Last year the Falmouth Commodores came painfully close to ending their championship drought. The team, which has not won the title since 1980, was back in the finals against Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, but could not stop the Y-D team from winning its third title in four years. It was the Commodores’ second trip to the finals in four seasons, and each time they were bettered by Y-D.

     This year General Manager Dan Dunn and field manager Jeff Trundy have put together an impressive roster of talented players who hope to end the drought. With an emphasis on offense, the team looks like it should be able to put up some big numbers at the plate.

Position Players

     Tim Fedroff of the University of North Carolina has star written all over him. Fedroff was a Freshman All-American last year and All-ACC selection, after posting a monster rookie campaign that saw him hit .344 with a .498 slugging percentage. This past season, as a sophomore, the Tar Heel was even better, hitting .398 with 12 homers and 69 runs batted in. He will most likely be the Commodores everyday No. 3 or 4 hitter in the lineup once he arrives in Falmouth from the College World Series, where UNC hopes to win a national title.

     Another potential big bat for the Commodores is corner infielder Hunter Morris of Auburn University. Morris arrived at college with a big reputation and he lived up to it as a rookie, leading the team in batting average with a .351. He was second in both homers (11) and RBIs (49) as well. Morris was a second-round pick by the Red Sox in last year’s draft but opted to play college ball instead.

     Patrolling centerfield for the hometown team will be Notre Dame’s AJ Pollack, who is certain to be a favorite of the faithful. Pollock has put up big numbers in his first two years for the Fighting Irish, batting .352 with 28 steals, in 31 attempts. He also produced 41 RBIs. As a freshman he hit .372 for the Irish. Pollock will probably bat leadoff for the team.

     Last year the Commodores got the MVP of the Cape League, Conor Gillaspie, from Wichita State. Ryan Jones, a Shockers’ outfielder, would love to have a year like that. Jones certainly made the most of increased playing time as a sophomore this past season. After appearing in just 10 games as a freshman, Jones was a big part of the Shockers winning season as he batted .326 for the team with 16 stolen bases and a pair of homers. He started every game that the Shockers played this year.

     Third baseman Diego Seastrunk will bring a big bat to Falmouth once he and the Rice Owls are done playing in the College World Series. Seastrunk has been a key contributor to the Owls’ deep run through the tournament. This year he has batted .352, hitting mostly out of the No. 3 spot in the order. He smacked five homers for Rice and drove in 57 runs this season.

     UCLA’s Gabe Cohen is coming to the Cape looking to work on his swing. An All-First Team Freshman last year, as named by Baseball America, Cohen’s batting average dipped to just .204 this year. While the average was low, his power numbers were still good as he smashed nine homers and drove in 29 runs. The power hitter is hoping to cut down on his strikeouts, which plagued him at UCLA as he fanned about once in every three trips to the plate. Last year Cohen had a strong rookie campaign for UCLA as he hit .345 for the season (.400 in league play) and had 10 home runs.

     Slick-fielding shortstop Joey Wong will return to the Commodores for his second go-round at the Arnie Allen Diamond. Wong had a great season with the glove for Falmouth last year and batted .252 with five stolen bases. This year Wong has batted .244 for the Beavers.

     Kevin Nolan will definitely have people at the ballpark rooting for him regularly. Nolan is a native New Englander, hailing from New Hampshire. The Winthrop University infielder was a table-setter for the Eagles, batting .319 with 11 stolen bases. As a freshman he batted .293. Nolan plays both third base and shortstop for WU.

     The two men who will be behind the dish for the Commodores are Trevor Coleman of Missouri and Michael Thomas of Southern University. Coleman had a good year for Mizzou, batting .295 with four homers and nine doubles. He hit nine homers a year ago as a freshman. Thomas is considered a very good prospect behind the plate, with a lightning-quick release to second.

     At Jacksonville State, Ben Tootle was the go-to starter all season long. Tootle, a right-handed sophomore, put up an impressive 10-2 record, with 14 starts for his team. He struck out 79 batters in 86 innings of work and had a low ERA of 3.87.

