Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College baseball team will begin the 2025 campaign, its second as a member of the Northeast Conference, with a weekend series at Tennessee Tech University. The Dolphins and the Golden Eagles will play a doubleheader on Friday, with first pitch slated for 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by single games on Saturday and Sunday.

Dolphin Rundown:
The Dolphins return 19 players from the 2024 squad that compiled a 22-27-1 record, including a 15-17 conference resume in the program's return to Division I, and its first season as a member of the Northeast Conference.

"The guys are getting their work done every day, preparing," said Le Moyne head coach Scott Cassidy '98, who enters year 15 at the helm of his alma mater. "There's a lot of good competition among the guys and the comradery seems pretty good so the main thing here is get built up and stay healthy. Going from when we were Division I to II and back to Division I, you get excited every year for the beginning of the season, and I think it's just we want to make sure we return to where we were when we were Division I previously. We got our feet wet last year, did okay in conference with 15 wins, we're looking to build on that and hopefully become a mainstay and a team that is at the top of our conference every year.

"The beginning of the season is always a little difficult out of the gate," Cassidy continued. "We're going down south, it'll be our first time outside, but really we use these games – we want to win, that's number one, that's our goal every day is go to win – but we're really looking to get ready for our conference play coming up in a few weeks. Different guys will get a chance to play, we'll find out who's clicking, who's not… we're really looking to compete. Compete out the gate, try to win these ball games any way we can, whether it's pitching, defense or offense, and really use them to gauge where we're going with the lineup going forward."

Veteran left-handed pitchers Max Parker (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and Jacob Crystal (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) return for the 'Phins after each starting 14 games on the mound last season. Both players recorded a team-high 71.0 innings pitched in 11 conference starts in 2024.

Crystal led the team in strikeouts with 73, while Parker, a First Team All-NE10 and Second Team All-East Region honoree during Le Moyne's final year at the Division II level in 2023, established a team-best 4.65 ERA and compiled a 4-4 record against conference competition.

Parker enters the season ranked fourth in program history in career games started with 42, fifth in innings pitched with 269.1, seventh in strikeouts with 215 and 17^th in wins with 17.

Redshirt-senior right-hander Billy Hoffacker (Erial, N.J./Timber Creek/Rowan College of South Jersey) made 23 appearances out of the bullpen in 2024, which marks the most appearances by a Le Moyne pitcher in a single season since 2008. Hoffacker registered a 4-4 record last season for the 'Phins, tallying 38 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched.

The Dolphins also return redshirt-sophomore right-handers AJ Petraitis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) and Eric Swiencicki (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute), who were both major contributors on the mound as freshmen in 2023 during Le Moyne's run to the Division II NCAA East Super Regional.

Infielder Mike Whelehan (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) returns for his sophomore season after hitting .300 through 40 starts as a freshman in 2024. Whelehan tallied 42 hits, 28 runs, 19 walks, 13 runs batted in, four stolen bases and three double during his first collegiate campaign, along with 95 assists and 85 putouts at second base.

Senior outfielder Wyatt Patchett (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva), an all-conference honoree in 2023, has smashed a team-high 12 home runs in each of the last two seasons for the 'Phins. Patchett's 25 career home runs as a Dolphins is tied for sixth all-time in Le Moyne baseball program history, while his career .548 slugging percentage ranks 21^st. Patchett also drew 32 walks and was hit by 16 pitches last season to establish a team-high .457 on-base percentage.

In the Northeast Conference baseball season preview from D1Baseball.com, Patchett was picked as the NEC Preseason Player of the Year as well as the fifth-best MLB Draft prospect, while newcomer Dominick Russ (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) was predicted to take home NEC Rookie of the Year honors, and senior right-handed pitcher Bobby McBride (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster/UConn/Coastal Carolina) was named the league's top 2025 MLB Draft prospect.

Russ joins the 'Phins as an infielder after leading Horseheads High School to a third consecutive Section IV title in 2024 while batting over .400 with a .500 on-base percentage.

The Dolphins were picked to finish second in the NEC according to D1 Baseball, and were slotted fifth with one first-place vote in the NEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.

Also included in Le Moyne's group of returners are outfielders Chaz Anthony (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool), Jack Cannon (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and Tyler Campbell (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Onondaga C.C.), infielders Adam Sullivan (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) and James Musso (Auburn, N.Y./Skaneateles), catchers Cooper Romich (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili), Benji Ries (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson), and Bobby Trigilio (Chicopee, Mass./Pope Francis), and pitchers Steven Freer (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston), Billy Canale (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and Max Danaher (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius).

