Fitchburg State AIms To Be Contenders

Courtesy of Sean Sweeney, Sentinel & Enterprise

FITCHBURG -- For a team that has been a perennial doormat in the MASCAC, Fitchburg State University Athletic Director Sue Lauder may have made one of the best decisions possible when it came down to picking the new skipper of the Falcons baseball program.

College baseball

Ryan Parker is the team's newest manager and the third in the past three seasons. Parker also has a rather incredible pedigree as he comes to Pearl Street, spending a good portion of the past 17 years at New England Division 3 powerhouse Wheaton College, both as a player and as a coach.

Parker hopes to turn the Falcons into not just MASCAC contenders, but MASCAC champions.

FSU was ranked seventh out of seven teams in the preseason MASCAC poll.

"(The experience so far has) been nothing but positive," Parker said during the early stages of Thursday afternoon's practice inside the Recreation Center gymnasium, before the team flew to Florida for a week's worth of spring games in the Winter Haven area. "I've really inherited a great group of kids and I'm surrounded by great people in the athletics department. I'm happy to wear green now."

Parker was a member of the Lyons' first team in 1998 before becoming a coach.

"We really built that program from the ground up; myself, my classmates, the guys from that era," Parker said while calling balls and strikes during a simulated game.

"And I was lucky enough to stick around in that program as an alumni coach, really passing down the traditions and keep passing along the things that allowed us to establish ourselves as a quality New England program right out of the gate.

"What are we doing to try to change things here? That involves defining not only your expectations but the road and the requirements to get there, and then doing everything to the best of our ability to walk that walk."

Parker has 15 pitchers on his 2015 staff, including Clinton High product and former Leominster Legion Post 151 standout Kyle Cutler. The former Gael started 11 games last year, going 3-5 while adding a pair of saves for the Falcons.

His brother Brendan is listed as an infielder/catcher.

"I really subscribe to the idea that our No. 1 is whoever has the ball that day," Parker said. "We have a capable group of starters who, each day out, will be able to compete and give us a chance to win. Kyle is certainly in that mix and has taken steps to be a leader in that group and to push himself to the front of that group in terms of performance and development. He wants to learn even with his past successes and wants to keep pushing the barriers down to get better.

"I'm pleased with the group of pitchers I've inherited. We have 15 capable pitchers that we're going to put into situations they can handle. They've been rehearsing for it."

One pitcher to watch this spring is Pocasset native Connor Collett, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder with excellent mechanics. During Thursday's simulated game, Collett put every ounce of his frame behind his pitches, pounding the zone with regularity.

"Connor is what we call an upstart pitcher. He's young, eager to learn. He has a great pitcher's body, great mind, and overall a great teammate. He's responded well to the guys older than him with their experiences," Parker said.

Leominster native Steve Drury, Jr. returns for his sophomore season after an impressive freshman year for the Green and Gold. The former Lawrence Academy product and 151er was a first-team Worcester Area Baseball All-Star in 2014, an All-New England first-teamer, and tops in the entirety of Division 3 for triples. Not only that, he led the conference in batting average (.438), slugging (.742), and on-base percentage (.531).

A little bit more of that in 2015 for good ol' No. 8? That's Parker's hope.

"I'm really expecting him to use his experience to his advantage," Parker said. "He's one of our hardest workers. It means something to him to be good and to represent his hard work on the field. I'm really happy to have him out there representing what the team is trying to do in terms of that work ethic and terms of pushing themselves to get results and get their best performances. Steven is certainly out there in front."

The Falcons have plenty of "capable depth at each position" on the roster, Parker said.

Arlington Catholic grad Mike Martignetti is expected to see a solid amount of time at first, with leadoff hitter Roel Fernandez expected to see a great deal of time at second. Donald Geloso is a find, while Chicopee native Clayton Beaulieu will man third.

Drury will start in right, with Drew Mazzeo, Pierce Hans and Steve McFadden also seeing time in the outfield.

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