2012 Preview: Rhode Island

The is our 1st team preview of the 2012 season, stay tuned for the other 10 in the coming days.

Kicking off the team previews is Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Rams
2011 Record (A10 Play): 7-46 (2-18)**Though the official URI website still has it listed as 2-19. They obviously weren't aware that there were only 20 conference games...
Returning Position Players: Nicole Massoni C, Kelly Coker OF, Fallon Scorpio 3B, Brittany Julich OF, Stacey Fox C, Jocelyn Mattison 1B, Melissa Parente IF, Jhokania DeLos Santos OF, Courtney Prendergast SS, Amy Gleason IF
Pitchers: Erika Szymanski P, Alison Hartzell P, Sam Bedore P, Cassie Baker P 
Losses: Amie Archambault C, Amanda Sbei IF, Jayshree Narendran P, Stacey Stanovich P, Shelby Marquis OF, Charlotte Conaway 2B
Newcomers: Jasmine Clarke C, Jojo Meunier P, Megan Congro OF, Kathleen Davis OF, Kelsey Gammell IF, Cara Martin P, Deanna Wolf IF, Jenna Newborn C, Meghan Kelly IF

Sam Bedore

Pitching: The Rams come into 2012 with one of the largest and youngest pitching staffs in the conference. The Rams struggled quite a bit in the circle in 2011, finishing with a 6.92 ERA and that figure will have to improve if URI is to advance to the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Sam Bedore and Alison Hartzell are the top returnees in the circle for the Rams and they will be counted on for a lot of innings this. Erika Szymanski and Cassie Baker are also back and they will look to build on their 2011 seasons. Rhode Island has also added two freshmen in the circle with Jojo Meunier and Cara Martin. Meunier and Martin figure to add depth in the circle for the Rams, in addition to possibly challenging the others for the role of staff ace. 

Nicole Massoni

Catching: The Rams come into the season with four possibilities at catcher: Stacey Fox, Nicole Massoni, Jasmine Clarke, and Jenna Newborn. Massoni, though will likely hold down the designated player position this year so the starting catcher position will likely come down to Fox, Clarke, and Newborn. Massoni was a force at the plate for the Rams last season hitting .287 with 11 HR and 30 RBI. Rhode Island struggled mightily to throw out runners on the bases last year, so the nod might go to the catcher with the best arm.

Jocelyn Mattison

Infielders: The good thing for URI and Coach Erin Layton is that just about every infielder returns from last season, notably Fallon Scorpio and  Jocelyn Mattison, That duo started almost every game as freshmen and they provided stability for the Rams, both at the corners and in the batting lineup. Scorpio had a solid first season, hitting .263 with 6 HR and 28 RBI and she will be counted on to provide valuable protection in the URI order for Massoni. The shortstop and second base positions could go any of a number of directions with Amy Gleason and Courtney Prendergast having the inside track among the returnees. The Rams do have three freshmen infielders on the roster who will challenge the returnees for any of the starting positions.

Kelly Coker

Outfielders: Coach Layton also brings back most of her outfield from 2011, notably Kelly Coker and Brittany Julich who were steady consistent performers for Rhode Island. Coker hit .264 with 38 hits, 1 HR, 14 RBI, and 9 steals and Julich hit .252 with 32 hits, 1 HR, and 10 RBI. Both Coker and Julich will likely start for URI again in 2012. That leaves the final outfield spot to be decided and that will likely come down to retrunees Jhokania DeLos Santos and Erika Szymanski and freshmen Megan Congro and Kathleen Davis. It is a spot that is up for grabs and all of these players may get a shot at it this year.


Schedule: URI will be challenged early on with games against Central Arkansas, Georgia State, Elon, and Maryland, but they should fair much better than in 2011. Coach Layton did a good job lining up this year's schedule after a rough 2011 season, which saw them win just 7 games. There are definitely quite a few opportunities for victories. The A10 schedule will see the Rams host just 8 games, which is unfortunate for this young team, but that's how it is.


Postseason prognosis: Rhode Island will definitely finish with more than 7 wins in 2012 and based on its schedule,  probably more than 10. This team will be much better this season and they will definitely be competitive in a lot more games. The postseason prognosis doesn't look that great for the Rams because frankly the rest of the conference is loaded this year and it would be a big surprise to see URI finish any spot above 10th.