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| The Skyhawks open the 2009 season on Friday, March 6 against Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. |
Skyhawk Nine Picked Seventh In Preseason Poll
South Easton, Mass. - Coming off of their third winning season in their last four campaigns, Stonehill has been picked to finish seventh out of 13 teams in the Northeast-10 in a vote done by the league's head coaches it was announced on Tuesday.
The Skyhawks, who finished 2008 at 25-22 overall and 16-14 in the Northeast-10, return a solid nucleus of position players for the 2009 season, led by senior Javier Guzman (San Juan, P.R.) and junior Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H.). Those two combined to start 91 of a possible 94 games.
Guzman led the squad with a .327 average while appearing in 45 games at third base. He put together a 10-game hitting streak during the season and added 11 extra base hits and a team-leading nine sacrifices.
Davis, meanwhile, hit .308 in his sophomore season - a year in which he was just one of two players on the team to start all 47 games. In a team-high 190 at-bats, he rapped out a team-leading 58 hits including ten doubles and his first career homerun.
Also back in the fold for Stonehill is senior Nate Weber (Hanson, Mass.) who started all 47 games a season ago and rising junior Ryan Healey (Lynn, Mass.).
Weber was the other Skyhawk player to start every game last season, seeing all of his action in the outfield. He collected 44 base hits and was second on the team with nine doubles. On the basepaths, he swiped a team-leading seven bases and defensively proved to be a true asset, registering three outfield assists.
In his first season with the Stonehill program, Healey provided a strong bat off the bench and gave head coach Pat Boen flexibility with the lineup as he played both catcher and first base. In 34 games (29 starts) he hit .273and tied for the team lead with three homeruns, including a walkoff shot that smacked the fair pole in a dramatic come-from-behind win over Bryant.
On the mound, the Skyhawks have second-team All-Conference honoree Matt Giusti (Hopkinton, Mass.) back for his senior campaign following a stellar junior season that saw him go 8-4 with a 2.79 ERA.
He emerged as the Skyhawks' most reliable pitcher, tossing five complete games and two shutouts. In 80.2 innings, he yielded only 10 walks and 10 extra base hits. During a five game stretch of appearances, he went 4-0 and didn't yield a walk while striking out 14. In a no-decision in a win over St. Rose, he tossed 10 innings of three hit ball, walking one and striking out 12. Later, he hurled a complete game four hitter with eight strikeouts in a win over Pace.
Stonehill opens its season on Friday, March 6 against Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.