Overview
Stockton Baseball made history in 2024 by becoming the first Osprey baseball team ever to win the NJAC regular season title and earn the No. 1 seed for the NJAC Tournament. Stockton won 22 games, just one shy of the school record, for the second year in a row and finished at 22-18.
 
Head coach Rich Gawlak steered an Osprey team that was ranked seventh in the NJAC preseason coaches poll to the top of the standings with a 12-6 conference record. Offensively, Stockton led the league in hit by pitch (91) and finished second in triples (14) while the pitchers were second in saves (12).
 
Lineup stability and balance were keys, with eight players starting at least 34 of Stockton's 40 games. All eight drove in 22 or more runs and five of them scored at least 29 runs. Five Osprey pitchers earned at least three victories apiece.
 
Awards
Reece Miller: NJAC Fireman of the Year, ABCA Region 4 Second Team, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Max Kaplan: NJAC First Team, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Robbie Ford: NJAC Second Team
Tony Gatti: NJAC Honorable Mention
Evan Bresnen: NJAC Player of the Week 4/1/24
Stephen DeMilio: College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Stockton Coaching Staff: Jeff Albies NJAC Coaching Staff of the Year
 
Team Leaders
Batting Average: Tony Gatti, .358
Hits: Tony Gatti, 62
Runs: Nick Avagnano, 42
Doubles: Jordan Nitti, Nick Avagnano, 12
Triples: Tony Gatti, 3
Home Runs: Nick Avagnano, 6
RBI: Nick Avagnano, 33
Stolen Bases: Tony Gatti, 25
Wins: Stephen DeMilio, 5
ERA: Zack McCabe, 3.37
Strikeouts: Stephen DeMilio, 50
Saves: Reece Miller, 8
 
Highlights

• Max Kaplan was an NJAC First Team selection after batting .308 overall (.345 in NJAC games) with 41 hits, 32 runs, 25 RBI, four home runs and 27 walks, tying for sixth in a season at Stockton. Kaplan reached the 100-hit mark and broke into the top 10 in Stockton history with 52 career walks.
• Kaplan finished second in the NJAC in hit by pitch (17), tied for sixth in on-base percentage (.478) and 10th in walks (27). The outfielder also compiled a 31-game reached base streak during the season.
• Robbie Ford had a tremendous season of NJAC play as evidenced by an NJAC Second Team honor. In 18 league games, Ford batted a team-high .355, with 22 hits, 18 RBI and 10 runs. Overall, Ford tallied 30 hits, 22 RBI and 19 runs. He brought his career total to 98 hits.
• Sophomore Tony Gatti led the team in hitting (.358) and became just the fourth Osprey to bang out more than 60 hits (62, 9th in NJAC) in a season. Gatti also led the team with three triples (T-5th in NJAC), 39 runs (T-7th in Stockton history), and his 25 steals led the team and ranked third in the conference, earning an NJAC Honorable Mention spot.
• Gatti also reached the 100-hit plateau and registered team bests of 18 multi-hit games and a 19-game hitting streak during the season.
• Jordan Nitti continued to assault the record books with another fine season. The junior was one of two players to start all 40 games and batted .323 with 54 hits (2nd on team), 12 doubles (T-1st on team), 29 runs, 27 RBI and two homers. Nitti has a chance to break the school career records for doubles and hits next season.
• Sophomore catcher Cooper Fiore had a strong year, leading the team with 35 walks (T-2nd in NJAC) to break the school record that was set in 2010. Fiore batted .282 with 33 hits and 23 runs, led the team with a .485 on-base percentage (3rd in NJAC) and fashioned an incredible on-base streak of 58 straight games dating back to the 2023 season.
• Sophomore Nick Avagnano had a breakout season by batting .342 while leading the team with 42 runs (10th in NJAC, T-3rd in a season at Stockton) and six homers (T-7th in NJAC). Avagnano finished third in the conference in hit by pitch (16), eighth in OPS (1.027) and ninth in slugging percentage (.570). He also tied for the team lead in doubles (12).
• Evan Bresnen helped solidify the infield at shortstop in his first season at Stockton. Bresnen batted .284 with seven doubles, 24 RBI and 22 runs. His season included 14 multi-hit games and an 11-game hitting streak.
• Tucker Elder contributed 33 runs (3rd on team), four homers (T-2nd on team) and 27 RBI (T-2nd on team) while walking 24 times (3rd on team). Elder was a perfect 10-10 in steals. He moved into fifth in Stockton history in walks (63), sixth in home runs (10) and tied for 10th in stolen bases (37).
• Reece Miller became Stockton's first-ever NJAC Fireman of the Year winner with eight saves to lead the league and finish sixth in NCAA Division III with the second highest season total ever at Stockton. Miller struck out 26 hitters in 21.2 innings, won two games and posted a 2.91 ERA. His 11 career saves place him second all-time at Stockton.
• Sophomores Stephen DeMilio, Alfonso Lombardi, and Zack McCabe were key on the mound this season. DeMilio led the team with five wins, 56.0 innings pitched and 50 strikeouts. He tied for second in the NJAC in batters struck out looking (21) and tied for sixth in wins. DeMilio fanned a career-high nine batters in a complete game against New Jersey City (4/20/24).
• McCabe won three times and was second to DeMilio with 50.2 innings of work. He finished sixth in the NJAC in opposing batting average (.232) and eighth in ERA (team-best 3.37) to go with 35 strikeouts.
• Lombardi won three games, including his first career shutout against St. Joseph's-LI (3/3/24) with seven strikeouts for a personal best. In 42.2 innings, he fashioned a 4.34 ERA with 27 strikeouts.
• Rob Jeans came on strong late in the season as a starter and finished second on the team in ERA (4.21) and strikeouts (39) while hurling 47.0 innings and collecting three wins. Jeans tossed his first career complete game against TCNJ (4/11/24) and fanned a career-best nine hitters against Kean (4/26/24).
• Kyle Cipolla and Dylan Sakele were solid out of the bullpen. Sakele appeared in 15 games, tying for fifth in a season at Stockton, while Cipolla saw action in 14 games. Cipolla and Sakele tied for eighth in the NJAC with two saves apiece.
• Freshmen Danny Furlong and Danny Snyder were key newcomers on the pitching staff. Snyder saw action in eight games out of the pen with a 3.60 ERA in 10.0 innings with 12 strikeouts. Furlong pitched in four games with one start.
• Mike Schiattarella finished his fine career second in Stockton history in strikeouts (169), fifth in innings pitched (178) and tied for sixth in wins (12).