Diplomats Set to Challenge for 2005 Centennial Conference Baseball Championship

by Sports Information
2/9/05

LANCASTER, PA – Following two trips to the Centennial Conference (CC) playoffs and a title game appearance, Franklin & Marshall College will look to a nucleus of youth and veteran leadership to make a run at the 2005 conference baseball championship.

Following a 2004 campaign in which the Diplomats finished with a 24-19 record, including a 12-6 mark in CC play to earn them the second seed in the playoffs, Franklin & Marshall finished as the conference runner-up for the team’s best conference tournament finish in school history.

Leading the way will be tri-captains pitcher Todd Cagwin (Sr., Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), outfielder/designated hitter Scott Haft (Sr., Jupiter, FL/Jupiter) and infielder Gary Kruger (Jr., East Islip, NY/East Islip).

The only senior on the 2005 Diplomats’ pitching staff, Cagwin will serve as a captain for the second straight season as he will see time as both a starter and a reliever this year.

Last season, the lefthander made seven appearances striking out six in 12.0 innings of work as he now has a 5-3 career record in 25 games with 43 strikeouts in 51.0 innings as the Diplomats have recorded a 72-46 record over the last three seasons.

During the past two summers, he has pitched for the Lakewood (NJ) Cougars of the ABCCL (Atlantic Baseball Confederation Collegiate Baseball League).

A 2004 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Mid-Atlantic All-Region second team selection, Haft was selected as a “Player to Watch” by Collegiate Baseball magazine.

Last season, he shattered his own single season doubles record of 14 from the 2002 season by hitting 18 as he batted .295 (44-for-149) with 29 runs scored, one triple, five home runs, 17 walks and a team high 35 RBIs.

The program leader in career doubles (42), RBIs (84) and homeruns (13), he was named to the All-Centennial Conference first team as a designated hitter last year while finishing 54th in doubles per game in the NCAA with 0.42 per contest.

A 2004 ABCA third team All-Region and All-ECAC first team selection, Kruger led the Diplomats in batting average (.408), runs (39), hits (58), triples (four), stolen bases (25 on 29 attempts), slugging percentage (.613) and on base percentage (.469) last year.

An 2004 All-Centennial Conference first team honoree and a 2005 “Player to Watch” by Collegiate Baseball, he tied for first on the team in homeruns (five) and ranked second in run batted in (30) behind Haft as he ranks among the program's all-time best as his 58 hits last year rank third all-time in a single season for the Diplomats.

For his career, he is hitting .360 (67-for-186) with 51 runs, seven doubles, six triples, five homeruns, 33 RBI and 21 walks with 43 stolen bases on 48 attempts in 67 career games.

Following the loss of six of its 11 pitchers from last season, Franklin & Marshall will be led on the mound by Cagwin, Ted Serro (Jr., Brooklyn, NY/Xavier), Jeremy Knox (Jr., Bronx, NY/Iona Prep), EJ Leary (Jr., Seymour, CT/Seymour) and Jeff Rowand (So., Dallastown, PA/Dallastown). The five veterans will be working with six first-year pitchers to give Franklin & Marshall solid depth on the mound.

Anchoring the staff will be Serro who finished the 2004 season with a 4-2 record in 10 appearances while making seven starts and throwing three complete games as he recorded 42 strikeouts and eight walks in 48.2 innings of work. His best game came against Washington College on April 3 at Caplan Field as he spun a one-hit 2-0 shutout of the Shoremen.

For his career, Serro is 6-2 in 23 appearances with 56 strikeouts in 63.2 innings of work as he is on pace to rank among the top 10 in strikeouts and wins in program history.

Knox made 12 appearances in 2004 recording one win and one save in 37.2 innings of work, including a 1.86 earned run average with nine strikeouts in 9.2 innings of work in Centennial Conference games.
Cagwin, Leary and Rowand should make up the remainder of the rotation for conference games this season.

