AMCC Baseball Coaches are predicting La Roche College to win the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship for the seventh time. The Redhawks are also garnering national recognition as they are ranked in all three top 25 polls and as high as sixth in the nation. La Roche was 35-10 last season and advanced to the NCAA Regional for the sixth time in seven years.
2018 AMCC Pitcher of the Year, Tre Thomas, is expected to repeat as the league's top pitcher. Thomas was an All-American in 2018, pitching to nine wins, 70 strikeouts, and a 1.47 ERA in 61.1 innings. He was All-Region, All-Conference, AMCC All-Tournament-Team and twice the AMCC Pitcher of the Week. Thomas led the AMCC in wins and ERA, and ranked 16th and 18th nationally in each category.
Joe Professori is an AMCC Preseason Player to Watch. Professori is one of the most versatile players in the AMCC Conference. In 2018, he hit .378 with 65 hits, 41 runs, 40 RBIs, and 2 home runs. Professori tied for the AMCC lead and ranked 16th nationally with 6 triples. He ranked 2nd in the AMCC in plate appearances, 3rd in at bats and hits, 7th in total bases, and 9th in walks and batting average.
La Roche begins their season with three games in Baltimore, MD against some of the toughest competition in the country. The Redhawks play host Johns Hopkins on Friday, March 1, and then #8 Cortland and Rutgers-Camden on the following day.
For the first time, La Roche is traveling to the Florida Gulf side for their spring break trip. They head to Port Charlotte, FL and the Snowbird Baseball Classic and will play eight games between March 9-14. 2018 New York Regional Champion and #7 Swarthmore highlights their spring break schedule.
The Redhawks typically play one of the more difficult non-conference schedules, and 2019 is no exception. La Roche hosts #1 Wooster on April 7. They play two 2018 NCAA Regional teams, traveling to Marietta on March 20, and hosting Baldwin Wallace on April 22.
La Roche kicks off conference play on March 23 when they travel to Alfred State. They close the regular season and senior day on April 27 against Pitt-Bradford.