NEW YORK – Following a brief break after another trip to the NCAA Regionals, 21 members of the Columbia baseball team reported to summer ball teams. Below is check in with the players as the summer gets into full swing.
Class of 2015
Gus Craig, a first team All-Ivy League selection, heads to Elmira, New York, as a member of the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Mohawk Valley is six games into the summer campaign and Craig has made four starts with three hits and two stolen bases.
Joey Falcone, a 2013 ABCA Northeast Region second team selection, is set to play his summer ball for the Monmouth Monarchs of the Atlantic Baseball Confederation Collegiate League. The rising senior has played in two games and is batting .250. In his first game, he went 2-for-4 against the Jackson Thunder.
Two-time All-Ivy League selection Jordan Serena is competing for the Thunder Bay Border Cats of the Northwoods League. The Parker, Colorado, native is seeing time at the top of the lineup card while continuing to man centerfield. In eight games, he's scored three runs and driven in another.
First team All-Ivy League selection David Vandercook is in Virginia playing for the Waynesboro Generals of the Valley Baseball League. Vandercook has seen action in six games thus far, walking twice.
For the third consecutive summer, Mike Weisman has a spot on the pitching staff for the North Shore Navigators of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. The Navigators are just five games into the summer season and Weisman has tossed just one inning of work.
Class of 2016
Catcher Logan Boyher and pitcher George Martin will remain in the Empire State, heading to western New York to play for the Newark Pilots of the PGCBL. Boyher has started five games for Newark, driving in a run and stealing a base, while Martin has yet to see any action on the hill.
The duo of Thomas Crispi and John Kinne are in uniform in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Crispi is a member of the Plymouth Pilgram pitching staff, but has not thrown yet this season. Kinne is batting .333 with two RBI for the North Adams SteepleCats through three games.
A trio of rising juniors are joining Serena in the Northwoods League. Right-handed pitchers Kevin Roy and Adam Cline are competing for the La Crosse Loggers, while Robb Paller is playing alongside Serena for Thunder Bay. Roy picked up a win in his first start of the year on June 9, going six frames with six strikeouts and just three hits. Cline threw 2.1 innings of relief work in a 7-6 victory against Kenosha, allowing just two hits and no runs in his time on the bump. Paller has played in seven games, driving in two runs and stealing a pair of bases.
The 2014 season is just getting underway for Nick Maguire and the Los Angeles Brewers of the California Collegiate League. The Brewers have just one game under their belt, with Maguire not playing in the opener.
Willis Robbins is out on Long Island pitching for the Shelter Island Bucks of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League. Robbins has made one appearance to date, going two innings with two hits allowed.
The Cape Cod Baseball League is set for first pitch on Wednesday, June 11 and George Thanopoulos will be there as a member of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Thanopoulos is coming off a second team All-Ivy League selection and a nomination to the Gregg Olson Award watch list.
Class of 2017
The Woodlands Strykers welcomed Shane Adams to the roster this summer. Adams has boasted a .308 batting average, walked three times and stole four bases through five games.
Infielder Kyle Bartleman and pitcher Ty Wiest are in New England for the summer playing as teammates for the Pittsfield Suns of the FCBL. Bartleman has played in one game so far, while Wiest has not pitched for the Suns.
Nicholas Erickson has landed a spot on the Chicago Zephyrs roster of the Midwest Collegiate League.
Ryan Marks is also competing in the NECBL as a member of the Danbury Westerners pitching staff.
Ivy League Rookie of the Year Will Savage is alongside Robbins on the Shelter Island squad of the Hamptons League. The Bronx, New York, native has played in three games, smacking a double and walking three times.
