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Harwich Mariners 2007 Season Preview

06/03/2007 1:48 PM

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for immediate release: 3 June, 2007

Harwich Mariners 2007 Season Preview

Harwich Looks to Bounce Back From a Mediocre 2006 Season

HARWICH, Mass. – One of the Cape Cod Baseball League’s most historic teams hopes to bounce back from a disappointing 2006 season. Last year, the Mariners recorded a 20-24 record and finished last in the Eastern Division. 

    Despite the record, Harwich features some of the best fans on the Cape. Last year the Mariners were in the top six in attendance. This proves the town is eager to see the Mariners return to the top.

    With a whole new slew of talent, Harwich should not have much of a problem returning to the elite of the Cape League this season.

    Manager Steve Englert returns for his tenth season with the Mariners. This will be his fifth season as the head manager. The Mariners roster seems to be very versatile and features many strong arms in their rotation.

    One player Mariner fans will be very excited to see is Cole Figueroa (Florida), Figueroa is a player that brings everything to the table. This year, Figueroa batted .321 and had 11 home runs for the Gators. Figueroa can also flash the leather as he has only five errors this season as the Gators starting shortstop.

    One early casualty for the Mariners is Logan Forsythe (Arkansas), who will be trying out for Team USA. Forsythe is hitting an impressive .350, is tops on the Razor Backs in runs batted in with 50 and will be sorely missed by Harwich 

    Look out for Jared Bolden (Virginia Commonwealth) who may end up being the most electrifying player in the whole league this season. Bolden is hitting .393 this season along with 49 RBI. Bolden also has 19 stolen bases and boasts a .997 fielding percentage. Bolden can pitch out of the bullpen as well. In his college career, he has thrown 36 innings and recorded three wins. 

    The Mariners have put together a strong pitching staff with a lot of power arms that produce strikeouts. Look for lefty Scott Barnes (St. John’s) to be a major contributor this season. Barnes fired a no-hitter for St. John’s early in the season; he struck out 14 in that game. For the entire season Barnes is sporting a 7-2 record with a 3.08 earned run average. Barnes also has 92 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched.

    Another promising pitcher is Danny Farquhar (Louisiana-Lafayette). Farquhar can pitch in multiple roles for the Mariners. For Louisiana-Lafayette, Farquhar started five games and also was the Rajun Cajun’s closer. He went 6-3 with six saves and a 2.80 ERA. The most eye-popping stat is his 112 strikeouts in only 83 innings. 

    In middle relief look for Matt Frevert (Missouri State) to see action. This season for the Bears, Frevert posted a miniscule 0.47 earned run average, allowing only one earned run all season. In 20 innings pitched, he struck out 33 and recorded two wins. 

    A couple familiar faces will return to the Mariners this season. Infielder Johnny Giavotella (New Orleans) and pitcher P.J. Zocchi (Clemson) are back for their second season with the club. Giavotella is having a banner season hitting .364 with 13 home runs. Zocchi has been struggling with a 5.37 earned run average for Clemson and is looking to regain the touch that led to his 2.87 ERA in the Cape league last summer.

    Harwich will carry three catchers this season: Kyle Day (Michigan St.), Jeff Lanning (Nebraska) and J.B. Paxson (Western Kentucky). The infielders are Alex Avila (Alabama), Terrence Dayleg (Western Kentucky), Jake Optiz (Nebraska), J.T. Wise (LSU) and power-hitting Chris Dominguez (Louisville). The outfield is comprised of Kyle Colligan (Texas A&M), Matt Miller (Georgia Southern) and do-it-all utility man Jim Gallagher (Duke).

    Rounding out the pitching staff is Sean Black (Seton Hall), Evan Crawford (Auburn), Dan Hudson (Old Dominion), Brett Jacobson (Vanderbilt), Miers Quigley (Alabama), Aaron Weatherford (Mississippi St.), Mark Willinsky (Santa Clara), Corey Young (Seton Hall) and Josh Zeid (Vanderbilt).

    The Mariners open their season at home as they play the Chatham A’s on Friday June 15 at 7:00 p.m. All home game broadcasts will be heard live courtesy of www.cape.com.

 John Hannemann, CCBL Intern ([email protected])
 

John Garner, Jr.
Director of Public Relations & Broadcasting
(508) 790-0394
 [email protected] 

Joe Sherman
Web Editor
(508) 775-4364
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