Colonials Baseball

Western Connecticut State University

LEC Tourney full of heartbeak for Colonials

WestConn loses second 1 run game

Boston's comeback in 9th sinks Colonials

WestConn lost another 1 run game in day two of the LEC tourney, eliminating them from the tournament. After taking a (7-2) lead, Boston rallied back to make it (7-6). An insurance run gave the Colonials a (8-6) lead going into the 9th. But Boston scored 4 in the inning to take a (10-8) lead. WestConn rallied back for a quick run in the bottom of the 9th, and had runners at 1st and 2nd. But a double play ball eneded the season in heartbreaking fasion.
WestConn starter Joe Mangano battled through 8 innings leaving with the lead. Loser Joe Postemsky and Josh Murray gave up runs in the 9th. With that appearance, Postemsky broke the single season appearance mark for pitchers with (21). Sam McNeil and Dan baccaro lead the offensive charge with 3 hits each. Dan Amarante, Ryan Koschmieder, and Matt Gardiner had 2 hits each. The Colonials ended the season with a (17-25) record, ten games better than last season.

Colonial line up gets "brotherly love" from the Baccaros

Dan Baccaro has been a one man wrecking crew since stepping into the DH spot

Dan and Mike combine for 7 hits, 5 runs and 3 RBI's in game versus USM

Last season, Dan Baccaro's baseball world came crashing down. The ace of the Colonial staff, while pitching against ECSU in the 1st conference weekend, had an arm injury that ended his season. After surgery in the summer, the 2008 season was a huge question mark. But wanting to be part of the team was too important, and maybe a few scattered innings by season's end, and a few pinch hits could help the team.
When senior first baseman Matt Perper went down with a broken thumb the first game back up north, a big hole was left in the middle of the WestConn line up. On April 13th, game #2 of a very important LEC double header with Plymouth State, Dan Baccaro was penciled in that spot as the DH. 3 for 5 with a homer and 3 RBI's, and 5 more hits in the next 2 games, and the hole was filled. The Colonials went on to win 6 in a row, and Dan Baccaro has not stopped hitting since. At the regular season's end, Dan is hitting (.389), with (28) hits, (3) doubles, (4) homers and (27) RBI's. He has given 3 hitter Matt Gardiner the protection he lost when Perper went down, and then some.
Then there is freshman brother Michael, who was the DH before Dan. He has since moved out for big brother, and gone to first base along with John DiGiovanni to fill Perper's defensive void. Michael is hitting (.312) with (24) hits, (7) doubles and (18) RBI's. Add DiGiovanni's (20) hits, (7) doubles, and (17) RBI's, and the Colonials have (44) hits, (14) doubles and (35) RBI's from the spot. Michael has also appeared in four games out of the Colonial bullpen, a role we will see more from him in 2009. Dan continues to rehab and throw, and WestConn is looking forward to seeing him back on the mound in 2009. With the way he is swinging the bat, it doesn't look like a DH will be needed on those days.
Dan and Michael come from one of the states top high school programs, Berlin High. Dad Bill was the longtime Head Coach at Farmington High, and still coaches summer ball. The Colonials middle of their line up looks pretty secure for the next few years, add their arms into the mix, and Dan and Mike will have a lot to say about how successfull WestConn will be in the coming years.

Dan Baccaro

Mike Baccaro

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Official WCSU Athletic web site

Little East Conference web site

This site is managed by current Head Coach John Susi

Coach Susi can be contacted at: susij@wcsu.edu