Newbury College Baseball Continues to Build in 2008

With one season under their belt the Newbury College Nighthawks baseball team is moving forward with no looking back. Under the direction of 2nd year Head Coach Greg Sullivan, the Nighthawks enter their second season as an NCAA Division III Baseball program having done a lot of work, both on and off the field, in the off-season to prepare for the Spring 2008 season.

There were a number of firsts for the program over the last year, but there are two that really highlight the off-season. The first is sophomore Billy Maddock (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) was selected to play in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League this past summer for the Carolina Chaos and had an outstanding summer. Secondly, the Nighthawk baseball program will be traveling south to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for the first-ever spring trip in program history. "It was a very busy off-season, but with the constant support from the Newbury administration, the Athletic Department, and the coaching staff, I am very happy with the direction that our program is heading," stated Sullivan.

The Nighthawks have added twenty games on to last year's inaugural schedule, capped off with one game against 2007 NCAA New England Regional Tournament participant Curry College. Newbury College will play seven games on their southern swing beginning on March 10th and open the 25 game northern portion of the schedule on March 26th at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Sullivan further says, "The Spring 2008 schedule is very competitive and we are looking forward to the challenge. The players have worked hard to condition themselves for the grind that comes with the spring season. I feel that we are ready to compete."

The emphasis in the pre-season workouts was to develop a pitching staff and Sullivan feels that the group has come a long way since the fall. The addition of freshman Justin Adams (East Providence, RI/ East Providence) and Nick Dunn (Portland, ME/Deering) will hopefully add much needed depth. Adams looks to be in the starting rotation and see additional time in the outfield, while Dunn will take on more of a relief role and play in the middle infield. Also adding to the staff will be senior pitcher Dave Carroll (North Providence, RI/North Providence), senior Evan Hudson (Sunapee, NH/Sunapee), sophomore Tomas Mathew (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley), junior Brian Fish (East Brookfield, MA/David Prouty), sophomore Jamison Torres (Springfield, MA/Sabis Int'l Charter School) and Maddock. The pitching staff will be the cornerstone of the team's success this season.

The infield has received a facelift from a year ago, with newcomer Hayato Iwahori (Tokyo, Japan/Meguro-Gakuin) and Dunn playing in the middle, with Hudson, Fish, Mathew and Carroll all sharing duties on the corners. Newcomer Ryan Dorgan (Methuen, MA/Methuen), will see time at second as well as in the outfield.

The outfield will be anchored by Maddock in center field. He will be flanked by senior Brian Picanco (Lowell, MA/Lowell), junior Wayne Borden (Methuen, MA/Methuen), freshman Jim Languirand (Biddeford, ME/Biddeford), and Adams.

The catching duties will be spilt between senior Chris Cooper (Marlborough, MA/Marlborough) and freshman Kevin Linnehan (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central). Linnehan has proven to be an invaluable utility player for Nighthawks and will see time in every position. Borden will also add some much needed depth and see some time behind the plate.

"The success of this year's team is going to be the team's ability to make the routine plays and pitch strikes. It's that simple. We are looking forward to playing hard this season and continuing to build on the foundation that was laid for the program last season."