     Nate Striz has the makings of an ace for the Commodores on the hill. Once the Tar Heels of North Carolina finish their run through the World Series, he hopes to come to Cape Cod and start striking out Cape Leaguers. Striz is one of the top hurlers for the Heels, posting big numbers this year as a freshman after deciding against signing with the Minnesota Twins, who drafted him in the fifth round of last year’s draft. Striz threw mostly out of the bullpen this season and was lights out, posting a 2.00 ERA over 27 innings of work. He averaged better than a strikeout per inning and gave up just 22 base hits and six earned runs.

     Pitchers

     Right-hander Chad Bettis stayed close to home, going to Texas Tech University. The right-hander from Lubbock, Texas, was considered one of the top pitching prospects coming out of high school in the Lone Star State. He was 4-5 in his freshman season at TT with a 6.75 earned run average. 

     Lefty Rex Brothers was a workhorse for Lipscomb University. Brothers worked 97 innings this year and fanned a batter per frame, finishing with a total of 97 K’s. He posted a 4-5 record, making 15 starts and 18 total appearances. The sophomore was the Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007 as he led his team in earned run average.

     Jorge Reyes will join the Commodores this weekend after finishing his classes at Oregon State. Reyes was the Most Outstanding Player last year for the OSU Beavers, pitching lights out for the team in relief. He was also named to the Baseball America All-Freshman second team. This year has been a bit up-and-down for Reyes. As a starter this year he went 4-3 with a 7.08 ERA. 

     Jonathan Kountis comes from a school you have probably never heard of: Ohio Dominican. After this season, though, there’s a good chance that baseball fans will have him on their radar screens. Kountis was ranked as the third-best prospect in the Alaska League last summer, leading the league in strikeouts. He also was 9-2 as a freshman in 2007 and went 6-2 for the Panthers this past season.

     Travis Lawler is a right-handed hurler from the University of Florida. The pitcher saw time in 11 games this year, putting up a 2-0 record as a freshman with an earned run average of 4.88.

     Nick Tepesch comes to Falmouth from the University of Missouri. Tepesch worked mainly out of the bullpen this season for the Tigers, seeing time in 22 games. He posted a 4.85 ERA and a 1-3 record.

     Aaron Loup continues the tradition of Tulane Green Wave players coming to Falmouth. Loup saw time as both a starter and reliever during his sophomore season, going 2-3 overall with an ERA of 5.66.

     Evan Danielli is highly regarded by the Notre Dame baseball program and has a bright future ahead of him. As a freshman this past season he appeared in nine games for the Irish, making one start. He posted an ERA of an even 5.00 with 20 Ks in 29 innings of work.

     Nate Karns is another player hoping to use his Cape League experience to make some adjustments and get things headed back in the right direction. As a freshman, Karns was great for the Wolfpack of Texas Tech. His sophomore year didn’t go quite as well, as he had an ERA over eight and went 3-6 over 12 starts.

     Dan Klein had an up-and-down rookie year at UCLA. The righty gave up nearly a run an inning, but was 2-2 overall in his seven starts. With a year of experience under his belt, he’s hoping to have a nice season for the Commodores and build on it next spring.

     Returning Commodore Preston Claiborne of Tulane University will be a favorite to fill the closer’s role for the Commodores this summer. Dunn said that the righty is able to gear up quickly for an appearance and get right out on the hill and throw strikes. Last summer Claiborne’s three wins were tied for second on the team, while he posted a 3.32 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 19 innings of work. He also saw a little time at the plate, posting three hits with a double and two RBIs in limited at-bats. This past season with the Green Wave, Claiborne was 2-1 with three saves and 34 strikeouts in 39 innings.

     Alex Wilson, a junior at Texas A&M, will see time on the hill for the Commodores, most likely as a starter. Wilson saw limited time for the Commodores last season before having things shut down due to an injury, which kept him from pitching for the Big 12 champions this season. He is now healthy, though, and hopes to get back into form. As a sophomore he was 6-2 at Winthrop University with a 2.51 ERA, and opponents only batted .207 against him.

     Falmouth also has several temporary players on the roster to start the year. One of those temps is WPI infielder Scott McNee, who played at Falmouth High School and is a star at WPI. Joining McNee as temps will be first baseman Darin Ruf of Creighton, infielder Jimmy Cesario of Houston, Rob Segiden, a third baseman from Tulane, outfielder Justin Miller of Ohio State, and Domenic Di Ricco of Cornell. Pitching temps include Schaeffer Hall of Kansas, Jared Gayhart of Rice, and Chris Gloor of Quinnipiac.