2006 Season Preview
Following the graduation of three seniors, the Garnet will boast a very young and talented group. The Swarthmore roster will consist of one senior, captain Scott Young (Huntsville, AL / Huntsville), five juniors, and a large group of freshmen and sophomores.
Young led Swarthmore in batting average (.286) and hits (28) in 2004, and finished second on the team in runs scored (13).
Head coach Frank Agovino is thrilled with the incoming freshman class, the largest class of recruits in program history. This collection of ballplayers will join with last year's freshmen, whose efforts on the practice and game field set a new standard.
The Garnet roster has grown to its largest number since beginning competition in the Centennial Conference in 1990. With the growth in numbers comes a much needed combination of depth and experience for the Swarthmore ballplayers.
Among the returnees on the pitching staff in 2006 will be Alex Ryan-Bond '07 (Bethesday, MD / Walt Whitman), Noah Cooper-Harris '07 (Cedar Grove, NC / Orange), and Justin Chen '08 ( Media, PA / Penncrest), in addition to talented incoming freshman Dylan Smith from New York and Sean Varsolona from New Jersey.
Ryan-Bond tossed three complete games in 2005, including a six-hit shut-out in a 7-0 victory over Washington (MD) on April 15. Ryan-Bond ranked ninth in Conference action with an earned run average of 3.65 while finishing in second in starts (6) and innings pitched (44.1).
Chen won his collegiate debut on March 7 in Fort Myers over Anna Maria but had his freshman campaign cut short by a knee injury in 2005. Cooper-Harris has the ability to go deep into games as well, twirling a 6-2 complete-game victory against McDaniel on April 9 to give the Garnet a sweep over the Green Terror.
Infielders Sam Faeder '07 (New York, NY / Stuyvesant) and Patrick Christmas '08 (Chapel Hill, NC / East Chapel Hill) will be expected to continue their improvement while welcoming freshman Conor Casey and Kevin Kooi from California into their tight-knit group.
Faeder finished second on the team in batting average, continuing to show improvement at the plate, including a .310 average in Centennial play. The junior was red-hot over a seven-game stretch in mid-April, hitting at a .476 clip with four extra-base hits, five runs, and three RBIs. Christmas provided plenty of offensive punch in the middle of the Garnet line-up as well, leading Swarthmore in slugging percentage, doubles, runs batted in, total bases, and runs scored.
Travis Allen '08 (Suffield, CT / Loomis Chafee), Andy Bender '08 (Baltimore, MD / Beth T. Eiloh Community School), and Ben Mendelson '08 (Lewiston, ME / Lewiston) look to shore up the catching duties, as well as lead with the bats.
Sophomore centerfielder Scott Dalane '08 (Sussex, NJ / Vernon Township) possesses terrific skills, and looks to establish himself as a top-notch outfielder in the Centennial Conference for years to come. The rest of the outfield mix will include Ian Adelstein '07 (South Pasadena, CA / South Pasadena), along with the speedy Young, and freshmen Grant Yoshitsu from Massachusetts and Nick Orton from California.
The Swarthmore baseball facilities, team work ethic, camaraderie, and sheer enjoyment of the game continue to grow, establishing the strongest foundation in memory for the Garnet. The team's expectations have grown, along with their commitment, as they look to continue to "make the difference" and establish the team as a playoff contender.