Newburgh, N.Y. – Trevor Purcell '04 will fill out his first lineup card as a Head Coach on Saturday when the Mount Saint Mary College Baseball team opens a three-game weekend series at the University of Mary Washington. The Knights and Eagles will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday with Live Stats available for those unable to attend.
 
New Skipper: Purcell, a Mount Saint Mary College Hall of Famer, and one of the most decorated players in the Mount's baseball history takes over for Steve Sosler, who recorded 187 victories as the Knights mentor, in 2023.
 
Purcell served as an assistant coach under Sosler from 2010-18 and becomes the third straight alum to lead the program following fellow Hall of Famer Matt Dembinsky and Sosler.
 
As a player for the Knights, Purcell was a two-way standout, producing a career .393 batting average while holding the program's records for hits (216), triples (32), runs scored (161), RBI (150) and slugging percentage (.639). On the mound, Purcell produced a 22-12 record and worked to a 2.57 earned run average covering 262.2 innings pitched, all program records.
 
Purcell was inducted into the Mount's Hall of Fame in the inaugural class in 2012.
 
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary finished the 2022 season with a 16-17 overall record and an 11-9 mark in Skyline Conference play. The Knights finished just outside of the Skyline Conference Championship, losing the final berth on a tie breaker with Manhattanville.
 
The Knights return 31 players with experience at the Mount in 2023, including Matthew Borriello (Montgomery, N.Y.), Anthony Franco (Franklin Square, N.Y.) and Jack Goodwin (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) who were all named Second Team All-Skyline Conference a season ago.

Pitchers: The Knights return 12 pitchers from a talented staff in 2022, headlined by Borriello who posted a 6-2 record over 10 starts to go along with a 2.37 earned run average in 57.0 innings of work. Borriello rounded out the season ranked fourth in the conference in ERA and sixth in innings pitched.
 
Liam Horan (Stony Point, N.Y.) returns after making eight starts as a freshman and working 38.2 innings. Horan led the team in strikeouts with 37 and recorded a pair of victories in his rookie campaign. Mike Scotto (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) made seven appearances in 2022 for the Mount, including five starts, working 27.0 innings and registering one complete game.
 
Mount Saint Mary also welcomes back John Morehead (Highland Mills, N.Y.), Michael DiGiovanni (Shirley, N.Y.), Nick Torres (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), Lukas Naley (Montrose, N.Y.), Christopher Snyder (Islip, N.Y.), Ryan Lockhart (Monroe Township, N.J.), Brian Gregory (Florida, N.Y.), Michael Di Tullio (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Luke Barone (Monroe, N.Y.).
 
A Talent crop of newcomers will join the staff and look to make an immediate impact highlighted by T.J. Gregory (Florida, N.Y.) who joins the Knights making six starts for Division II St. Thomas Aquinas in 2022.
 
Purcell also welcomes to the fold Joseph Vernaglia (Mahwah, N.J.), Peter Pappalardo (Kaneohe, Hawaii), Devin Lanzer (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and Daniel Alexander (Port Washington, N.Y.).
 
Catchers: Robert Brust (Shirley, N.Y.) headlines the catching corps in 2023 after appearing in 29 games a season ago and hitting .254 with seven doubles. Brust threw out 12 runners attempting steals in 2022 and finished the season with a .969 fielding percentage.
 
Adam Leone (Wallingford, Conn.) and Joseph Laudati (Walden, N.Y.) also return in 2023 with Leone appearing in 13 games and hitting .308 and Laudati seeing time in eight contests, including three starts.
 
Shawn Sawyer (Walden, N.Y.) and Tyler Crocitto (Staten Island, N.Y.) will look for increased roles in 2023 with Rian Kaye (Goshen, N.Y.) joining the catching contingent in 2023.
 
Infielders: The infielder group returns eight players who have appeared in a game for the Knights over the course of their careers, including Brandon Nolasco (Chester, N.Y.) and fifth years Liam Merlin (Reading, Mass.), Devin Tait (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Coleman Barnes (New Hampton, N.Y.).
 
Nolasco was tied for second on the team in RBI in 2022 with 19 and connected on a pair of home runs, five doubles and three triples. Nolasco scored 15 runs and was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts a season ago.
 
Merlin started 29 games for the Knights in 2022 and scored 14 runs, while Barnes had a breakout season, hitting .378 with eight doubles and a team-high 21 RBI in 2022. Barnes slugged .568 and posted a .490 on-base percentage with the help of 15 walks. Tait started 31 games for the Knights, scoring 19 runs and driving in 11.
 
Frank Signorelli (Staten Island, N.Y.), Shane Finch (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.), Jonathan Diaz (Sloatsburg, N.Y.), Barone and Michael Paolo (Milton, N.Y.) all return and look to solidify the infield for the Knights. Barone made 14 starts on the infield as a rookie in 2022, scoring seven runs and driving in seven others.
 
Kaleb Morgan (Red Hook, N.Y.) and Stephen Volk (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) are two local products who look to make an immediate impact starting with the three-game series in Virginia to open the season.
 
Outfielders: The deepest position group on the roster is headlined by Second Team All-Skyline Conference picks Franco and Goodwin.
 
Franco hit .469 in 16 starts in 2022, scoring 17 runs while posting a .694 slugging percentage and a .578 on-base percentage. Goodwin hit .348 in 2022 for the Knights in 28 games, scoring 16 runs and driving in 14. Goodwin swiped six bags and recorded a pair of outfield assists.
 
Cullen Roper (Stratford, Conn.) appeared in 24 games a season ago and scored 15 runs with Ryan Lutinski (Easton, Conn.) hitting .318 in 22 games, joining Goodwin and Barnes with a team-high eight doubles.
 
Anthony Laietta (North Massapequa, N.Y.) and Alex Nalewajk (Staten Island, N.Y.) each hit .333 for the Knights in 2022 in limited action.
 
Joining the squad for the 2023 season are newcomers Anthony Picone (Salisbury Mills, N.Y.), Frederick Ocasio (Monroe, N.Y.), Noah Anderson (Watervliet, N.Y.), Daniel Mack (Ramsey, N.J.), Justin Stella (Lords Valley, Pa.) and Aidan Marshall (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).
 
The Schedule: Following the season opening weekend in Virginia, the Knights will play four straight games at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y. before traveling to Florida for six games in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.
 
Upon return from the Sunshine State, the Mount will head to Preseason #14 Cortland before hosting the City College of New York.
 
Skyline Conference play begins with six straight home games starting with Purchase on March 26 and continuing with the College of Mount Saint Vincent on April 1 and St. Joseph's-L.I. on April 2. The remaining home conference schedule includes Old Westbury (4/22), Manhattanville (4/23) and USMMA (5/7).
 
The road conference schedule includes visits to Maritime (4/15), Farmingdale State (4/16), Yeshiva (4/30) and St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (5/6).