By Anthony Covino
Staff Writer
After a very tough 2017-18 season for the FDU Baseball Team, the Knights will have a fresh new start as the 2018-19 season begins. The Knights finished last season with a 10-37 record overall (1-15) Home (6-20) Away, (3-3) Neutral, with a (1-26) record in the NEC and lost their final 13 games of the season.
The 2017-18 season was a bumpy ride for the Knights the whole way as the team could not find their form and stay consistent on a daily basis. The Knights have big expectations for the season and the team has improved from last season.
“The expectations are to make the playoffs and then give ourselves a chance to go further through that. I focus zero percent of my time on the interim status,” said Interim Head Coach Justin McKay. “Everything’s going to work out one way or the other and I am very confident in what I can do.”
“I am impressed and surprised by the work from the players. The whole pitching staff has been a big turnaround, a big part of that is our new pitching coach Bryan Radziewski. The biggest improvement is the pitching. What makes each player special is that they all have hunger,” said McKay.
This year’s team is the youngest in the division and Coach McKay is the third youngest coach in the division. The biggest problem for the Knights last season was their pitching as every pitcher’s earned run average (ERA) last season was above five. If this rotation can improve this season, it would make the Knights a much better team than last year. The team’s ERA last season was 7.81.
Last season, the Knights had significant injuries to some of their key players. Redshirt Senior Bobby Romano played only 15 games last season and Redshirt Freshman Adam Frank played only 13 games. Both of these players rare fully recovered are playing with a chip on their shoulder this season to prove they are ready.
The baseball team is 1-0-1.
