The 43^rd chapter in the annals of Massachusetts Maritime baseball is set to begin in a few short weeks, but sadly, the pages will turn for the final time in the storybook career of Head Coach Bob Corradi, the only mentor the Buccaneers have known since 1973.  The affable athletic director will retire from both of his positions at the Academy in June, but with a bevy of experienced veterans and talented newcomers in the fold, it could be a quite a send off for one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division III history.

Corradi welcomes back 16 letterwinners from a squad that posted 15 victories (the program’s highest single-season mark in six years) in 2014, as Massachusetts Maritime returns five starting position players and virtually its entire starting rotation from a year ago.  The Buccaneers just missed out on making their second straight appearance in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference playoffs, but along with the impending sadness that Corradi’s retirement brings, enthusiasm and excitement are at all-time highs heading into the 2015 campaign.

Leadership has been a staple of doing things “the Buccaneer way” during Corradi’s tenure, and he will look to a quartet of seniors to set that example both on and off the field this spring, as Zac Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), T.J. Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro), Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) and Tyler Smith (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) will serve as Massachusetts Maritime’s captains. 

“Our senior classes have really stepped up in the last few years in terms of play on the field and providing leadership off of it, and I have full confidence this will continue with these four young men,” Corradi, who enters his final season at Massachusetts Maritime with 562 career victories, says of his 2015 captains.  “There is a high level of expectation of doing things the right away, whether it’s in competition or in the classroom, for this program, and I fully expect to exceed those expectations once again this year.”

Here’s a look at how things will shape up for Bob Corradi’s final Buccaneer squad this spring:

INFIELD.  Rosano anchors Massachusetts Maritime’s infield as the incumbent Buccaneer shortstop, as the two-time all-MASCAC and 2013 All-New England honoree batted .302 with 10 extra base hits and 17 RBI last season.  Rosano, a two-sport standout who also excelled on the gridiron at the Academy, brings a .344 career batting average into his final collegiate season while adding a .432 on-base percentage and a .467 slugging percentage.

Fellow senior Greg Downs (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) returns to the first base bag for Corradi, as he batted .286 last spring with three doubles at the plate while handling all 142 fielding chances perfectly in 22 contests.  Sophomore Terrence Mudie (Barnstable, Mass./Barnstable) enjoyed a solid rookie season at third base for Massachusetts Maritime, as he rapped out a pair of doubles and drove in seven runs while starting 25 of 28 games played, while Cooney saw time at both second and third base a year ago and contributed a pair of doubles in 22 at-bats.

Sophomore Jake Petruzzelli (Abington, Mass./South Shore Voke) returns to the program after a year’s hiatus and looks to compete with fellow sophomores Eddie Stewart (Dresden, Maine/Richmond) and Tommy Walls (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) for the starting nod at second base.  Petruzzelli batted .286 in 21 games (11 starts) as a rookie in 2013, while Stewart and Walls combined to appear in 18 contests during the 2014 campaign.  Freshmen Casey Furnas (Boca Raton, Fla./Olympic Heights), Nathan Anderson (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) and Cobie Gerbis (Holmes Beach, Fla./Tampa Catholic) will also be vying for spots in the infield as newcomers this season.

OUTFIELD.  Sophomore Aidan Desrosiers (North Attleboro, Mass./Xaverian) anchors the Buccaneer outfield after leading Massachusetts Maritime at the plate with a .357 batting average that included six doubles and a team-best 19 RBI, as he will also serve in the designated hitter role once again.  Junior Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass./Barnstable) also returns after posting a solid second collegiate season with a .289 batting average that included five extra base hits, but Corradi is faced with the task of replacing all-MASCAC performer Bob Lee in centerfield.  Freshmen Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass./Pope John Paul II), Michael Bentley (Plympton, Mass./Sacred Heart), Drew Tardif (Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth) and William Keane (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) will be looking for significant time in the outfield spots during their inaugural seasons this spring.

PITCHER.  Massachusetts Maritime welcomes back 80 percent of its starting rotation from a year ago, as Notarangelo started five of seven contests as a junior and fanned 23 batters (8.63 per nine innings) in 24 innings of work.  Junior Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) gained national notoriety for his efforts, as he pitched the first perfect game in school history (and the 25^th in NCAA Division III history) in a 4-0 triumph over MCLA last April while posting a 2.73 ERA in five starts (eight overall appearances) and striking out 26 in 33 innings of work.  Smith also made five starts for the Buccaneers last season, as he posted a 3.57 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of action, while junior Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) provides valuable depth in the rotation after making four starts (seven overall appearances) and posting a 1-1 mark in 18 2/3 innings.

Junior Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) earned all-MASCAC accolades after an exceptional sophomore season for Corradi, as he recorded a perfect 5-0 slate with a 1.90 ERA in 10 overall appearances that included three starts.  Kennedy tossed a team-leading 42 2/3 innings primarily in the set-up role for Massachusetts Maritime, as he struck out 39 (8.23 per nine innings) and limited opponents to a .229 batting average along the way.  Cooney, who has been a versatile performer throughout his Buccaneer career, is Corradi’s incumbent closer, as he posted a 5-2 mark with a save in a team-high 11 appearances in 2014.  Cooney notched a 1.36 ERA while fanning 24 in 33 innings of work, as he held opponents to a .205 batting average, and he also tossed a complete-game four-hit shutout in his lone start of the year in an 11-0 nightcap victory at Fitchburg State last April.

Sophomore Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass./Blackstone Valley) gained valuable experience during his rookie season by posting a victory and 10 strikeouts over 14 innings of work in five appearances for Corradi’s crew, while fellow sophomore Nick Massa (Tamworth, N.H./Kennett) lends additional experience after tossing three scoreless innings as a newcomer.  Freshmen left-handers Justin Nichols (Adams, Mass./Hoosac Valley) and Cobey Rodriguez (Waller, Tex./Waller), along with rookie righty Spencer King (Foster City, Calif./San Mateo), will also bolster the Buccaneer mound corps.

CATCHER.  There are some big shoes to fill in the backstop position for Massachusetts Maritime, as graduation claimed four-year starter Matt Pelletier from the catching role.  Sophomore Jonah Olsen (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) is the lone returnee for the Buccaneers behind the dish, as he batted .250 with an RBI in seven games as a rookie, and Corradi will also look for catching contributions from freshmen Logan Sullo (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth), Tyler Chaisson (Newburyport, Mass./St. John’s Prep), Nicholas Bergantim (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford), Daniel Manning (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) and Benjamin Crago (Falmouth, Mass./Pope John Paul II).

SCHEDULE.  The Buccaneers will embark on a 35-game schedule in Corradi’s final campaign, including 24 contests in the friendly confines of Commodore Hendy Field.  After a five-game swing through the Sunshine State of Florida in late February, Massachusetts Maritime will play its first eight games up North on Taylor’s Point, and the Buccaneers will also have a 10-game homestand in April.  In addition to the 14-game MASCAC slate, non-conference foes on this year’s schedule include Tufts, Babson, Johnson & Wales, Clark and Wentworth.

It certainly has been a storybook career for Bob Corradi at Massachusetts Maritime, and the Buccaneers will look to write the happiest of endings this spring.  The 2015 campaign commences on Thursday, February 26^th when Corradi’s squad battles rival SUNY-Maritime in a non-league doubleheader in Fort Pierce, Fla. that begins at 1:00 p.m. EST.