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The 2002 Holy Cross baseball team is looking
to build on the success of the 2001 season. The Crusaders
finished with an overall record of 19-23 last season, which
marked the programs best record in 10 years. The team also
finished 11-9 in league play and qualified for the Patriot
League Tournament for the second time in three years. Several
members of the team garnered individual awards, including
second baseman Peter Summa '02 (Florham Park, N.J.),
who earned Player of the Year honors. Holy Cross lost just
one starter from the field and one from the pitching rotation
from last year's squad. Under the direction of first-year
head coach Fran O'Brien, the Crusaders look to pick
up where they left off and find themselves in the Patriot
League title hunt once again.
Pitchers
The Crusaders enter this season with six returning
pitchers from last year, including three seniors. Co-captain
Mike Montano '02 (Moodus, Conn.) led the team with
5-3 record and a 4.93 ERA. Classmates Jay Carberry '02
(Wellesley, Mass.) and Mike Kerns '02 (Demerst, N.J.)
will also return to the mound and will no doubt be relied
on more this season. James Arrante '03 (Queens, N.Y.),
D.J. Lucey '03 (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Ben Deane '03
(East Longmeadow, Mass.) had impressive outings last year.
Arrante and Deane will miss most of the season due to injuries.
Lucey broke a Holy Cross record with most relief appearances
(19). The rest of the staff is filled with newcomers, including
John Dibble '03 (West Orange, N.J.) and James DeLucia '04
(Hartsdale, N.Y.) and Jason Lynch '05 (Arlington, Va.).
Catchers
Dale Johnson '03 (Beecher, Ill.) will handle
the duties behind the plate. Johnson, who started 30 games
last season before breaking his ankle, was one of the team's
most improved hitters a year ago. He led the team in batting
average (.396) and finished second in RBI (31) and slugging
percentage (.545), while earning First Team All-Patriot
League honors. George Burke '03 (Garden City, N.Y.) who saw
action in six games will back-up behind the plate along
with
newcomer Trevor O'Brien '05 (Cranston, R.I.).
Infielders
A position of strength heading into the 2002
season, the Crusaders return all four starters to the infield.
Second baseman Peter Summa '02 (Florham Park, N.J.)
will anchor a solid middle infield. The Crusader co-captain
started every game last season and led the team in hits
(57), triples (3), homeruns (6), RBI (44), total bases (92)
and
slugging percentage (.594). Dan Powers '03 (Massapequa,
N.Y.) and Eric Tapper '03 (Hopkinton, Mass.) once again
will fill the corner positions. Powers started all 42 games,
most of them at third base, batting .246 on 32 hits, including
22 RBI and 32 runs. Tapper played in 31 games at first
base and had 149 putouts. Ed Turner '04 (Drexel Hill, Pa.)
started all 42 games at shortstop as a rookie. The leadoff
hitter batted .277 on 44 hits and led the team with 13
stolen
bases. He also drew a team leading 17 walks. Chris Doneski
'04 (Billerica, Mass.) saw action in 24 games and will help
solidify
the infield along with newcomers, Drew Bigda '05 (Stamford,
Conn.), Scott Delphey '05 (Arcadia, Calif.), Kevin
Kielbasa '05 (Westfield, Mass.) and Mike Schell '05
(Newton, Pa.).
Outfielders
The Crusaders return two starters in the outfield
with Matt McEvoy '03 (Belmont, Mass.) and Bill Andruskevich
'03 (Milford, Mass.). McEvoy started every game in the rightfield
and finished the season third in batting average (.313)
and
RBI (27). He led the team in doubles (15) and fielding
percentage (1.000). Andruskevich started 41 games in the
left field
and finished fourth in batting average (.312). He drove
in 26 runs and scored 19. James Lewis '04 (East Chester,
N.Y.) and Steve Sullivan '04 (North Andover, Mass.)
who saw limited playing time, along with Steve Buckley
'05 (Hingham, Mass.), Peter Pasciucco '05 (Norfolk, Mass.)
and John Raus '05 (Stamford, Conn.) will likely round
out the outfield.
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