Just one season after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and reaching the national stage, the Stags look to build off of last season’s magical run and continue to move forward with hopes of another conference championship.
“The team has a lot of energy coming off a big year,” said shortstop Michael Conti ‘17. “It’s hard not to think of repeating, but we have to stay focused on what we can accomplish now in the offseason.”
Now with only a few months remaining before the Stags take the diamond and defend their championship, four members of this year’s squad were named as team captains.
“It’s somebody that is respected by the teammates, respected by the coaches, understands the philosophy of where the program is going,” said head coach Bill Currier on deciding on a team captain.
This year’s team captains will consist of all seniors including infielder Conti, infielder Mac Crispino and pitchers Mike Bonaiuto and Kyle Dube. When asked why he chose these four, Currier said, “They’ve been here for four years, they came in with a goal that by the time they graduate, we would have won a MAAC Championship and we’ve done that in their junior year.”
“So they know what was talked about what they came in. They’ve worked real hard to establish themselves as leaders on this team,” added Currier.
Dube enjoyed a successful 2016 campaign, leading the team in wins with four in MAAC play, while recording a 2.84 earned run average also in MAAC play. Dube’s six wins earned him a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team.
When asked about being named team captain, the lefty said, “It’s the biggest honor I think you can have on a team, having your fellow teammates select you and vote for you and really look up to you as a leader and a guy who works hard.”
“That’s what I want to be. I want to be someone who comes in everyday and gives it their all and hopefully they learn a little from me and I learn a lot from them,” Dube added.
Alongside Dube as captain will be fellow pitcher Bonaiuto, the 6-foot-3-inch lefty from the pen. Bonaiuto led the team in ERA with 2.54 while picking up four wins out of the bullpen.
“It’s definitely a cool thing to have your roommate be captain with you,” said Dube of sharing co-captain duties with his roommate and teammate Bonaiuto. “We’ve lived together for the last three years, so it’s definitely special to be named captain with your roommate.”
Fresh off a spectacular junior campaign, where he lead the Stags with a .335 batting average, Conti is now heading into his senior year campaign as one of the four senior captains.
“It’s exciting and I’m proud that the four of us are able to represent our school and team,” said Conti of being named team captain.
Last but not least, Crispino, who is coming off an All-MAAC Second Team selection, is the final senior captain. Crispino led the Stags with a .361 batting average with runners in scoring position. The first baseman also set a program record with 495 putouts on the field.
MAAC Coach of the Year Bill Currier hopes to lead the Stags to consecutive NCAA appearances.
Contributed by Sports Information Desk
“Mac’s really our vocal leader, I think he’ll definitely lead by example and he’s the guy that will get us going when we’re at a low point,” said Dube on what Crispino brings to the table.
Currier has set some high expectations for his senior captains.
“Winning a MAAC Championship doesn’t happen easily and we’re going to have some difficult situations,” said Currier. “In baseball when you play 54 games, you’re going to have some ups and downs and the leadership they can lend to the team is going to be very important.”
“That’s what you get out of senior leadership, you get maturity, you get I’ve been there, don’t worry about things, move on, keep working hard, stay the course and that’s what we expect out of them with our younger junior, sophomore, freshmen players,” added Currier.
The Stags will take the diamond for the first time on Feb. 24 when they travel down to Beaumont, Texas to take on Lamar University.
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