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Talented Seniors to Guide Storm
March 15, 2010
Seniors Simon Mills, Neil Halvorsen, Rob Crowley, Kyle Sherin, Alex Paquette, and Ted Black.
After finishing in third place in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) with a 6-6 mark in 2009, the Storm set its sights on taking home the crown in 2010. A strong senior class should give Keuka a much needed edge in leadership that it has lacked the past few seasons.
Head Coach Seth Fikes’ squad finished 7-26 overall but upset the No. 2 seed in the opening round of the NEAC Tourney. The Storm will also have to deal with the addition of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in its quest for its first-ever NCAA bid. The NEAC and the NAC joined together and the two conference tournament winners will square off in a best of three game series to receive the AQ to the big dance.
Senior slugging first basemen Ted Black (Turin, N.Y./South Lewis) highlights the returnees for Keuka. He was an All-NEAC third team selection after batting .300 with 30 hits including five doubles and a team-high three home runs. Black also led the team with 23 RBIs.
Joining Black will be classmate Alex Paquette (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton), who split time between second base and center field for the Storm last season. Paquette batted .321 with 26 hits and a team-high 10 doubles. His 16 runs were second on the team.
Led byKyle Sherin (Walworth, N.Y./Gananda), Simon Mills (Boonville, N.Y./Adirondack), and Rob Crowley (Attica, N.Y./Attica), senior pitching will be a strength for the Storm. Sherin posted a 4.70 ERA while going 1-3 and striking out 20 in 30.2 innings. Mills, who will also see time in the infield, went 1-2 with 14 Ks in 26 innings. Crowley went 1-3 while making four starts.
Also helping on the hill will be junior Mike Marsh (Elmira, N.Y./Southside), who made four starts last season including one complete game. Transfers Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama), John Talcott (Binghamton, N.Y./Union Endicott), and John Sculli (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) will also have a huge impact on the Storm’s staff.
Back in the infield will be Nick Ventura (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn), the team’s Rookie of the Year last season. Ventura batted .269 while belting 21 hits and driving in 10 runs. Ventura’s high school teammate Mike Hutchings (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) will make the transition from the outfield to third base for Keuka. Freshmen Ryan Klimek (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Aracdia) and Ricky Newman (Cortland, N.Y./Homer) will battle for playing time.
Sophomore Ben Przepiora (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) and senior transfer Neil Halvorsen (Walworth, N.Y./Gananda) will do the pitch calling for the Storm behind the dish.
Joining Paquette in the outfield will be junior Matt Dunn (Walden, N.Y./Chapel Field), who belted 14 hits last season, and sophomores Pete Venuti (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) and Anthony Zaia (Phoenix, N.Y./Phoenix). Venuti batted .423 while Zaia batted at a .333 clip. Rookie Keith Prestano (Astoria, N.Y./Xaverian) and Sculli will also see time in Keuka’s outfield.
Keuka kicks off its 2010 season with an away double header against R.I.T. on March 21. The Storm’s first conference game will be at Penn State-Harrisburg on April 2 while the NEAC Tournament will be played at the field of the No. 1 overall seed on April 30 and May 1. The NAC/NEAC three-game series will be played on May 8-9.
