Authors note: This article was originally written on May 24th
Summertime is approaching, and with it comes a new season for the Utica Blue Sox organization. The team is coming off their fourth straight playoff appearance under head coach Doug Delett, which culminated in its first playoff win since 2016.
Now the team looks to go all the way to win its first Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League(PGCBL) title in franchise history, and a few familiar faces will be appearing alongside a slew of new cast members.
First off, on the returning side for a pitching roster that finished third in all of PGCBL in ERA is Tom Roefaro, a senior from the SUNY Oneonta who compiled a 2-1 record with thirty-one strikeouts and twenty-seven innings for the Blue Sox last season. He’ll look to slide into the roster, in which build upon a senior campaign in which he compiled a 3-0 record with forty strikeouts in fourteen appearances.
Accompanying Roefaro in the returning pitchers is sophomore Kris Giangreco from Mount St. Mary’s College, and senior Giovanni Canales from Coppin State. Giangreco was the primary closer for the Blue Sox last season compiled three saves in eight appearances, and will look to gain momentum after pitching in three games this past spring.
Canales, meanwhile, will be returning to the team for the first time since 2021, where he pitched on opening day and became a fan-favorite to a team that would win the PGCBL Central Division title.
On the newcomer side for pitchers, two players to look out for are freshman Gavin Enright from Felician University and Freshman Dauery Rodgriuez who is not declared for a college as of time of writing.
Enright will be in competition with Giangreco for the closing position after impressing as a freshman, collecting three saves and eighteen strikeouts in 31.2 innings. Rodriguez, on the other hand, will be looking to impress scouts even further after participating in a number of MLB showcases in the Dominican Republic.
Meanwhile, the hitting core will be looking to build upon a phenomenal team performance in which the team finished in the top three in all of the PGCBL in batting average, hits, runs, and total bases. Leading the charge will be infielder Benny Partridge, a junior from Limestone College.
Partridge will look to replicate his All-Star performance from last summer, after he compiled a .350 batting average with two home-runs, and a .903 ops in thirty-one gamse. He also compiled a .274 batting average in nineteen games this past spring.
Alongside Partridge will be senior outfielder Norris McClure from Mandeville and freshman Todd Aberham from Binghamton University. McClure, coming off a .286 in seven games this past spring, will look to return to the form from last season in which he was considered by the team to be the best all around player. Being named a PGCBL all star, McClure hit .365 batting average, driving in nineteen RBIs and stealing sixteen bases in 31 games. Abraham, a Utica native, looks to build his performance after comping a .409 on-base percentage last summer for the Blue Sox.
Some of the new blood debuting this season for the Blue Sox to watch out for is infielder Yomar Carreras, a high school senior who will be attending Rutgers University this fall, and outfielder Jayden Ohmer, a freshman from John A. Logan College.
Carreras comes into the season as one of the highest ranked prospects from his home state of New Jersey, in which he was named in the top ten at shortstop. In his senior year, he compiled a .438 with fifthteen RBIs in seventeen games. Carreras will be looking to play more third base this season.
Ohmer is coming off a very impressive first season with John A. Logan, in which he compiled a .315 batting average with three home runs, seventeen RBIs, and a .476 on-base percentage in forty-six games. The most impressive part of Ohmer’s game may be his work on the basepath, in which he stole thirty-two bases and was not caught once.
The Blue Sox 2024 season will begin at home on Friday, May 31 at Donovan Stadium against long-time rival Mohawk Valley Diamond Dogs. First pitch is at 6:45.
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