MD JUCO Preview: CCBC Dundalk

February 20, 2019
Kyle Campbell
Maryland Scouting Director

Follow @PBRMaryland
Facebook & Instagram

JUCO programs across the state of Maryland began preseason practices back in early January. As the calendar quickly turns and with several teams getting ready to open up their 2019 campaigns in the next few weeks, we begin our coverage of the Maryland JUCO Conference with a preseason preview of all fourteen schools. In each preview, we will take a look back at the 2018 season, examine key players that have moved on or left the program, look at some new faces and key players for the upcoming season, and finally take a sneak peak at whats ahead for the 2019 season. We continue our preseason previews with a look at the CCBC Dundalk Lions.

CCBC Dundalk 2019 SEASON PREVIEW

Head Coach: Jon Karsos (3rd Season - 1st in Second Stint)
Mascot: Lions
2018 Record: 17-25
2018 MD JUCO Finish: 12th Place
2018 DII Region XX Finish: Lost in the first game of the Opening Round.
Twitter Handle: @CCBCDunBaseball
CLICK HERE to view the CCBC Dundalk Baseball Website
CLICK HERE to view the CCBC Dundalk 2019 Baseball Schedule
CLICK HERE to view the CCBC Dundalk 2019 Baseball Roster

2019 PBR JUCO NATIONAL PRESEASON RANK: NR

Returning Players with 2018 Postseason Honors

Andy Duarte: NJCAA All-Region XX DII - Honorable Mention
Ivan Martinez: NJCAA All-Region XX DII - Second Team

Returning Starters: 5

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Ethan Alioto	SS	30	.289	.422	.386	22	24	6	1	0	13	7
Andy Duarte	C	33	.255	.318	.357	13	25	3	2	1	20	2
Bryant Gutierrez	C/1B	33	.262	.342	.466	20	27	4	1	5	23	0
Charles Lebron	3B	27	.291	.400	.593	19	25	6	1	6	25	1
Ivan Martinez	OF	39	.324	.405	.514	32	36	8	2	3	14	13
Aarron Rodriguez	OF	35	.213	.355	.270	10	19	3	1	0	13	3

Returning Pitchers: 5

PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Devin Bell	RHP	5	0	0	0	7.1	7	7	5	6	7	6.14
Chance Gensler	LHP	9	0	6	0	28.1	29	35	31	29	15	9.85
Creed Mourey	RHP	11	2	3	0	43.0	36	38	24	24	38	5.02
Joe Rubalcaba	RHP	11	3	3	0	30.1	31	25	23	8	22	6.82
Alchi Santos-Vargas	RHP	3	0	0	0	1.2	4	11	10	8	1	54.0

Key Losses

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Shawn Dignazio	SS/RHP	37	.313	.440	.518	33	35	6	1	5	17	5
Andreas Holtzer	OF	34	.288	.363	.559	24	32	5	2	7	29	1
PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Shawn Dignazio	SS/RHP	8	4	2	0	41.0	35	26	20	21	53	4.39
Antonio Fernandez	RHP	9	4	3	0	49.1	54	40	24	10	41	4.38
Collin Fowble	RHP	12	2	2	0	34.1	42	31	26	19	26	6.82

Andreas Holtzer (Bluefield College)

Top Newcomers

Grahme Akehurst LHP North Harford (MD)
Mateo Gil 2B Grand Street Campus (NY) / Salem International College
Brent Kline RHP Sparrows Point (MD)
JP Melby C/UTL Williamsport (MD)
Jake Sheesley RHP Patterson Mill (MD)

Key Players for 2019

Ethan Alioto (So.) SS Catonsville (MD)
Devin Bell (So.) RHP Chesapeake-BC (MD)
Travis Buckmon (So.) OF Abraham Lincoln (NY)
Andy Duarte (So.) C Grand Street Campus (NY)
Chance Gensler (So.) LHP Kenwood (MD)
Mateo Gil (So.) 2B Grand Street Campus (NY) / Salem International College
Bryant Gutierrez (So.) C/1B Abraham Lincoln (NY)
Brent Kline (So.) RHP Sparrows Point (MD)
Charles Lebron (So.) 3B Grand Street Campus (NY)
Ivan Martinez (So.) OF Clifton (NY)
Creed Mourey (So.) RHP Kenwood (MD)
Aarron Rodriguez (So.) OF Telecom (NY)
Joe Rubalcaba (So.) RHP Catonsville (MD)
Jake Sheesley (Fr.) RHP Patterson Mill (MD)

2019 Committed Players

Charles Lebron - Franklin Pierce University

2019 Season Snapshot

Jon Karsos begins his second stint as the head baseball coach at CCBC Dundalk after previously leading the Lions during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. In 2012 and 2013, Karsos led the Lions to back-to-back NJCAA Region XX DII runner-up finishes and will hope to return back with what is one of the older, more experienced groups in the Maryland JUCO Conference this season.

CCBC Dundalk returns five position players, five pitchers, and four redshirts from last year's team. Returning sophomores Ethan Alioto, Andy Duarte, Bryant Gutierrez, Charles Lebron, Ivan Martinez, and Aarron Rodriguez all saw significant playing time as freshman and will be looked upon as leaders on offense. Helping to bolster the lineup in 2019 will be redshirts Travis Buckmon, JP Melby, Chad Rawlerson, and key freshman Mateo Gil and Chase Uhlich.

On the mound, CCBC Dundalk loses their number one and number two starters from a year ago in Antonio Fernandez and Shawn Dignazio. Replacing those two won't be easy but Chance Gensler, Creed Mourey, and Joe Rubalcaba each pitched over 28 innings and gained valuable experience for the Lions last season. Returning sophomores Devin Bell and Alchi Santos-Vargas figure to see their roles increased while newcomers Daris Bell, Brent Kline, Grahme Akehurst, and Jake Sheesley will add depth to the staff.

After a season of growth in 2018, this year's group of Lions look poised to catch some people off-guard. With a solid fall season under Coach Karsos' belt, CCBC Dundalk will travel to South Carolina to open things up with a four-game series against USC Lancaster. When the dust settles at the end of the year, don't be surprised to see the Lions in contention for the NJCAA Region XX DII Championship.