2007 Dominican College Baseball Season Summary
The Dominican College baseball team finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 19-19 and a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) record of 9-7. The team finished the regular season in fourth place in the CACC and received the fourth seed in the tournament.
In the CACC tournament, the Chargers defeated the top seeded Cougars of Caldwell College, 12-11, in the opening round. Tommy Maloney, Jose Escalera, and Brian Smith each had three hits a piece in the win. In the second round, Dominican fell to second-seeded and eventual winner, Wilmington College, 1-0. DC then lost a tough 5-4 game in ten innings to Caldwell College, thus ending the season for the Chargers.
Sophomore shortstop, Jose Made, started 36 of 38 games this season for the Chargers. He led the team with a .338 batting average, 49 hits, 38 RBIs and 10 doubles. He was tied for first on the team with three triples and was tied for the lead in home runs with four on the year. He was a perfect 11-11 in stolen bases and finsihed the year with a .931 fielding percentage. Made was 22nd in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) in batting average and tied for first in triples. He was named to the All-CACC First Team for the second straight year and earned Daktronics NCAA Division II Baseball All-Northeast Region Second Team honors for his efforts. He was also named to the 2007 NCBWA Northeast All-Region First Team.
Senior catcher, Peter Gilardo, had a .316 batting average in 35 games with 31 runs scored and four home runs. He is ranked third in the conference in throwing out runners with 16 on the season. Gilardo is ranked 29th in the CACC in batting average and has been a captain of the Chargers for the last two years and earned All-CACC Second Team honors for the past four seasons.
Freshman Maloney finished the season with a .303 average, scored 28 runs, finished second on the team with 40 hits, tied for second with nine doubles and was tied for the lead in both triples and home runs with three and four respectively.
Fellow freshman, Yordis Veras, had a strong year with a .313 batting average and swiping 9 out of 11 stolen bases on the season. Senior Joe DiMicelli sported a .333 batting average in 25 games.
Senior starter Matt Dilgen led the Chargers on the mound with a 4-1 record in 11 appearances. He had a 5.69 ERA in 55 1/3 innings with 45 strikeouts. Senior Joseph Catanese led the team, striking out 65 opponents in 62 2/3 innings, while Daniel Bucci struck out 56 batters in 56 innings.
With the loss of three starting pitchers and
five position players to graduation, the Chargers will rely on the
returning upper classmen to guide the team in the 2008 season and
return the NCAA Regional Tournament.