By Anthony Moscaret Director of Baseball Operations & Public Relations/Geneva Twins
GENEVA, N.Y. – The 2013 Geneva Twins will look to use strong defense with good hitting and pitching to be a competitor this season in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL). Last season, the Twins finished the regular season 18-22 and earned a playoff spot as the fourth-seed in the NYCBL Western Division. The Twins swept (2-0) the number one-seed the Hornell Dodgers in the first round, before being swept (2-0) in the NYCBL Western Division Semifinals by the Niagara Power. Both rounds were a best of three series.
Head Coach Nick Callahan (Case Western Reserve University) will make his second trip back to the Geneva area in the last three years. His first year was as the pitching coach for the 2011 Geneva Red Wings. His experience at Case has allowed him to put together a team that will be competitive in a strong NYCBL field. He has helped the Spartans make the NCAA Division III Regionals two times in the last four years.
It will be hard for the Twins to replace the NYCBL’s second best pitcher in ERA Jon Menke (Univ. of Rochester) who finished the regular season with a 1.85 ERA. The Twins will look to carry a roster around the 30 man mark, this including players from NCAA Division I, II, III and junior college levels. Players this year will come from 10 different states, ranging as far west as Texas to as far south as Florida and as far north as Massachusetts.
The infield for the Twins will be the strongest part of the team. Taylor Skerpon of Penn State University will split time at shortstop with Andrew Goldstick of Washington University in St. Louis. Skerpon appeared in 38 of 50 games this season for the PSU. He finished the season hitting .250 with 18 RBI and finished fourth on the team in doubles with six. Goldstick, who was First Team All-Conference in the UAA in 2012, finished the 2013 season hitting .292, 19 RBI, five doubles and was second on the team in walks with 17. Third baseman Greg Davis of North Central Texas (NCTC) will be a strong presence in the lineup for the Twins this season. Davis, who will be playing next year at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette hit .433 with 51 RBI, 40 runs scored, 20 doubles and eight home runs in 52-games this past season at NCTC. This trio of talent will be joined by infielders Josh Cassidy and Tommy Haas of North Arkansas College, both of which will continue their collegiate career at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Haas finished the season hitting .358 with 21 RBI and a home run while Cassidy batted .407 with 47 RBI and six home runs.
Five players will make up the outfield, which will consist of four guys from the Division I ranks and one coming from one of the country’s premier Division III programs. Dave Saluga (Youngstown State Univ.) will return for his third summer in Geneva, but this time he will be switching locker rooms since spending the last two summers as a Geneva Red Wing. Saluga brings a good defensive glove to the outfield and is one of four left-handed bats for the Twins. He will be joined by Daniel Iturrey (Emory University) who finished his 2013 campaign hitting .312 with 28 runs scored, 23 walks, 11 doubles, a home run and a team-best 30 RBI. In his 2012 season at Emory, he batted .348 with 40 walks, 33 RBI, 26 runs scored, three doubles and two home runs. Rounding out the outfielders are; Kirby Campbell (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Eric Alcantra (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) and Travis Rosenwinkel (Niagara Univ.).
Geneva has always been known for its catching and with the departure of 2012 NYCBL All-Star Cody Walker who will be finishing up his collegiate career at Mississippi State University; the Twins will look to their catchers to be the backbone of the team. Trey West of Le Moyne College finished his first season of college baseball at the Division II level hitting .341 with a slugging percentage of .500. Teammate Brett Rosen of Muhlenberg College finished the 2012 season hitting .330 with 29 RBI, 17 runs scored and nine doubles. They will be joined by teammates John Lynn (Wagner College) and Joe Muratore (Lesley University).
On the mound, the Twins will be lead by Nick Hedge of Penn State, who appeared in 16 games and started five for the Nittany Lions. On April 9, Hedge earned the start against 2012 College World Series participant Kent State University. He threw four strong innings, punched out two, allowed two runs while scattering five hits. His performance allowed Nittany Lions to earn a 3-2 victory. A few others to watch on the mound are Alex Leighton (Flagler), Zach Fowler (Alabama Southern Community College) and Daniel Sharpe (Stillman College).
The 2013 Geneva Twins season starts on June 6 at home as the team faces the Rochester Ridgemen (AIA) at 7 p.m.
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