MADISON, N.J. - Led by first-year Head Coach John Fugett, the Drew University baseball team will embark on a new era when it opens the 2019 season this weekend at Kean University.

Fugett took over the helm in July, becoming the 14th head coach in program history and only the third since 1984. He brings seven years of Division I experience after serving as a full-time assistant coach, pitching coach, and recruiting coordinator at Lehigh University.

"I am excited to get going," said Fugett, who brings back 24 players from last year's squad. "The team had great winter workouts, and now it's time to get on the field and play some baseball."

The Rangers return all but two position-player starters from last year's team that went 17-21 and 7-11 in the Landmark Conference.
 
"We are a very experienced team," noted Fugett. "Almost all of our starters have played a lot of college baseball and have been providing a great example for our younger players. We will lean on those guys early as we get our feet wet.
 
"I think our strength will be our veteran position-player group," continued Fugett. "We will play very good defense and have a lot of veteran at-bats, and as long as we throw strikes, we should be able to take advantage of it."
 
Leading the way for the Blue and Green is senior shortstop Zach Lipshitz, who batted .395 last season to earn First Team All-Landmark Conference honors. A three-year starter, he has played in over 100 games and piled up 123 hits while batting .346 for his career.

Joining Lipshitz in the infield will be seniors Eric DiPietro and Joseph Grossane, who started nearly every game at first base and third base, respectively, last season. The lone infield vacancy is at second base, where junior Bryan Reagle is among the frontrunners looking to take over.
 
Other infielders vying for playing time will be sophomore Cole Bosch and freshmen Shane Benson and Chris Hess.
 
At catcher, Drew brings back a pair of players who platooned as starters last season, as juniors Brent Lincoln and Anthony Tagliaferro made 15 starts apiece. Lincoln batted .322 and posted a .467 on-base percentage. Junior Brian Dagostino and freshmen Mitchell Lavoie and Justin Melick will also provide depth and push for innings behind the plate.

In the outfield, junior Max Felsenstein leads the way after hitting .329 a year ago as the team's starting centerfielder. Although the club will miss all-conference performer Ryan Sabbag, the Rangers return a pair of part-time starters in the corner outfield positions from last season. Senior Jayson Mitch is back after hitting .317 while starting 17 games in leftfield, and classmate Mike Pettigrew returns after batting .298 over 22 starts in right.
 
Also contending for playing time in the outfield will be junior Vinny Carlesi; junior transfer Jon Cocchio; sophomores Brandon Radd and Tom Burr; and freshman Ryan Nagle.

At designated hitter, junior Matthew Lange returns after starting 26 games last season. He hit .340 during his freshman campaign.

On the mound, Drew brings back 11 pitchers from last year's squad. The staff will be led by a pair of Rangers who served as regular starters from a year ago, including junior Pete Violante, who went 1-2 with a 4.99 ERA over 12 games and nine starts while leading the team with 49 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings. He will be joined by classmate Jeff Serin, who was 3-2 over 12 games and seven starts.

A number of additional Rangers will compete for a starting role. Senior Joshua Williams returns after leading the team with 16 appearances in 2018. He also made two starts and finished 3-3 with a 3.28 ERA and one save while fanning 33 over 35 1/3 innings.

Eight additional pitchers will return, including seniors Davis Fouts, who finished second on the team with 15 appearances, and Jendy Castillo, who pitched in 14 games and made a pair of starts. Other returners include seniors Harry Cohen, Zach Luke, and Brian Pascale; juniors Brandon Bottari and Connor Henry, and sophomore Tim Jinks.
 
Rounding out the pitching staff are freshmen Teddy Hoxie, Grant Purpura, Benjamin Savitz.
 
The Rangers play their season opener on Friday, when they visit Kean University in a non-conference tilt starting at 2:30 p.m. Drew returns to Kean on Saturday for another non-league match-up with Alvernia University. The Rangers will fly to Southern California for their Spring Break trip, which will consist of eight games from March 2-7. The team plays its home and Landmark Conference opener on March 16 with a doubleheader versus Moravian College.