Manhattan College 2015 spring sports preview

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Baseball is about pitching, pitching, pitching

The Manhattan rebuild is over. Inexperience and injuries have been replaced with experience, health, talent and depth.

This season, the Jaspers have constructed an impressive pitching staff. It is comprised of some young high-quality talent, which should come as no surprise because Manhattan head coach Jim Duffy made pitching his priority in recruiting his 2014 draft class. In fact, his top recruit, Tom Cosgrove, a 6-2 lefthander out of Monsignor Farrell High School on Staten Island, was projected to be a “pitcher to watch” in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) by D1Baseball.com.

“In all my time here, being on two MAAC championship teams, this is definitely the deepest pitching staff (and) team ever at every position,” fifth-year pitcher Michael Martin said about the rebuilt roster. “But definitely on the mound. We’ve got so much talent.”

Manhattan’s pitching is exciting, but their hitting this season is dynamic: balanced, fast, athletic and powerful. Duffy wants to exploit those abilities into a West Coast offense — creating a run per inning.

“It’s a lot more fun,” infielder Christian Santisteban said about the new style offense. “Guys can bunt, get on base anyway they can, steal, get into scoring position, and then big guys like me and Vin [Teixeira] and J-Mac [Joe McClennan] drive people in. It makes the offense really, really easy. It sets you up for success.”

“Everyone in our lineup is capable of getting on to start off an inning,” he continued. “The top of our lineup, the best way I can put it, is they’re like a bunch of gnats. They’re annoying and hard to strike out (and) get out. They’re just going to fight until they get in your way and eventually you’re going to crack and they’re going to get on base.”

Manhattan College, baseball, softball, Jonathan Reyes
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