Newburgh, N.Y. – After playing against only Skyline Conference opponents in 2021, the Mount Saint Mary College Baseball team will kick-off a traditional season this weekend with three games at St. Mary's-Maryland. The Knights and New Paltz will play on Saturday and Sunday morning with the Mount and host Seahawks squaring-off on Saturday afternoon.
 
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary returns 23 players from last season's team who posted a 12-11 overall record and a 7-9 mark in contests counting towards the conference standings.
 
Mount Saint Mary hit .294 as a team a season ago and finished the 2021 campaign with a 5.16 team earned run average.
 
Pitchers
Mount Saint Mary returns a talented group of arms in 2022, highlighted by Matthew Borriello (Montgomery, N.Y.) who worked two complete games and posted a 3.82 earned run average in seven appearances.
 
Christopher Snyder (Islip, N.Y.) led the team in appearances last season with eight, all in relief, and posted a 2-0 record with a 3.78 ERA over 16.2 innings pitched. Anthony Collura (Franklin Square, N.Y.) made seven appearances in 2021 and posted a 0.82 earned run average with 10 strikeouts over 11 innings of work.
 
Mount Saint Mary will also look for increased contributions from Nick Torres (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), Mike Scotto (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), Lukas Naley (Montrose, N.Y.) and Anthony Caminitti (Mahopac, N.Y.).
 
Newcomers to the Mount's staff in 2022 include John Morehead (Highland Mills, N.Y.), Nick Bianchi (Staten Island, N.Y.), Christian Shala (Newburgh, N.Y.), Ryan Lockhart (Monroe Township, N.Y.), Brian Gregory (Florida, N.Y.), Michael Di Tullio (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Liam Horan (Stony Point, N.Y.).
 
Catcher
A deep position group for 2022, the Mount returns three players who saw time behind the plate in 2021. Robert Brust (Shirley, N.Y.) drove in seven runs for the Knights a season ago and also worked 23.2 innings on the mound, striking out a team-high 18 batters.
 
Joe Laudati (Walden, N.Y.) and Adam Leone (Wallingford, Conn.) also return from last season's roster with Laudati appearing in eight games and Leone seeing time in 11 contests. Mount Saint Mary also welcomes back Ryan Lutinski (Easton, Conn.) who appeared in 17 contests for the Mount in 2019.
 
New to the position group in 2022 are freshmen Shane Finch (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.), who should also see time on the infield,  and Tyler Crocitto (Staten Island, N.Y.) as well as junior Shawn Sawyer (Walden, N.Y.).
 
Infield
The Knights return a talented corps of infielders, led by shortstop Devin Tait (Staten Island, N.Y.) who hit .391 a season ago and finished second on the team with 15 RBI. Michael DiGiovanni (Shirley, N.Y.), who will also see time on the mound in 2022, hit .267 last season, scoring eight runs and driving in nine. Brandon Nolasco (Chester, N.Y.) tied for team lead in home runs last season and hit an even .400 with seven RBI in 14 games played.
 
Liam Merlin (Reading, Mass.) and Coleman Barnes (New Hampton, N.Y.) return for the Mount in 2022. Merlin drove in six runs for the Knights in 2021 with Barnes slugging .560 in 25 at-bats. Mike Paolo (Milton, N.Y.) saw time in 14 contests in 2021 and also made four appearances on the mound, fanning seven batters in 8.2 innings of work.
 
Looking to make contributions to the infield group in their first seasons with the Knights are Frank Signorelli (Staten Island, N.Y.), Jonathan Diaz (Sloatsburg, N.Y.), Steven Cascio (Kings Park, N.Y.), Chris Blatz (Floral Park, N.Y.) and Luke Barone (Monroe, N.Y.), who should also see time on the mound in his rookie campaign.
 
Outfield
The outfield group is highlighted by 2021 First Team All-Conference selection Jack Goodwin (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) who returns for his graduate season. Goodwin hit .511 las season in 45 at-bats and scored 13 runs. Goodwin also recorded four outfield assists out of centerfield.
 
Dominick Marzaigliano (Highland Mills, N.Y.) is back after leading the team with 18 RBI in 2021. He produced a .313 batting average in 17 games played, scoring 15 runs and tying for the team lead with a pair of home runs for the Knights.
 
Anthony Franco (Franklin Square, N.Y.) hit .280 in 2021 in 50 at-bats for the Knights, recording two doubles and a pair of triples. He scored seven times and drove in six runs in 17 games played for the Knights.
 
Cullen Roper (Stratford, Conn.), Anthony Laietta (North Massapequa, N.Y.), Ben Crowley (Stratford, Conn.) and Jeremiah Flood (Williston Park, N.Y.) will all vie for increased roles in 2021 with newcomer Alex Nalewajk (Staten Island, N.Y.) joining the fold in 2022.
 
The Schedule
Following the trip to Maryland, Mount Saint Mary will return north to host Sage, New Jersey City University and New Paltz at nearby Dutchess Stadium. The remainder of the early non-conference schedule includes a trip to Bard and visits from Albertus Magnus, Baruch and the City College of New York.
 
The Skyline Conference slate begins with a home set with St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on March 26 and includes home doubleheaders with Farmingdale State (4/3), Maritime (4/30) and Yeshiva (5/1).