Three former Londonderry High School baseball stars are working in the heat of the summer to take a step toward their development in the sport. And all three are acquitting themselves nicely with their efforts.
LHS grads Ryan Moloney, Rob Del Signore, and Brett Evangelista are all teammates again, playing for the Nashua Silver Knights of the competitive Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) of New England.
The league – which draws talent from college hardball programs across the nation – plays a 56-game schedule, with 28 home and 28 away contests over a nine-week schedule that concludes in early August. The Nashua team’s home base is Holman Stadium.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst student/athlete Moloney and Southern New Hampshire University’s Del Signore have played significant roles on the Silver Knights’ pitching staff, helping the team post a 24-22 record in its first 46 contests.
The versatile Evangelista – who is a also teammate of Moloney at U-Mass Amherst – joined the Silver Knights late in the campaign and has made contributions at several defensive positions and at the plate as well.
Talented right-handed pitcher Moloney became the Silver Knights’ victories leader Wednesday night, July 29, when he led his squad to a hard-fought 4-3 victory over the Worcester (Mass.) Bravehearts at Holman.
The talented hurler moved his 2015 won-loss record to 4-3 and lowered his earned run average to 4.34 with a performance of 6 2/3 innings in that victory. He allowed three earned runs, four hits, and one walk while striking out five would-be Worcester hitters.
That performance upped Moloney’s innings-pitched count for the summer to 47 2/3, and he had allowed 43 hits and struck out 41 batters in that span. He pitched in nine games – all starts – for the Knights up to that juncture.
As a sophomore during the 2015 collegiate baseball season, Moloney tallied a 4-4 record with a 4.52 ERA for manager Mike Stone’s U-Mass crew, which went 16-27 overall with a 12-12 mark in the Atlantic-10 Conference.
Calling Moloney’s Londonderry High hardball career stellar wouldn’t be hyperbole. He was a four-year letter winner under coach Brent Demas and named a First-Team All-Stater as a senior in 2013. Moloney recorded a 7-2 record with a 1.49 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 65 2/3 innings as a senior. He led his Lancers to a state title as a freshman as well as runner-up status as a senior. The skilled righty set school records in complete games (seven) and innings pitched (65 2/3).
Moloney’s former LHS teammate Del Signore had not been involved in as many decisions with manager Ted Currie’s Silver Knights as the elder hurler had through last week. But the skilled sophomore southpaw had pitched in seven contests – all starting assignments – and posted a 1-1 record to that point.
His first FCBL victory came on July 18 when Del Signore put forth 5 2/3 innings worth of work, allowing six hits and two runs (with one earned) in a 4-3 besting of the Torrington Titans in Connecticut.
The former Lancer star walked just two men and whiffed seven in that successful performance.
The lefty is coming off a freshman collegiate hardball campaign for the SNHU Penmen during which he appeared in seven of the squad’s games with two starts, posting a 1-0 record and a tiny, 1.62 earned run average in 16.2 innings.
Del Signore capped off his LHS days in exceptional fashion, being named the 2014 New Hampshire Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year and leading Demas’ LHS bunch to the Division I championship.
Del Signore propelled himself toward future success with his stellar senior season in high school, pitching 64 innings for his Lancers and recording 117 strikeouts and a microscopic 0.44 earned run average.
The three-time New Hampshire high school First-Team All-State selection (2012-2014) began studying economics and finance at SNHU during the fall of 2014.
Evagelista – who was also an ice hockey stalwart at Londonderry High – had played in nine contests for the Silver Knights by the end of last week after joining the squad late. He was batting at a modest .200 clip and had played in both the infield and outfield for the Nashuans.
The U-Mass Amherst baseball player appeared in 18 games with seven starts for Stone’s 2015 college crew. The freshman – who did infield time at both second base and third base – began his collegiate career auspiciously by driving in two runs with his first hit in a battle with Harvard.
Like Rob Del Signore, Evangelista had been a key member of Londonderry High’s 2014 Division I title-winning contingent.
The high school multi-sport stalwart won eight letters at Londonderry High. He was a two-time New Hampshire baseball all-state selection, and Evangelista holds the LHS stolen base record with 52 steals in 54 attempts. He batted .362 as a senior, driving in 25 runs, and was a perfect 19-19 in stolen base attempts.