Ries, entering his senior campaign, is Le Moyne's most experienced catcher with 86 career starts and 296 at-bats under his belt. Ries launched a career-best six home runs with 24 runs scored and 18 RBIs in 2024 after slashing .287/.400/.442 during his sophomore campaign in 2023.

Sullivan is set to begin his junior campaign with the 'Phins after compiling a combined 55 runs batted and 57 runs scored during his first two seasons on the Heights. Sullivan's impressive freshman campaign in 2023 saw him record a .306 batting average with 33 RBIs and 17 extra-base hits on his way to earning NE10 Rookie of the Year honors, the program's first position player to win the award since 2016, as well as First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region accolades.

Freer made a combined 17 appearances on the mound during his first two seasons with the Dolphins before missing the 2024 campaign due to injury, while Campbell and Cannon registered 16 and 12 RBIs, respectively, during their first season with the Dolphins in 2024.

Le Moyne's pitching staff will be bolstered by junior left-hander Colin Skermont (Yorkville, N.Y./Whitesboro/Herkimer College), junior right-hander Luke Connors (Brampton, Ontario/Heart Lake/Monroe Community College), and graduate right-hander Joel Connors (Brampton, Ontario/Heart Lake/Lakeland Community College/St. Andrew's/St. Bonaventure), who each joined the Dolphins as transfers this offseason, as well as three incoming freshmen right-handed hurlers: Michael Pastrana (Montgomery, Ala./Homeschooled), Nathan Hiscox (Canton, Conn./Canton) and Mitchell Earle (Cortland, N.Y./Homer).

Earle was named to the 2024 All-Central New York Large Schools Team after tallying 91 strikeouts with just 10 walks and seven earned runs allowed in 48 innings pitched during his senior campaign at Homer.

Skermont recorded a 13-1 record in 27 appearances and 11 starts during his two seasons with the Herkimer Generals, tallying a combined 128 strikeouts in 91.1 innings pitched, helping the team advance to the NJCAA DIII Baseball World Series in back-to-back years.

The Dolphins added two transfers to their group of position players in sophomore infielder Ethan Farina (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa/Saint Rose), who started 37 games with seven home runs, 29 RBIs and 26 runs scored as a freshman at The College of Saint Rose in 2024, and junior outfielder Paulie Goodness (Palmyra, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon/Finger Lakes Community College), who accumulated 80 hits, 54 runs, 58 RBIs, 49 stolen bases, 29 walks and just 25 strikeouts in 73 games played during his two seasons with the FLCC Lakers.

Rounding out the roster are seven incoming freshmen position players: Russ, infielder VJ Verni (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius), catcher/outfielder Rowen Beattie (Pulaski, N.Y./Pulaski), catcher/infielder Derek Diaz (White Plains, N.Y./Iona Prep), catcher Robert Wegrzyn (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield), infielder Landen Duprey (Morrisonville, N.Y./Peru), and infielder Tim Denet (West Harrison, N.Y./Iona Prep).

Duprey put together a .545 batting average with seven home runs and 30 RBIs during his senior campaign at Peru High School, while Verni was a Buffalo News All-Catholic League First Team selection.

"I think it's a really good mix," Cassidy said of his 2025 roster.  "It's different. This is the most guys we've brought in in one year. Can we get 15 new guys to buy in and mix with our culture? We're big on culture, I want our guys to be one unit, playing together for each other. So, to get 15 new guys – which is almost half your team – to buy in, that stuff happens when we start playing. Getting on the road actually helps that a little bit. That's when the comradery really starts to stick. We've got really good freshmen, we got a lot of good young players. We've got some really good transfers that are going to plug in and help us right away. So, I think we're in a good spot, we've got a lot of friendly competition. We have a lot of guys that are vying for spots. Our lineup on day one might not necessarily be our lineup on day two. I got a lot of guys in the outfield that are competing for spots… We've got a bunch of infielders that can play multiple positions," Cassidy added.

FULL INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH SCOTT CASSIDY:


The Dolphins will begin the season with three non-conference weekends, starting with the four-game series at Tennessee Tech.

Le Moyne will then travel to South Carolina on back-to-back weekends. Two games against Presbyterian College will sandwich one contest at University of South Carolina Upstate on February 21-23, then the 'Phins will play a three-game series at Wofford College on February 28-March 1.

The Dolphins will then open up conference play with a three-game series at FDU on March 7-9, and will play their home opener on March 28 against Norfolk State.

Throughout the regular season, the Dolphins will play single midweek contests against in-state foes Binghamton, Niagara, Canisius and Albany.

The top four teams in the NEC Standings will earn a berth to the 2025 Northeast Conference Championship at Heritage Financial Park on May 22-25.