The unfortunate nature of the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, has forced Hudson Valley Community College as well as the NJCAA and the NCAA to cancel the remainder of the spring seasons. Although the seasons will not go on, the Vikings department of athletics wants to take this opportunity to highlight the spring programs.
Vikings Baseball
First year head coach, Josh Parrow took over the Vikings baseball program in the fall and immediately set a unified approach to off season workouts as they worked to achieve their goal of reaching the NJCAA Region 3 postseason for the sixth straight season.
The Vikings returned seven student-athletes from the 2019 team, with two everyday starters in Anthony Raimo and Riley Nagle along with backup catcher DeAndre Bowens. The Vikings also hoped to bolster the pitching staff with the return of experienced pitchers from Kyle Lambert, Ryan Lawyer, Ryan Bradt and Donald Chrysler.
Lambert led the Vikings with 34.2 innings pitched and finished with a team-best three wins while giving up 33 hits, 19 walks and 37 strikeouts. Lawyer and Bradt combined for 30 innings pitched and 29 strikeouts and were preparing for a larger role in 2020. Chrysler handled a majority of the save opportunities in relief last season and was expected to return as one of the Vikings top arms to come out of the bullpen in relief.
Raimo and Riley saw success last season in a sophomore-heavy lineup, which featured NJCAA All-American, NJCAA Region 3 First-Team selection and Vikings career home run leader, Jackson Wenstrom, who signed with Florida Atlantic following the 2019 season.
Raimo was one of the Vikings most efficient offensive players last season as he finished second on the team with a .421 batting average and recorded 24 hits, scored 24 runs and finished the year with 24 RBI, while posting a .557 on-base percentage and a .754 slugging percentage.
Nagle came out strong to start the year and ended the season with a .344 batting average on 33 hits with 11 doubles, five home runs, 31 runs scored and 23 RBI. Nagle also posted a .656 slugging percentage, which was sixth best in 2019.
The Vikings worked to position themselves as one of the better programs in 2020 by adding more pitching. Pitching depth is one of the most important aspects of a successful NJCAA Region 3 program as the rigors of a collegiate season within a seven-week timespan. Jack Bebbington and Tyler Spitzbarth came into the Vikings program and were expected to immediately contribute to the program.
Although the 2020 season has been canceled, our baseball coaches want to hear from all prospective student-athletes interested in playing baseball at Hudson Valley next season. Be sure to reach out and let them know you want to be a VIKING!