ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College baseball program will begin a new era in the upcoming 2020 season this weekend, February 22-23, at Virginia Wesleyan University. Not only will Ithaca be under the direction of a new head coach this season, the Bombers will also be in a new conference and will need to replace 13 players who graduated from a season ago.

Ithaca, which is ranked preseason No. 26 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, went 31-9 last spring and claimed its 17th and final Empire 8 Conference title to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Ithaca has since moved to the Liberty League. Shortly after the end of the season, hall of fame head coach George Valesente '66 announced his retirement after 41 season on South Hill, and in August, Ithaca hired a new head coach – David Valesente – who spent the last three seasons at Wells College.

"I'm excited for this opportunity to maintain the tradition of Ithaca Baseball," said Valesente. "Ithaca is extremely close to me and it's a program I've passionate about since I've been around it for such a long time. It's an added bonus for me that this is the 50th season in which a Valesente will be tied to the Bombers program (David's uncle, Bob, played for IC from 1959-62)."

Valesente has assembled a new coaching staff this season as well. Cooper Belyea '15 was hired during the summer after spending the past few seasons at Washington College in Maryland and Justin Forster followed Valesente from Wells. Long-time assistant Geoff Wright remains on the staff and the recently retired Valesente will assume a new role as an assistant this spring.

The 30-man roster this season boasts four returning starters – three position players and one pitcher. The Bombers also welcome back 11 returners and add 15 newcomers for the spring. This group will square off against a challenging schedule, which features the defending national champions, two other NCAA qualifiers and a majority of the slate against new conference affiliates.

"It's been a great process getting to know all the players and developing trust with them during the offseason," said Valesente. "I'm excited to see all the hard work pay off as we gear up to begin the year. It's exciting to have an opportunity to play early this season and not have to wait for Spring Break to get on the field."

After the Bombers' season-opening weekend against Virginia Wesleyan, which is head coached by 1997 IC graduate, Chris Francis – a member of the Bombers team when David was a bat boy – Ithaca will travel to Allegheny College the following weekend.

Next Ithaca will travel to California for its Spring Break trip. The team will play seven different games, against six different teams, over the course of the week. On the first day, March 8, the Bombers will take on reigning national champions No. 1 Chapman University.
 
The following weekend, IC will compete in their first Liberty League matchup in a doubleheader at Bard College on March 21. The Bombers will play another game against the Raptors the next day.
 
The Bombers have two weekends of Liberty League play at home next, opening up play on South Hill on March 28-29 with three games against the Clarkson University. Ithaca will stay at home the following weekend with a doubleheader and a single game against Union College on April 4-5.
 
IC will then make the short trip north to Rochester to play the Rochester Institute of Technology on April 10 for another Liberty League matchup before coming back to Ithaca the next day for a doubleheader against the Tigers.
 
Ithaca will then host reigning Liberty League Champions, the University of Rochester, for a doubleheader on April 18 before traveling to the Yellowjackets home field the next day for another game.
 
The Bombers will wrap-up Liberty League play at St. Lawrence University the following weekend with a doubleheader on April 25 and a single game the following day.
 
Ithaca will compete in non-conference weekday games against SUNY Oneonta, No. 7 SUNY Cortland, Keuka College and University of Scranton over the course of the season.
 
The first Liberty League playoff games will begin on May 1, running until the championships on May 10.

Below is a breakdown of the 2020 Ithaca College baseball team.

CATCHERS

The Bombers return two backstops who saw action last year in seniors Andrew Wollner and Chris Dietz, while junior transfer Aaron Shoemaker and freshman Gil Merod join the program this spring. Junior Sam Kinum also adds depth for IC behind the plate.

Wollner hit .265 last season in 34 at bats and saw time behind the plate and at third base. Dietz appeared in 13 games and drove in six runs with a home run, which was a grand slam.

INFIELDERS

The infield returns senior Buzz Shirley and junior Jack Lynch, who both appeared in all 40 games last year. Senior Marco Fontana and sophomore Matt Wimmer will challenge for significant time at second base all season, while junior Alex Babcock, and freshmen Mike Nauta, Kelly Butts-Spirito, Tyler Edelman, Timmy MacDonald and Garrett Bell will all see action this spring. Junior Alex Robinson, who mainly plays outfield, could see time at first base as well.

Shirley, a second-team all-conference member, led Ithaca in batting last season with a .392 average. Shirley notched 49 hits, 14 doubles and drove in 27 runs during his first season in a Bomber uniform.

Lynch started all 40 games at shortstop last spring and hit .238 with 26 runs scored and 14 RBI.

OUTFIELDERS

Junior Garrett Callaghan is the lone returning starter for the Bombers this spring, but will be joined by Robinson, junior Brendan Ryan, senior Trevor Rumsey, sophomore Jason Sarubbi and sophomore Matt Smith at any given time throughout the year.

Callaghan appeared in 36 games with 35 starts in 2019 and hit .336. He notched 40 hits with 33 runs scored and ranked second on the team with 20 walks. Callaghan also drove in 19 runs with eight doubles.

Ryan made four starts last season and appeared in 18 games. He batted .306 on the year with 11 hits, a home run and six RBI.

PITCHING STAFF

Senior Tom Cosentino will anchor the starting rotation this season as the lone returning starter. Cosentino, an all-conference selection, went 5-1 in 10 appearances with a 2.68 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched. He fanned 29 batters on the season and combined to throw a shutout.

Shirley, Rumsey and senior Charlie Hammel will be looked upon for added innings this season.

Shirley appeared in 5.0 innings over two games with six strikeouts, while Rumsey fired 7.2 innings in relief. Hammel saw action in seven games last year and combined on a no-hitter against Canton.

Lynch could see some time out of the bullpen this season, while Bell and Edelman will be looked at as two-way players as well.

Senior Benjamin Cordova and junior Brett Budzak will be inning-eaters throughout the spring, as will junior transfer Maxx Kies and freshmen Matt Chase, Carter Kowalczyk, Noel Foster and Luke Schmaedeke.