With a solid core of 17 returning players for SUNY Oneonta baseball this spring, the Red Dragons hope to build off of the program's first NCAA tournament selection of a year ago.  The team completed a 31-13 season and received a Pool C selection into last year's New York Region tournament where they were seeded No. 3.  There is much optimism surrounding the program with high expectations that the Red Dragons will be able to continue to be a contender in the SUNYAC and New York Region.   The recruiting trail has netted a talented group of freshman and transfers that will solidify depth at all positions for the upcoming season.  Pitching and defense will again be strength for the Red Dragons, but improved team speed and power will be evident on the offensive side.

Pitching
    Missing in 2011 will be Dave Filak, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Atlanta Braves, but Oneonta does return four starting pitchers and two relief pitchers from 2010.  They have added two freshman and two transfers to the mix, which should give coach Rick Ferchen plenty of options.
    The projected starting rotation for 2011 is seniors Anthony Bates (Utica/Proctor) and Ken Smith (Ossining/Ossining) and juniors Chris Smith (Colonie/Colonie), Josh Herzenberg (White Plains/White Plains) and Jeff Carter (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa).
    Juniors Corey Andresen (Deposit/Deposit) and Will Rivas (Babylon/Babylon) will add experience and depth out of the bullpen or as spot starters for Oneonta.  Andresen was 3-2 with a 6.44 ERA last spring while Rivas was 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA.
    Bates led the Red Dragons in appearances last spring with 23, with all but one of those appearances was out of the bullpen.  He was 4-6 overall with a 3.60 ERA while leading the team in saves with five.  In 45 innings he struck out 57 batters and opponents hit .262 against him.
    Carter, Ken and Chris Smith and Herzenberg combined to win nine games in 2010.  Ken Smith, four starts, and Carter, eight starts, were both 3-1 last spring.  Herzenberg had the second most appearances on the team last year with 17 and had the lowest ERA on the staff at 1.60 while recording two saves.
    The group of newcomers that will compete for innings this spring include Dom Gallo (Saugerties/Saugerties), Chris Tyson (Niskayuna/Niskayuna), Jim Hegmann (Middletown/Pine Bush), Zach Levanduski (Elmira Heights/Thomas Edison) and Jake Robinson (E. Norwich/Oyster Bay).

Outfield
    Five players return to police the outfield in 2011 led by two-year starter, junior Mike Center (Schenectady/Schenectady).  The four other players all split time as starters in 2010 and include senior Jonathan Wolfanger (Oneonta/Oneonta), juniors Matt Whelehan (Brooklyn/Midwood) and Cody Hitt (Boonville/Adirondack), and sophomore Mike Mascari (Syracuse/Westhill).
    Center started 38 of the 40 games he played in 2010 and hit .272 with 22 runs batted in.  He collected eight doubles, one triple and one home run while stealing eight bases.
    Mascari and Whelehan both hit .290 last spring in 30 combined starts.  Mascari had a .402 on-base percentage while Whelehan finished with a .380 OBP.
    Junior transfer, Sean Fruscio (Latham/Shaker) and freshman, Jeff Gerard (Albany/Colonie) will add depth to the core of returners.

Infield
    The Red Dragons graduated three-fourths of its starting infield from 2010, but does return junior Kevin Knack (Ghent/Ichabod Crane), who will most likely move from second base to shortstop this season.  Senior Pete Lindner (Voorheesville/Voorheesville), who is a returning three-year player for the Red Dragons, will be slotted into the starting first base position.  The development of junior Ivan Plata (Schenectady/Guilderland) and sophomore Mike DeCarr (Syracuse/Westhill) will give Oneonta solid starters at second base and third base respectively.
    Knack started 42 games last spring and finished with a .348 batting average.  He led the team with 43 hits and was third with 34 runs batted in.  He had an on-base percentage of .411 and stole 13 bases.
    Lindner was in the lineup as a designated hitter in 2010.  A leg injury limited his playing time to 31 games where he hit .297 while driving in 11 runs.
    Plata played in 29 games last season and hit .378 with 16 runs scored.  DeCarr started 23 games as a rookie and hit .275 with 28 hits and nine runs batted in.
    Players who will compete for playing time in the infield include Rivas, sophomore Nate Jones (Apalachin/Seton Catholic) and freshmen Robinson and Anthony Soprano (Queensbury/Queensbury), along with transfers Matt Cintorino (Holbrook/Sachem East) and Dean Haussel (Sound Beach/Miller Place).

    The catching position will be solid and talented with the return of sophomore Bryan Marotta (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) and senior Mike Arcuri (Utica/Proctor) and the addition of transfer Eric Wells (Athens, PA/Athens) and freshman Steve Provenzano (Islip/Islip).
    Marotta started 27 games as a freshman and hit .333 with 10 doubles and 17 runs batted in.  Arcuri started 17 games and hit .275 with 12 runs batted in.  The two combined to throw out 28 runners on the base paths.

    The 2011 season opens on Thursday, Mar. 10 when Oneonta plays Mt. Aloysius College from Pennsylvania in Winter Haven, Fla.  It will be the first of a 10-game spring trip to the sunshine state before returning north.