits to go along with 15 BI and 14 runs scored. The infielder, who hit .309, was sneaky on the bags with a team-best eight stolen bases. Matt Bischof is another returning threat offensively with as he led the way in RBI in 2021 with a team-high 17 RBI on 10 hits, four of which were for extra bases, three went over the fence. 

Pitching wise, Darek Lallo, saw the most action on the mound a year ago. He started all seven games he appeared and tossed a staff-best 33.0 innings and 22 strikeouts to go along with 5.45 ERA.  CJ Mills (18.2 IP, 7.23 ERA, 20 Ks), Jason Giangrande (17.2 IP, 7.64 ERA, 15 KS), Jack Snyder (17.2 IP, 5.09 ERA, 6 Ks) and Chris O'Connor (8.0 IP, 5.63 ERA, 6 Ks) return to the Lasers pen after serving as relivers last year.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk went 3-1 in the four-game series with Lasell a year ago to move to 31-2 in the all-time series. 
• The Rams outscored the Lasers 33-9 in the four outings last season. 
• Under Anthony Del Prete, the Rams are 16-2 versus the Lasers. 

EYES ON THE GAME
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Following its action in New England, Suffolk travels down I-95 for its Spring Training trip that sends the Rams to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for the Ripken Experience. The blue-and-gold are in store for nine games over seven days down south.