Baseball
Coaches
Head Coach Matt Palisin
Matt Palisin completed his eighth season as head coach at Fredonia State in 2010.
The past two seasons have been the two winningest seasons in school history. In 2010, the Devils went 21-13. The previous season, the team set a school record with 26 wins, was ranked as high a No. 4 in the New York region and was selected to host the ECAC New York Regional Tournament as the No. 1 seed. In addition, they received votes for the Top 25 in the d3baseball.com weekly poll for the first time.
In 2010, the Devils set new school standards in batting (.347) and fielding percentage (.967), ranking 14th nationall in that category. In 2009, the team set nearly every school mark, including hits (444), doubles (76), RBI (263), stolen bases (110), complete games (14) and runs (290). In addition to seven players making the all conference team in that span, four Devils -- Jordan Basile, Josh Greco, Don Kirsch and Rob Herrmann -- were named the to Upstate New York All Region team. Another quartet -- Jeremy Borst (2009), Taylor Gahagen (2009), Joe Kephart (2010) and Kirsch (2008) -- earned Rawlings/ABCA New York Region Gold Glove Awards.
The 2009 season also saw the Devils rank highly in several categories. Among the 359 DIII teams, the Devils ranked in fewest walks per nine innings (10th, 2.63), stolen bases per game (11th, 2.9), ERA (20th, 3.77) and team batting average (34th, .343)
Palisin began his coaching career at Penn State Behrend, where he served as an assistant coach for five seasons. He also spent one season as the pitching coach at Gannon University. Palisin then took over the baseball program for three seasons at Hilbert College in 1999.
Palisin starred at Harborcreek (Pa.) High School, where he was a two-time second-team all county selection playing for the legendary Paul Foust. Palisin went on to play collegiately at Penn State Behrend for two years before transferring to Embry-Riddle University for his final two seasons, playing under National Coach of the Year Greg Guilliams. Following his collegiate career, he played four seasons of professional baseball. His teams won Frontier League titles in 1993 (Zanesville Greys) and 1994 (Erie Sailors). Still an active player, Palisin won his seventh Glenwood League baseball title this past summer. Palisin graduated from Penn State Behrend in 1994 with a degree in chemistry. He resides in Fredonia with his wife Lori and daughter Danielle.
Chad Bongiovanni has been with the Blue Devils for four seasons. In each of his first three years working with the Devil hitters, the team set school records in hits (320 in 2007; 380 in 2008; and 444 in 2009). In 2010, the Devils had a team-record .347 batting average.
Bongiovanni played collegiately at the University of Charleston. He was a three-time all conference selection as a catcher at the Division II school. His senior year, he was named National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's NCAA Division II All-North Atlantic Region second team.
Bongiovanni's duties include working with the team's hitters and catchers, throwing batting practice, hitting pregame and dragging the infield. He is currently an Elementary Education teacher at Love School in Jamestown as well as a certifed umpire.
Kyle Adams has been with the Devils for eight seasons -- four as a player and four as a coach. Adams was a four-year starter and the team's all-time leader in games played. He ranks second in career doubles and in the top 10 in hits. He played shortstop, outfield, and saw action as a pitcher.
Adams' duties working with the defense and hitters, coaching first base and fundraising organization. The Devils ranked 14th in fielding percentage in 2010 under his guidance. Adams graduated with honors with a degree in Education. As honors student as an undergrad, He is earned his Master's Degree in the spring of 2010 and currently teaches in the Dunkirk School District.
Don Kirsch joined the Blue Devil staff this fall. A stellar career saw Kirsch tie the Blue Devils all-time career batting mark (.388), earn all conference and all region honors, and earn a Rawlings Gold Glove Award. He will earn his degree in education this fall, and begin work on his Master's in January.
Volunteer Assistant Josh Melquist
