Lasell College 2010 Baseball Preview

The inaugural season of the Lasell College baseball team was a true success story. The Lasers went 10-24 overall and 6-10 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a young team that was directed by head coach Jim Dolan. 

The season was highlighted with firsts, including their first win in the opening weekend at St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn.  The Lasers swept the doubleheader 12-5 and 11-8 with GNAC All-Conference honoree Joshua Sullivan (Rockland, Mass.) striking out six batters en route to Lasell's first victory and Matt Mahoney (Rockland, Mass.) retiring six and allowing just one run in the second game.  In addition, the Lasers got five hits and four runs by freshman Patrick Girard (Stonington, Conn.) and three hits, three runs, and three RBI by freshman Carlton Lentini (Wilmington, Mass.) throughout the double-header.

The Lasers also took their first spring break trip to Fort Myers, Florida where they played eight contests against tough out of region competition.  Lasell stole one game away, 5-4, from Minnesota- Morris, once again with Matt Mahoney pitching Lasell to triumph. 

In GNAC competition, the Lasers swept Norwich for their first league win and then swept Rivier College for their first home win.  Their 6-10 conference slate was good enough to earn them a spot in the GNAC post-season tournament. The Lasers faced the Falcons of Albertus Magnus in the first round of the tournament, losing a very close game, 9-7.

In addition to Sullivan receiving All-Conference accolades, fellow first year Mike Mahoney (Rockland, Mass.) was selected as the 2009 GNAC Rookie of the Year.  Mahoney played in 27 games for Lasell this season, and made seven mound appearances for the Lasers.  He boasts the highest batting average (.321) on the team, and the lowest era (4.42).  Mahoney connected on 27 hits, including one triple and one homerun, earned 14 RBI and added 13 runs of his own.  Mahoney also has made 35 outs in the field, and has a .927 fielding percentage.

On the mound, Mahoney finished with a 3-2 record in 2009, striking out 30 batters along the way, and earning his first win at Norwich University in an 11-10 Laser victory.  In that game, he struck out six in five innings, allowing four hits and just one earned run.  Mahoney also took win's from Rivier College and Emerson College, all in conference play. 

 Sullivan had an outstanding year as well for the Lasers, playing in 32 total games. He collected the most hits on the team (30), and most total bases (42). He also tallied one homerun and three triples, to go along with 12 RBI and 19 runs scored. Sullivan was also perfect in stolen base attempts (7-7) on the year. On the hill, Sullivan racked up 36 strikeouts and walked only 9 batters in 40.1 innings pitched.

Another key returner for Lasell is junior Conor Cavanaugh (Quincy, Mass.). Last year Cavanaugh played in 33 total games for the Lasers while piling up 29 hits and posting .276 batting average. He led the team in doubles (8) and RBI (20). Cavanaugh also recorded the most outs on the team (137) and posted an amazing .993 fielding %.

Lasell lost just two seniors to graduation in the 2009 season and will bring back a solid core of veteran players for the upcoming season.  The Lasers are looking forward to an exciting spring season which will be highlighted by spring trips to New York and North Carolina.