By Ben Brown ’14
Photo Courtesy of Mark Mohrman
If you build it, they will come. And they have come for Baseball Head Coach Joe Kinney.
Since arriving at Lafayette for the 2000 season, Kinney has rejuvenated the baseball program. He has overseen an overhaul of facilities and transformed the team into an annual Patriot League contender.
Before coming to Lafayette, the 1988 Lehigh University alumnus was an assistant coach at Navy and frequently saw Lafayette’s baseball facilities.
“They were not good, to be quite honest,” Kinney said of Lafayette’s field.
To compete in the Patriot League, Kinney made it a priority to give the facilities a facelift.
“We were going to have to do something to, one, enhance the facility for our current student athletes. And two, to help any recruiting.”
Thanks to Kinney’s efforts, renovations to the baseball field took place in 2004. Additions included a grandstand with chair-back seats and and bleachers, a press box, and updated dugouts.
But Kinney explained that it was not all his doing. Generous donations helped give Kinney and his players their own field of dreams.
“Somebody passed away and his teammates wanted to do something,” he said. “That kind of got us a scoreboard. Someone else wanted to do something and that got us a fence and a warning track. It ballooned to a complete renovation of our locker room facility, which is pretty nice.”
Now, Kinney is reaping the benefits.
Fruitful recruiting classes have given Kinney over 40 All-Patriot League selections, three Patriot League Players of the Year, and pitcher Ian Dickson ‘12, who was selected in the 35th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs.
Wins have been common too. Lafayette won the Liberty Bell Classic, a tournament of Division 1 metro-Philadelphia colleges, in 2007 and 2008 in front of crowds at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
But a 33-win season in 2007 netted Kinney’s team a NCAA Regional tournament berth, before falling to Virginia and Rutgers in double-elimination.
“I had a perfect storm of a team that year. I had an incredibly strong senior class, talented players, talented leaders, and strong character,” Kinney said of his 2007 regional qualifying team. “It’s rewarding personally, but you’re really, really happy for your players. I’m still incredibly close with a lot of guys on that team.”
But now the former Patriot League Coach of the Year is looking to get back on top, having made PL Tournament appearances the last two seasons.
“Obviously winning the Patriot League is our primary goal year in year out. It’s a realistic goal the way the league is set up.”
Key returning players such as outfielder Andrew Santomauro ‘14, pitcher Alex Farina ‘15, and catcher Parker Hills ‘15 appear poised to get back to PL glory.
“Coach Kinney’s playing style of small ball fits perfectly with my speed and aggressive role,” Santomauro said. “Whenever I’m on base I’m given the green light to steal a base or try to go first to third. He’s been a great mentor figure to me and has really elevated my game from when I first arrived here.”
As promised, things have most definitely come for Kinney.