PROFESSIONAL ALUMNI


 

RON DARLING
class of '78

    		   

ACTIVE PROFESSIONALS
Matt Abraham '05 (Eckerd '09)
John Andreoli '08 (UConn '12)
Ryan O'Rourke '06 (Merrimack '10)
Kevin Quaranto '07 (Siena '11)
Garret Smith '07 (Boston College '11)
Lance Zawadzki '03 (Lee University '07)
click name for current stats
PAT BOURQUE
class of '65
           
Ron Darling played for the 1976 State Champions prior to attending Yale.  The Texas Rangers selected him 9th overall in the 1st round of the 1981 draft.  In 1986, he was a member of the World Series Champion New York Mets and later played for the Expos and Athletics, retiring in 1995.  Darling's father, also named Ron, was a Pioneers coach for 20 years before retiring from coaching after the 2006 season.

After graduating from St. John's and Holy Cross, Pat Bourque made his Major League debut on September 6, 1971 for the Chicago Cubs. During his four year career, he played for the Cubs, Athletics and Twins.


GREG MONTALBANO
class of '95

 
Greg was a member of the 1995 State Finalist team, as well as the District Championship teams of 1993, 1994, and 1995.  He also won the 1995 Pioneer Award for baseball.  He attended Northeastern and graduated with an engineering degree. 

He signed with the Boston Red Sox after his selection in the fifth round of the amateur draft and began his professional baseball career.  In 2001, he was named the Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

In 2005, he was elected to the Northeastern Hall of Fame.  During 2005 and 2006, Greg pitched for the Worcester Tornadoes, helping them win the 2005 CanAm League Championship.

After battling cancer for 14 years, Greg passed away in August 2009.  His positive attitude and personal strength was an inspiration to many, including the St. John's baseball players that he volunteered time to help. (link)
                                    

JEFF BERCUME
class of '05

 

                            

 TIM LAHEY
class of '00
Jeff Bercume was an infielder for the 2005 District Champions.  At Merrimack, he developed into an all-conference outfielder, breaking several offensive records along the way.  After a brief stint as a Pioneers assistant coach, Jeff signed with the Oakland Athletics.  (statistics)   Tim Lahey was the catcher for the 1999 State Finalists.  After an all-Ivy League career at Princeton, he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins and was converted to a pitcher.  His professional career also included stints with the Cubs and Phillies.  (statistics)

RYAN O'ROURKE
class of '06		     MATT ABRAHAM
class of '05
Ryan O'Rourke pitched for the 21 game winning 2005 district champions as well as the 22 game winning 2006 district finalists.  After earning a Finance degree from Merrimack, he was selected in the 13th round by the Minnesota Twin (statistics).   Matt Abraham played second base for the '05 district champions before being selected by Toronto in the 2010 MLB draft (statistics).   His brothers Brian ('03) and Mike ('11) have also played for the Pioneers.

GARRET SMITH
class of '07		     KEVIN QUARANTO
class of '07		  
Garret Smith played shortstop for the 2005 district champions as well as the 22 game winning 2006 district finalists.  He graduated from Boston College before being drafted as a pitcher by the Tampa Bay Rays (statistics).   Kevin Quaranto played first base for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Pioneers teams that went 61-14 (0.813).   He was a catcher and first baseman at Siena University before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies after the 2011 draft.  (statistics)

 
LANCE ZAWADZKI
class of '03

 Lance Zawadzki was the shortstop for the 2002 State Championship Team and won the 2003 Pioneer Award.  He played at San Diego State under MLB Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn before finishing his college career with one season at Lee University (TN).  He signed with the San Diego Padres as a 2007 fourth round pick.  In April 2010, he became the third Pioneer to appear in a major league game, singling in his first at-bat.  (statistics)  

JOHN SANDERSKI
class of '83

 Sanderski was a prodigious hitter for the Pioneers, but was converted to a pitcher after being drafted by the Red Sox in 1983.  In 1990, he coached the St. John's junior varsity team.   JOHN CLIFFORD
class of '91		 After an outstanding SJ career, John played collegiate baseball and football (Dartmouth & Villanova).  In 1995, he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies.

 MARK VENDITTI
class of '90

After graduation from Florida Tech, he played professionally for the Zanesville Greys of the independent Frontier League.  He holds Greys batting records for runs, doubles, triples, and RBI in a season.  He also led the 1994 team in HR.

  

 STEVE BIEKSHA
class of '84

 After pitching for the Pioneers, Steve attended the University of Massachusetts (Lowell).  As a junior, he was named All New England and was selected in the 1987 draft by the Seattle Mariners.  His professional career included stints with the Bellingham Mariners and Wausau Timbers.  In 1988, he led the Timbers in wins.