The Jamestown Community College baseball team, under first-year head coach Jordan Basile, lost its season opener to Gannon. Submitted photo

There are plenty of reasons for the Jamestown Community College baseball team to be optimistic heading into the 2020 National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association spring season.

That optimism starts at the top with first-year head coach Jordan Basile.

Basile, a 2005 graduate of Jamestown High School, was a standout baseball player at SUNY Fredonia. He is the Blue Devils’ record holder for hits and runs scored.

After his playing career at SUNY Fredonia ended, he became an assistant coach for the Blue Devils. He worked for the Detroit Tigers in player development during the 2011 season and was later an assistant coach at the University at Buffalo and Lake Erie College. Prior to his appointment as the head man at Jamestown CC, he held the same position for Patrick Henry (Virginia) CC, where he compiled a 64-32 record and coached 22 players who moved on to NCAA Division I or II programs.

To say Basile is looking forward to his first spring at the helm of the Jayhawks’ baseball program would be an understatement.

“It’s exciting to be back,” Basile stressed. “And I say back, because being a Jamestown native, I’ve been in the coaching game now for about seven, eight years and now I’m back in Jamestown … and now working at JCC. And (we have) a chance to really do something special here at Jamestown Community College.”

In terms of Basile’s first spring roster, he expects the pitching staff to be a tremendous asset. Freshman Elias Gordan (Fairmont, West Virginia/Notre Dame HS), sophomore Robert Hanley Aracena (Miami, Florida/Citi Christian Academy), freshman Billy Harmon (Racine, Ohio/Southern Local), freshman Bryan Francisco (Miami, Florida/Key Gates HS), sophomore Paul Tripi (Cheektowaga/Maryvale HS), sophomore Shaun Holyfield (Fluvanna, Virginia/Fluvanna County), freshman Chris Calladine (Andover/Andover Centers Look School), sophomore Evan Harrison (Mississauga, Ontario/St. Aloysius Gonzaga SS), sophomore Adonis Collado (Perth Amboy, New Jersey/Perth Amboy HS/Cenapec), sophomore Hyeonsang Cho (South Korea/Jijok HS) and freshman Junseok Lee (South Korea/home schooled) are all listed as potential pitchers on Jamestown CC’s roster.

Harrison returns to the Jayhawks after being named a Western New York Athletic Conference Second-Team selection last season after striking out 35 hitters in 49.2 innings of work. He also compiled an overall record of 3-5. The 6-foot right-hander kicked off Jamestown CC’s spring slate Monday in a road matchup against Gannon University, where he tossed six shutout innings and struck out eight while only surrendering two hits in an eventual 4-1 loss.

Holyfield, a left-hander, has already signed a national letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Norfolk State University.

“The pitching staff I think is really the strength of this team,” Basile explained. “As far as getting time on the mound, we’ve got 11 guys who can pitch. We’ve got about five or six guys who right now I can see as starting pitchers and then there’s going to be four or five guys we’re flexing between the bullpen. … We have a ton of depth on the mound and that’s an exciting part of this. They’re going to give us a chance to be in every game as long as we can continue to stay healthy and do the right things off the field as far as repair and recovery goes.”

As far as catchers, Basile mentioned freshman Lucas Porpiglia (Dunkirk/Dunkirk High School), sophomore Spencer TeWinkle (Clymer/Clymer Central School), Harmon and freshman Edwin Collado (Perth Amboy, New Jersey/Perth Amboy HS).

Around the infield, Basile was quick to point out Aracena, who’s been playing a lot of third base, but can mix in at other positions. Aracena was a WNYAC First-Team selection last spring for Jamestown CC. The 6-foot-2 sophomore hit .395 in 26 games, drove in 23 runs and collected 30 total hits, including three doubles and three triples.

German Nolasco (Spring Hill, Florida/Weeki Wachee HS), another returning Jayhawk, can play both shortstop and second base.

Freshman Wyatt Hennessy (Mukwonago, Wisconsin/Mukwonago HS) started Jamestown CC’s opener against Gannon at second base while a combination of TeWinkle, redshirt freshman Yordangel Gonzalez (Miami, Florida/Miami Jackson Senior HS) and freshman Ben Schrader (Falconer/Falconer Central School) could all see time at first base. Basile added that Harmon and Porpiglia could also find themselves in the infield mix.

The outfielders are headlined by Tripi, a returning center fielder who was a WNYAC First-Team selection in 2019 after hitting .353 in 27 games. Tripi opened his 2020 spring by going 3 for 4 against Gannon.

Redshirt freshman Cole Tippens (Fredonia/Fredonia Central School), Harmon, freshman Steven Garcia (Miami, Florida/Breto Miami Private School), freshman Matt See (Westfield/Westfield Academy) and Calladine are all options in the outfield as well.

Offensively, Basile expects the Jayhawks to be fundamentally sound at the plate and on the bases.

“I always think you have two types of teams,” Basile said. “You have a team that can rely on the home run ball and we’re seeing that more and more as you get to higher levels, relying on the home run ball to score runs. And you have a type of team that just, you know, we’re not going to rely on the home run ball to score runs. Instead, we’re going to have to manufacture runs. We’re going to have to know how to run the bases well, extremely well. We’re going to have to bunt guys over. We’re going to have to steal a lot of bases. We’re going to have to be good on the bases, but more importantly, when you have a team that doesn’t hit home runs, you have a lot of leadoff (type) hitters … in the lineup. Sometimes that 3-1 pitch isn’t a pitch you’re always trying to drive. More so, it’s how can we get on base and how can we move that runner over? … With the type of team we have, we hit a single and that single becomes a double by being good baserunners afterward.”

When it comes down to it, Basile wants to establish a firm identity for his program moving forward while also playing high-quality, winning baseball.

“The goal is always to go win it all, go win the conference,” he emphasized. “And truthfully, I don’t think it’s that far out of the question that we do it if we have 21 guys who are sitting on the roster who are all working in the same direction. Our goal is to go win that conference tournament and then see where it takes us. And although it’s the first year and we didn’t have a whole lot on the roster coming in, you’d think it would be a rebuild year. … But it’s more so a rebuild of getting JCC (baseball) back to what it was.”

DATE OPPONENT TIME

Monday, March 9 at Gannon University

Saturday, March 21 at CC of Allegheny County (2) 1 p.m.

Sunday, March 22 at Westmoreland County CC (2) noon

Sunday, March 29 vs. Niagara County CC (2) noon

Tuesday, March 31 at Niagara County CC 3 p.m.

Thursday, April 2 vs. SUNY Broome 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 4 at SUNY Broome (2) 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 5 vs. Erie CC (2) noon

Tuesday, April 7 at Erie CC 3 p.m.

Thursday, April 9 vs. Finger Lakes CC 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 11 at Finger Lakes CC (2) 1 p.m.

Tuesday, April 14 vs. Tompkins Cortland CC (2) 2 p.m.

Thursday, April 16 vs. Genesee CC 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 at Genesee CC (2) 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 19 vs. Corning CC (2) 1 p.m.

Tuesday, April 21 at Corning CC 3 p.m.

Thursday, April 23 vs. Onondaga CC 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 25 at Onondaga CC (2) 1 p.m.

Thursday, April 30 at Tompkins Cortland CC 3 p.m.