By Anthony Bosco
If history means anything, the Queensborough Community College men’s baseball team is going to have a season to remember.
In his first two years as head coach, Bayside native Craig Everett guided the Tigers to the CUNYAC championship. But the team he has assembled for the 2004 campaign may just be the best of the bunch.
“This is the strongest team I’ve had by far, and I expect to be in the CUNY championship game again,” said Everett, a longtime staple on the local baseball scene. “We expect to be pretty strong. We’re off to a slow start right now, but we’ve had a tough schedule.”
Tough schedule, indeed. The team has already played 23 games heading into the conference schedule. And while the Tigers have managed just six wins, most of the competition has been a cut above, including teams such as South Eastern Community College, a Division II scholarship program, and Gloucester (N.J.), the No. 2-ranked team in the country.
“We want to play the best possible competition to get us ready for the region,” Everett said. “We don’t care too much about the record outside the region.”
Everett played high school baseball at Cardozo and played for Queensborough as well as the Long Island Cardinals and Long Island Mets. He coached the Long Island Cardinals team that won a national championship in 1999.
Everett coached Queensborough to a 26-12 record last year, a season in which the team did not play a single inning until the final weekend of March. After winning the CUNYAC crown, fourth-seeded Queensborough was eliminated from the double-elimination Region XV tournament by Suffolk and Dutchess.
“We plan to be in the regional and make some noise this year,” Everett said. “Even though we’re young, we’re talented.”
Only two starters are coming back to the program from last year, both Queens-bred ball players. Centerfielder John Vasquez (Cardozo) and second baseman Ricky Cruz (Long Island City) will be returning, while the rest of the team is made up primarily of freshmen, including the entire starting pitching rotation.
Mike Boothby (Cleveland), Dan Rosenbluth (Cardozo), Mark Rios (John Adams) and Danny DoiGuardi (Flushing) are making their collegiate debuts this season. The lone college experience on the pitching staff belongs to sophomore Danny Woods (St. Mary’s-Manhasset), a Flushing resident who will work out of the bullpen.
The lineup will feature catcher Anthony Gonzalez (Grand Street Campus), who transferred out of New Mexico Junior College but still has all his eligibility, as well as infielders Frankie Terzo (Holy Cross), Mario Arthur (Aviation) Felipe Martinez (Mount St. Michael) and Pete Petrides (St. Dominic’s).
Dave Mercado (Long Island City), Tommy Reo (Lynbrook, L.I.) and Jason Martinez (Richmond Hill) are expected to see time in the outfield.
“Now that I know what I have on the team, I can set things up better,” Everett said. “To get them some game experience was really good for the team.”
The Queensborough Community College Tigers were slated to kick off the 2004 CUNYAC campaign Wednesday against Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
