Rivier Baseball looking to take another step forward in 2016

NASHUA, N.H. (February 29, 2016) – After going 13-19 in 2015, the Rivier University baseball team is looking forward to a program changing 2016 campaign which opens this Sunday against Gettysburg College down in beautiful Fort Myers, Florida (3pm start time – live stats).

The 13 wins were the most the Raiders obtained in the previous six seasons, and also saw the program return to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2008. One of the biggest strengths the Raiders will have this season is veteran leadership, as there are twelve seniors on the roster.

"2016 will hopefully be the season to remember here at Rivier." Fifth Year Head Coach Anthony Perry said. "This senior class has worked extremely hard since day one of their freshman year to get to this point. They got to experience the post-season last year and have been working tirelessly since that loss to be better than ever this spring."

Rivier will have a healthy slate of 14 conference contests along with a tough 10 game stretch in Fort Myers, Florida to begin the season – including a double header against Alvernia University, who are ranked #25 in the 2016 D3baseball.com/NCBWA preseason poll. The team will also make another trip down to Waldorf, Maryland and play a pair of night games against Saint Mary's College of Maryland and Gallaudet University at Regency Furniture Stadium – the home of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.

In the 2016 GNAC Coaches Pre-Season Poll, Rivier has been predicted to finish fifth while receiving a first-place finish vote. The Raiders finished 2015 with an 8-6 conference record and were the fifth seed in the GNAC Tournament.

Last season the Raiders offense took off under the tutelage of hitting coach Ken Luongo and the hitters look to continue the trend in 2016. The team combined to hit 10 home runs after only seeing one leave the yard in 2014. Gone is the bat of leadoff man JJ Montello (Nashua, N.H.) who led the team in virtually every offensive category including hits (45), doubles (11) and home runs (3). To try and make up for that production, the team will look at sophomore transfer Tyler Ferdinand (Wareham, Mass.). Ferdinand is coming off a solid summer in the Boston MABL for the Red Sox. He was tabbed the league's MVP after finishing the season leading the league in average (.578), hits (31) and runs scored (21). He also finished second in the league with 14 stolen bases.

Returning to the potent lineup are seniors Taylor Black (West Springfield, Mass.), Jeremy Ball (Swanzey, N.H.) and David Feole (Scituate, R.I.). Black was a first team All-Conference infielder in 2015; recording a .363 average, 37 hits, 3 home runs and 21 RBIs in 30 games played. Ball, a third team All-Conference selection, is back in the outfield after slugging 34 hits and a .318 average in 2015. Feole will be making the transition to the outfield from behind the plate but his bat still packs some punch as he looks to improve on the two home runs he smacked last season.

Junior Adam Arkell (Dover, N.H.) will also be on the move as he slides across the diamond to third base with incoming junior transfer Jacob Rayner (Billerica, Mass.) taking the reins at first base. Rayner helped lead Northern Essex Community College to multiple appearances in the NJCAA College World Series while hitting a modest .383 (36-for-94). Also in the mix at first base will be freshman Brett Iannazzo (Methuen, Mass.) who was the 2015 Catholic Central League Small School MVP and a Lowell Sun First team selection.

Other freshman hitters to watch out for are Seaver Martin (Coxasickie, N.Y.) and a trio of Whittier Tech graduates and Methuen, Mass natives in Brandon Thibault, David Pappalardo and Jorge Martinez.

Depth will be one of the biggest assets to Rivier's success in 2016. Returning are core veterans in seniors Frederick O'Brien (South Boston, Mass.), Mauro Da Silva (Pepperell, Mass.) and Nick Gagnon (Providence, R.I.). O'Brien brings his unique leadership skills and defensive prowess to the outfield while Gagnon will provide a pivotal role in infield defense and as a reliever out of the pen. Sophomore Charlie Savard (Tyngsboro, Mass.) will also be a two-way guy for Rivier this spring.

Behind the dish, the Raiders return senior Michael Janerico (Waquoit, Mass.) and sophomore Ty Seaton (Providence, R.I.). Making the transition from first base to catcher is junior Drew Neely (Lakeland, Fla.). Janerico brings a wealth of knowledge to the pitching staff as he as spent the past several summers catching bullpens in the Cape Cod League. Seaton busted on to the scene last season as he threw out 20% of the baserunners including hosing a pair in the GNAC Tournament game against Lasell.

Pitching is always the name of the game in New England College Baseball and this season, the Raiders will have no shortage of quality arms. Missing will be Alex Mears (Salem, N.H.) and Lucas Palma (Bristol, Conn.) who were responsible for seven of the team's 13 wins. Mears was the workhorse last season as he went 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA. Palma was 3-2 and came within one strike of a no-hitter in his final GNAC start against Anna Maria.

Returning to the fold are five seniors who saw a lot of innings over their individual careers. Nick Pica (Derry, N.H.) will look to obtain some good fortune this season as he was 0-3 with a 3.45 ERA last season. His best performance was against Plymouth State where he struck out 13 hitters and suffered the no-decision in a 4-3 loss. Edward Soucie (South Ryegate, Vt.) will close out his three sport career at Rivier with a chance to improve on his three win performance while Matthew Keefe (Bradford, Mass.) will try to keep the hitters guessing in whatever role he is asked. Spencer Aguiar (Malden, Mass.) makes the move from late inning reliever to the rotation and Jessie Turcotte (Tyngsboro, Mass.) returns to bolster the Raider pen. Adding to the number of quality arms will be junior Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.), who will enter his first year on the team after being a part of the Men's Basketball team for the past three seasons.

Freshmen Cameron Way (El Cajon, Calif.) and Zachary Barboza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) along with Kyle Flanagan (Haverhill, Mass.) will all vie for time in the starting rotation this season with the goal of leading the program in years to come.

Projected Starting Lineup:

Adam Arkell (Jr.), 3B

Tyler Ferdinand (Soph.), SS

Taylor Black (Sr.), CF

David Feole (Sr.), DH

Jacob Rayner (Jr.), 1B

Jeremy Ball (Sr.), RF

Fred O'Brien (Sr.), LF

Ty Seaton (Soph.), C

Nick Gagnon (Sr.), 2B

For more information on Rivier University Baseball, follow them on twitter (@RivBaseball) and check out RivierAthletics.com throughout the season.