CEDAR
RAPIDS, Iowa – With the 2015 season now underway, the Saugerties
Stallions start their inaugural campaign in the Perfect Game
Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) playing six games in as many days.
As the excitement has hit the town of Saugerties, fans, coaches, and
players alike are ready for an exciting summer of baseball.
Beginning
the season as one of two new teams in the PGCBL, the other being the
Victor RailRiders, the Saugerties Stallions are led by owner Marty
Radford and General Manager Justin Whittaker. With the goal in mind
of putting a quality team on the field in year one, Whittaker
believes the Stallions have done just that.
“I
trust that our team and staff are prepared to compete at a high level
in a league that is full of top collegiate talent,” said Whittaker
in a recent phone interview with Perfect Game. “This is a huge
baseball town. With baseball fans of all ages, we look forward to
adding onto the town’s baseball legacy and bringing in big crowds
as the summer moves into full swing.”
Leading
the Stallions into the ultra-competitive PGCBL will be head coach
Matt Righter. Righter, currently the head coach at The State
University of New York at New Paltz, has in just two years at the
helm of the program coached three different All-State University of
New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) selections.
Prior
to becoming the head man at The State University of New York at New
Paltz, Righter played professional baseball for the Detroit Tigers,
making his way to their triple A affiliate before retiring. During
his playing days, Righter also became an assistant coach at his Alma
Mater, Johns Hopkins University, until his departure for New York at
New Paltz in 2013.
With
a solid front office staff, and a head coach that has great
experience playing and coaching the collegiate game, the Stallions
look to be headed in the right direction as the season opens up.
On
the field, the Stallions also have talented college products ready to
perform. With a 6-2 record at Wayne State this past season, Honorable
mention all GLIAC pitcher Jared Tobey will be one guy the Stallions
look towards on the mound this summer. As Wayne State's top pitcher
in 2015, Tobey looked strong in his first year at the college level,
and is now hoping to carry his performance over to the PGCBL.
While
pitching is an obvious necessity needed to win at the collegiate
level, hitting is another. With a .298 batting average coinciding
with a .393 OBP during the 2015 college baseball season, Farleigh
Dickinson’s Dylan Sprague will bring much needed help at the dish.
With this marking the first season in the league for the Stallions,
run support will be at a premium.
Another
2015 collegiate baseball award winner is Ramapo College product Joey
Venturino. Venturino, a junior who batted a boisterous .410 for the
Roadrunners this season, also led the New Jersey Collegiate
Conference with 80 hits and 48 runs scored. The all-conference
honoree was a Division II second team selection who will look to shed
some light on the Stallion’s offense while bringing collegiate
experience into the dugout as well.
Although
the three players mentioned above will play large roles for
Saugerties this summer, the team will need to acquire depth within
its roster if they want to have a successful coming out party. With
the three-time defending champion Amsterdam Mohawks in the same
division, Saugerties will have to morph quickly to keep pace with the
title holders.
With
the Stallions now settling into their new home in Saugerties,
educating the fans may be the main focus for the team’s front
office as the season begins. With college baseball talent now calling
Saugerties home, nothing can trump great fan support which can boost
the energy around a ball club. With the city adding a new press box,
locker rooms and an outfield fence alongside new lights to the
stadium, Saugerties looks to be a great home for summer baseball.
“The
City of Saugerties made a lot of great improvements to the field in
the offseason,” Whittaker said. “It shows the dedication this
town has to baseball.”
After
all is said and done, the town of Saugerties and the players/coaches
that will call it home this summer will have one thing in common;
their love for the game of baseball. With the season now underway,
Whittaker hopes the club makes its inaugural season one to remember.
“We
hope our guys go out there to compete and have fun,” Whittaker
said. “Joining a competitive league means you have to be ready to
play at a high level, and I’m confident our team will do so.”