POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - A considerable amount of players on the Marist baseball team are playing in summer collegiate leagues all over the country. Several have gotten off to good starts in the first weeks of action.
A trio of rising seniors - first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), shortstop Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) and right-handed pitcher Brett Houseal (Landisville, Pa.) - are competing for the Danbury Westerners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). Orefice is hitting .329 with three homers and 23 runs batted in, while Shank is hitting .217 with two homers, 14 RBIs, seven stolen bases and 20 runs scored. On the mound, Houseal is 4-1 with a 3.58 earned run average in 37.2 innings of work over five starts.
Rising senior right-hander Chris Bielak (Sayreville, N.J.) is also competing in the NECBL for the North Adams SteepleCats. In four starts, Bielak is 2-0 with 15 strikeouts in 21 innings.
Left-hander Rich Vrana (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) is 1-1 with one save and a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings for the North Fork Ospreys of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Vrana has 29 strikeouts against just six walks and two hits allowed. Rising sophomore catcher Mark Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.) is also a member of the Ospreys, and he has a homer and four RBIs in 37 at-bats.
Senior outfielder Eric Helmrich (Yonkers, N.Y.) and sophomore right-hander Evan Davis (Little Falls, N.Y.) are teammates on the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Helmrich has four homers and 17 RBIs in 21 games. Davis has 16 strikeouts in 17 innings in five appearances.
Three rising sophomores are playing in the Hudson Valley Collegiate Baseball League (HVCBL). Catcher Mark Swertfager (Katonah, N.Y.) and infielder Dan Sheldon (Hillsborough, N.J.) are members of the Westchester Rockies North, and second baseman Alec Petrone (Mahopac, N.Y.) has seen action for the Wappinger Yankees. Swertfager is hitting .405 with a homer and three doubles in 42 at-bats, while Sheldon is hitting .341 with two homers, seven doubles and nine RBIs in 41 at-bats. Petrone is hitting .250 with a .455 on-base percentage and a stolen base.
A pair of rising juniors - right-hander Kevin McCarthy (Malverne, N.Y.) and third baseman Nick McQuail (Wantagh, N.Y.) - are playing in the Coastal Plains League. McCarthy has 19 strikeouts and just 28 hits allowed in 31.1 innings for the Edenton Steamers. McQuail is hitting .284 with a .435 on-base percentage and .403 slugging percentage and eight stolen bases for the Forest City Owls.
Junior right-hander Chris Thorsen (Lititz, Pa.) has a team-high 16 appearances for the Woodstock River Bandits of the Valley Baseball League. Thorsen has 26 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. Junior outfielder Pat Welsh (Millersville, Pa.) is hitting .264 with 14 RBIs in 87 at-bats for the Olean Oilers of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL). Sophomore Infielder/outfielder Steve Laurino (Carle Place, N.Y.) has a homer and seven RBIs in 52 at-bats for the Peekskill Tides of the Westchester-Rockland League. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Chris Napolitano (Wall, N.J.) has appeared in four games for the Toms River Hurricanes of the Atlantic Baseball Confederation Collegiate League.
