Baseball Opens 2020 Season Saturday At Maple Zone

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine begins its 37th season of varsity baseball Saturday when the Lions host SUNY Cobleskill for the first two of a four-game weekend series at Maple Zone beginning at noon.

Eighteen players return from last year's 21-win team that finished third at the Penn State University Athletic Conference Tournament. Among those returning for Head Coach Vinny Gallo's fourth season as skipper are three all-conference standouts and seven seniors. They are joined by an 11-player freshman class.

Here is a look ahead at the 2020 season:

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS
Tyler Michaels and Joey Buoni combined for nearly half of Brandywine's 21 victories last season, but are now on the coaching staff after completing their athletic eligibility, leaving senior Kevin Sessa as the team's top returner. Sessa, a USCAA All-American and First Team All-PSUAC performer as a sophomore, owns 10 wins in 20 career starts on the mound.

A pair of sophomores will likely shift into the rotation in Joe Hurley and Ricky Palmer. Hurley, who started mostly at shortstop during his freshman season, was 2-0 with 21 strikeouts during 27.2 innings on the mound, while Palmer made a team-high 13 appearances, 11 in relief, and posted a 3-2 record.

Senior Ben Mutz, an honorable mention all PSUAC selection in 2019, will again serve as the team's closer after posting three saves and one win in 11 relief appearances. He led the Lions with a 2.84 earned run average. Also one of Brandywine's top offensive threats, Mutz spent time at the corner infield and outfield spots, as well as designated hitter last season. He tied for the team lead with 39 hits, including 15 that went for extra bases, and drove in 23 runs.

Junior Chris Edwards and sophomores Derek Cappadoccia and Nick Bromley also return to the bullpen.

Behind the plate, two-time all-conference catcher Brian Reynolds is back for his final season. Reynolds, needing 11 hits to reach 100 for his career, ranked fourth on the team last year with 21 RBI, while playing in 37 of Brandywine's 38 games. Sophomore Dane Groce is also back at the catching position. He hit .273 in limited action because of injury during his rookie campaign.

INFIELD
Hurley joined Mutz as Brandywine's two players to appear in all 38 games last spring. He owns one of the top gloves and bats in the conference at the shortstop position with a .907 fielding percentage and .315 batting average during his freshman season. Hurley paced the Lions' offense with 19 extra-base hits, two home runs and 26 RBI and was successful in all 11 of his stolen base attempts.

Twins Tom Donahue and Sean Donahue both played in nearly every game in the infield and spent a lot of time on the base paths last season. Tom, who plays both corner spots, topped Brandywine by hitting .373 and recorded a team-leading .492 on-base percentage, while swiping 15 bases. Sean was among the PSUAC leaders in walks with a team-best 20 and recorded an on-base percentage of .423 with 19 RBI as Brandywine's starting second baseman.

Reynolds, Tom Donahue, sophomore Hayden Altimari and freshman Kyle Oechsle will all be in the mix for time at first base. Altimari produced a home run and 13 RBI before his rookie season was cut short due to injury last year, while the coaching staff is excited about the power-hitting bat that Oechsle brings to the lineup.

OUTFIELD
First Team All-PSUAC standout Nick Wright leads a sophomore-laden outfield. Wright was the team's primary centerfielder in 2019 when he batted .328 with 25 RBI and 13 stolen bases.

Joining Wright at the corner positions are classmates Jack Hedger, Nick Kutufaris and Dalton Palmer. Kutufaris had a 30-hit, 20-stolen base freshman season, while Palmer hit .308 and displayed a strong arm and Hedger tallied 10 hits and 11 RBI. Freshman Cam Baughman is expected to get the starting nod in right field to begin the season.

SCHEDULE
Brandywine is scheduled to play seven games against Division III opponents before trekking to Florida for its annual, week-long Spring Break trip March 6-12. After playing six more non-league games in the Sunshine State, Brandywine opens conference play against Penn State Hazleton on March 20.

Brandywine will play four three-game series against its PSUAC East Division rivals with 11 non-conference matchups mixed in during late March and April.

The PSUAC Tournament, once again hosted by Penn State DuBois, begins May 1.

PSUAC
With the PSUAC split into divisions, Brandywine resides the East, along with Hazleton, Schuylkill, Scranton and York. The Lions finished third in the division last season before defeating Schuylkill in the first round of the PSUAC Tournament.

Two-time defending conference and national champion Penn State DuBois leads a contingent of six teams from the PSUAC West Division.