The Farmingdale State baseball team was featured in D3Baseball.com's New York Regional preview for the upcoming 2015 season.
Skyline Conference: While SUNY Cortland has been a powerhouse in upstate New York baseball circles, Farmingdale State has established a strong program in downstate New York. Keith Osik's Rams have won seven Skyline Conference titles in a row and have not missed the NCAA tournament since 2007. Farmingdale is the only team from the Skyline to advance to the World Series; the Rams did so in 2009. The big question in the conference is can Farmingdale make it eight titles in a row? Last spring, Farmingdale finished in third place in the conference and then had to go to Old Westbury to capture the league tournament title and the automatic bid. It was the fifth time in the last five years that the Rams and Panthers played for the NCAA tournament invitation.
Overall in 2015, the Skyline drops to eight baseball playing members with the merger between the athletic departments of New York University and NYU Poly. The league will return to nine teams in 2016 when St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) joins the Skyline as an all-sports member.
| Tom Rydzewski will be depended on for his bat if the Farmingdale State Rams are to top the Skyline standings in 2015. |
Farmingdale State has seven of nine position players back; however, the pitching staff will be largely different which may mean the Rams have to simply win high-scoring games. Matt Seelinger (3-1, 3.86 ERA, 30.1 IP) and Kevin Cashman (3-2, 4.68 ERA, 32.2 IP) are the top two returning pitchers. When Farmingdale opens the season, the starting rotation is projected to feature two new faces along with Seelinger, freshman David Otero and junior Kevin Martinez (11.2 IP). The pitching staff could also receive help from American International transfer Spencer Prusak. At the plate, the Rams should show no signs of slowing down after averaging over seven runs per game in 2014. D3baseball.com All-New York Region selections Michael Marino (.343, 35 RBI, 48 H, 32 R) and Anthony Alvino (.333, 29 RBI, 21 R) along with Tom Rydzewski (.310, 22 RBI, 45 H, 33 R) should power the Farmingdale offense. The Rams were among the top-10 nationally last year with 130 stolen bases. While there is a core group of veterans returning, as many as three freshmen could crack the Farmingdale starting line-up on opening day.
To view the complete D3Baseball.com press release, click HERE.
By John McGraw for D3baseball.com
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