Newsline  

HC Baseball Team Ready to Swing into Spring

Release Date:
March 2, 2005
Contact:
The Office of Sports Information
(716) 649-7900 ext. 333

March 2, 2005

 

The Hilbert College Men’s Baseball team enters the 2005 season with high expectations as they move into the highly competitive Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).  First-year head coach Randy Cialone will try to improve on the 6-18 record the Hawks registered last season.

 

“I look for the guys to make their presence felt in the (AMCC) conference this year,” said Cialone “I am hoping that we have improved enough to contend for postseason play, and judging by the team’s effort thus far in practice, I think we have the ability to get there.”

 

The Hawks will be led by 2004 North Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Sam Gioia (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West).  He will anchor the infield and will also come out of the bullpen to serve as the team’s closer.  Last season, Gioia batted .316 and led the team in doubles (4), triples (1), home runs (6), and RBI’s (17), while posting a 0.00 ERA in 10 appearances.

 

The starting rotation for the Hawks will feature senior right hander Frank Morasco (Memphis, NY/Jordan-Eldridge), freshman left hander Dave Plaza (Buffalo, NY/Lackawanna), and senior right hander Phil Gonser (Eden, NY/Eden).  Sophomore Tim Downey (Sanborn, NY/Niagara Wheatfield), who led the Hawks in strikeouts last season (27), is working his way back into the rotation after having off-season surgery.  Plaza will also see time at first base for Hilbert.  Waiting in the bullpen will be freshman right hander Dallas Reinard (Smethport, PA/Smethport), sophomore left hander Glen Ufland (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon) and junior right hander Adam Koniniec (Depew, NY/Depew).

 

Senior catcher Tim Parsell (Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek) returns behind the plate where he started all 24 games last season.  Parsell will be spelled by sophomore Art Giles (Mayville, NY/Chautauqua Lake).

 

Joining Gioia and Plaza in the infield will be junior Steve Fowler (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park), who was voted the team’s Most Improved Player in 2004 and sophomore Josh Cahall (Ripley, OH/Ripley).  Senior Tim Gornikiewicz (Depew, NY/Depew), who tied for the team lead in walks in 2004, will also see time.

 

The Hawks outfield will be led by 2003 All-NEAC first team selection junior Wally Skrzynski (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) and 2004 All-NEAC second team selection junior Matt Markott (Angola, NY/Lake Shore).  Skrzynski batted .326 in the 2003 season, while Markott led the team last season in stolen bases and tied for the team lead in walks.  Junior Joe Ferrera (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) and sophomore Matt Taub (West Seneca, NY/Cleveland Hill) will also contribute.

 

Hilbert College’s baseball team will begin the season in Bristol, TN. as they take on King College on Wednesday, March 23rd.  The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.

           


Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,100 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college’s engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college’s first graduate programs, one a master’s in criminal justice administration and the other a master’s in public administration, and new Accelerated Degree Programs geared to adult learners.