Maryland JUCO Team Preview: Cecil Seahawks
February 25, 2021
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JUCO programs across the state of Maryland are eager to get back on the field after their season's were cut short by Covid-19 in 2020. As the calendar quickly turns and teams begin to ramp up for their season's to begin in early March, we begin our coverage of the Maryland JUCO Conference with a preseason preview of all fourteen schools. In each preview, we will take a look back at the shortened 2020 season, examine key players that return and those that have moved on or left the program, look at new faces, and finally take a sneak peak at whats ahead for the 2021 season. Today we continue our preseason previews with a look at the Cecil College Seahawks.
CECIL COLLEGE 2021 SEASON PREVIEW
Head Coach: Charlie O'Brien (23rd Year)
Mascot: Seahawks
2020 Record: 8-6
2020 MD JUCO Finish: N/A
2020 DII Region XX Finish: N/A
Twitter Handle: @CecilAthletics
CLICK HERE to view the Cecil College Baseball Website
CLICK HERE to view the Cecil College 2021 Baseball Schedule
CLICK HERE to view the Cecil College 2021 Baseball Roster
Returning Starters: 5
| PLAYER | POS | GP | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB |
| Dante Disabatino | INF | 12 | .192 | .476 | .192 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Andy Imbierowicz | 3B | 14 | .413 | .500 | .630 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
| Davis Jenkins | C/INF | 11 | .206 | .317 | .382 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Patrick O'Brien | C/OF | 14 | .340 | .467 | .383 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Brendan Reilly | OF/INF | 13 | .270 | .383 | .405 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
Returning Pitchers: 7
| PLAYER | POS | APP | W | L | S | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA |
| Colin Balthaser | RHP | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10.0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3.60 |
| Cameron Blankenship | RHP | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24.0 | 27 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 18 | 4.88 |
| Slothing Che | RHP | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.2 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 14.85 |
| Garrett Hillsgrove | RHP | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.1 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 6 | 12.96 |
| Vince Kershner | RHP | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 15.00 |
| Tucker Sanders | LHP | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 3.18 |
| Brandon Snyder | RHP | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 9.00 |
Key Losses
| PLAYER | POS | GP | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB |
| Reece Crounse | C/1B | 13 | .348 | .375 | .413 | 10 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| Connor Dulin | OF | 7 | .400 | .520 | .500 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Kipp Hillson | OF/INF/RHP | 14 | .222 | .352 | .378 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| Mike Worthington | SS | 14 | .292 | .419 | .375 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 |
| PLAYER | POS | APP | W | L | S | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA |
| Paul Layton | RHP | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 25 | 4.74 |
2020 Seahawks Moving On
*List of players from last year's team that are playing a 4-year schools this season.
Connor Dulin (Mount St. Mary's University)
Michael Worthington (Delaware State University)
Top Newcomers
Andre Claudio INF Glasgow (DE)
Alden Dobosz RHP Transfer from University of Tampa
Nathan Fusco-Lamont RHP/C/UTL Wilson Area (PA)
Kevin Gamber RHP/INF Elizabethtown (PA)
Dylan Lehman LHP Transfer from Lehigh Carbon CC
Juan Carlos Vidal Perez OF Fe y Alegría (PA)
Rafael Solano SS/INF Dickenson (NJ)
AJ Thorp SS/3B/RHP Florida State University School (FL)
Committed Players on Current Roster
None at this time.
2021 Season Snapshot
23rd year NJCAA Hall of Fame head coach Charlie O'Brien returns a much deeper squad in 2021 albeit with several returners that only logged time in parts of a fourteen game shortened 2020 campaign due to Covid-19. Prior to last year's shortened season, the Seahawks missed qualifying for the NJCAA Region XX DII tournament after a disappointing 8-30-1 2019 campaign.
Coach O'Brien hopes to return back to those regional playoffs with a talented group offensively led by power hitting third baseman Andy Imbierowicz. Imbierowicz was off to a hot start in 2020 batting .413 with 19 hits and 16 RBI's through the fourteen game span. Also returning and looking to lead the way offensively this year for the Seahawks is Patrick O'Brien, Davis Jenkins, Brendan Reilly, and Dante Disabatino. Freshman Rafael Solano and AJ Thorp add depth to a solid infield core and both posses the ability to add pop in the lineup.
On the mound, O'Brien will rely more on depth with just Cameron Blankenship looking to assume one of the starting spots in the rotation at this time. Blankenship logged a team high 24 innings pitched in 2020 going 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 5 appearances. That depth starts with several returners including righties Colin Balthaser, Brandon Snyder, Garrett Hillsgrove, Slothing Che, Vince Kershner and lefty Tucker Sanders. Furthermore, University of Tampa transfer Alden Dobosz and Lehigh Carbon CC transfer Dylan Lehman are expected to make an immediate impact on the mound.
Tentatively speaking, Cecil is set to open the season this Sunday at home against Delaware Tech before facing a daunting opening month of March in which they will play 16 of their 22 NJCAA Region XX DII games. That said, a fast start will be imperative to earning an opportunity back into post-season play come seasons end.