FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After arguably the busiest and most exciting year of their baseball lives, 13 Stags can finally relax and take in all the lessons and experiences they gathered. The group of Stags took part in collegiate summer leagues across the region to hone their skills in their attempt for a repeat championship next season. Drew Arciuolo and Mac Crispino stood out individually, as both were selected to postseason teams for their success.
“It's very important to continue their baseball in the summer leagues,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “It helps improve their skills by competing against top college players for another 150 at-bats or 30-50 innings for pitchers.”
After finishing with a Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs single season record .371 batting average, Drew Arciuolo was named to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) First Team. Arciuolo was named to the East Division All Star team in July, finishing third in the league in average, to go along with a .459 on-base-percentage and 20 stolen bases in 37 games.
“It was an awesome overall experience,” Arciuolo said. “The atmosphere of the whole league was fun and made it easy to settle in, especially with Kevin (Radziewicz), Mike (Conti), and Mac (Crispino) being there too. I definitely learned to bring a more aggressive approach to the game and to have more confidence in my swing early in the count.”
As mentioned earlier, Arciuolo's collegiate, and summer, teammate Mac Crispino also saw success on the diamond and was rewarded with an All-PGCBL Second Team selection. After being one of the biggest run producers for the Stags, Crispino continued to show his clutch hitting by leading the Diamond Dawgs with 27 RBI and was behind Arciuolo with a .371 average.
“This summer playing with a couple of guys from our team was a great time,” Crispino said. “We got a chance to learn from great coaches and to have a good summer experience to propel us into next year. I know the team will be as focused, if not more, on winning another MAAC title this year.”
Kevin Radziewicz and Michael Conti were also on the Diamond Dawgs team that went 27-20 during the regular season and advanced to the semifinals of the East Division playoffs. Conti batted .262 with a .357 on-base-percentage, and Radziewicz was named to the East Division All-Star team after hitting .252 and leading the team with 25 runs scored.
Those four Stags helped bring the Diamond Dawgs to the East Division Semi-finals, but would be eliminated by two other Stags. Gavin Wallace capped his summer with the Albany Dutchmen by tossing his best performance of the season, throwing eight innings allowing one run in the semi-finals against the Diamond Dawgs. The right hander received the no-decision as Albany would need 11 innings for the 2-1 win and advance to the Eastern Division Championship Series, with Jack Gethings scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 11th.
For the season, Wallace finished with a 2-2 record and a 2.20 ERA while Gethings supported a .358 on-base-percentage with 18 walks in 34 games and stole nine bases.
Out of the seven Fairfield representatives in the PGCBL, Mike Bonaiuto was the only Stag to raise a championship trophy as the lefty helped the Amsterdam Mohawks to their fourth championship in five years. The lefty earned a 2.92 ERA with a 5-0 record and two saves, but just like he did during the spring slate, the rising senior stepped up in clutch situations. Bonaiuto appeared in three playoff games and did not allow a run in his 5.1 innings. Bonaiuto also played a big role to help his squad move on to the Championship Series by throwing 1.1 scoreless innings in a decisive Game Three.
Bonaiuto joined a pair of Fairfield pitchers with Kyle Dube and John Signore also winning the title at the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). The duo combined to go 7-0 and help lead the Mystic Schooners to their first-ever title and the first NECBL championship by a Connecticut team since 1999.
Signore was one of the biggest additions to the Schooner roster, appearing in six games and registering a 1.89 ERA in 33.1 innings. Signore made his Schooner debut on July 3 at New Bedford and ignited a hot streak for the club that went 19-7 in the month of July. Signore won all four of his decisions while striking out 33 batters. For his excellence on the rubber, Signore was chosen to start the first game of the Championship Series against Sanford and allowed just one run in his 6.1 innings of work, in a game the Schooners would later win.
Dube was also part of a powerful Schooner rotation, posting a 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings while winning all three of his decisions. The rising senior also struck out 34 batters, ranking fourth on the team, including seven punch outs in 3.2 innings in the first game of the Divisional Championship Round against New Bedford.
Troy Scocca also appeared in the NECBL and made history during the summer of 2016, becoming the first Vermont Mountaineer to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat against New Bedford on June 28. The rising senior would also be named a NECBL All-Star and led his team with 27 RBI, while finishing with a tie for the team lead with 10 doubles. Scocca also ranked third on the team with a .299 batting average.
Rising sophomore Tim Zeng was the final of the Stags' five All-Star picks of the summer. Zeng suited up for the Shelter Island Bucks of the Hamptons College Baseball League and was named an All-Star after batting .273 with a .385 on-base-percentage over his first 17 games.
Ryan O'Connor also returns home after gaining summer experience. O'Connor tied for the team lead with 17 appearances for the Sanford Mainers advance to the Championship Series before falling to Dube, Signore, and the Schooners.
The 13 Stags will have a few weeks off before returning to campus in hopes of repeating their MAAC championship.