Behind the plate, the Diplomats will look to junior Stephen Frederick (Jr., Downingtown, PA/Downingtown), sophomore Billy McGuire (So., Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) and freshmen Dan Farnsworth (Fr., Stewartstown, PA/Kennard-Dale) and Matt Donahue (Fr., Westwood, NJ/Bergen Catholic) after the graduation of four-year catcher and two-time captain Dan Weber ’04.

Frederick missed the 2004 season with an injury after batting .303 with four run in 17 games as a freshman. Solid defensively, he threw out five-of-eight would be base stealers in 2003. McGuire started 10 games as a freshman with four runs scored.

At first base, Jon Compitello (Jr., Yardley, PA/George School) and Pat O’Reilly (Fr., Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) will push each other for the starting position, while Justin Matthews (Fr., Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) could also see time. Andrew Hylan (Sr., Norristown, PA/Penn Charter) will make a position change this season as he moves from behind the plate to work at first base and will provide some added depth.

Compitello appeared in 24 games last season making 17 starts with five doubles, one triple and nine runs scored, O’Reilly could also see some time as a designated hitter this year.

The middle of the infield will once again be highly competitive with one veteran and five freshmen vying for two spots.

The lone returning infielder, Josh Welk (So., Strasburg, PA/Lancaster Christian) saw action in 12 games as a freshmen recording four hits in eight at-bats with six runs. A fundamentally sound fielder, he will see most of his time at shortstop but could also see time across the bag at second base.

Among the new faces, Andy Anderson (Fr., East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick), Tom Miller (Fr., York, PA/Central York), Mark Minutaglio (Fr., Armonk, NY/Byram Hills), Rob Stern (Fr., Franklin Lakes, NY/Indian Hills) and Marquis Vazquez (Fr., Lancaster, PA/McCaskey) round out the freshmen infielders for Franklin & Marshall.

Anderson will push for time at both second base and third base, Vazquez will work at shortstop and third base, Stern and Minutaglio will concentrate at second base, while Miller will work at both shortstop and second base.

Kruger will once again man third base this season for the Diplomats with Anderson, Rowand and Vazquez pushing him for innings.

In the outfield, Haft, Corey Caruthers (Jr., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor), Eric Milavsky (Jr., Medford, NJ/Shawnee) and Dan Hanecak (Jr., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) return as the Diplomats have four players who started last season.

The team’s leftfielder, Caruthers hit .288 (42-for-146) with five doubles, two triples, 22 RBI and 13 stolen bases while recording three outfield assists last season. For his career, he has 13 doubles, three triples, one home run, 36 RBI and 25 stolen bases on 30 attempts in 75 games.

Milavsky hit .224 last year with three doubles, a home run, 13 runs and 14 RBI while recording an outfield high .987 fielding percentage.

Hanecak had a breakout season in 2004 batting .328 (40-for-122) with 12 doubles, one triple, one homerun, 25 RBI, 57 total bases, nine walks, 18 runs scored and a team high five outfield assists from center and right field to earn All-Centennial Conference second team honors and raised his career numbers to 15 doubles, 28 RBI, nine walks and 21 runs as he holds a .336 batting average.

Jeff Lawrence (Fr., Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic), Rich Gallugi (Fr., Peabody, MA/St. John’s Prep) and Gordon Pellegrini (Fr., Sparkhill, NY/Tappan Zee) will also see time in the outfield.

The Diplomats will once again face a tough schedule, as the team will square off with some of the powers in NCAA Division III baseball. Along with a solid Centennial Conference schedule the Diplomats non-conference schedule boasts Rowan University, the preseason #1 team in the nation by Baseball America, in its opening weekend on March 6. Franklin & Marshall will also face perennial powers York College, Messiah College, Palm Beach Atlantic University, William Paterson College and the College of New Jersey.

The Diplomats will open the season on March 4th at home versus New Jersey Athletic Conference member Rutgers University-Camden. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.