Felician Athletics - 6/29/09 BASEBALL - Brooklyn Pitcher Paladino Signs With Baseball Program

RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Recent high-school graduate Stephen Paladino of Brooklyn, N.Y., has signed a national letter of intent to continue his baseball career at Felician College, Golden Falcon head coach Chris Langan announced today.

Paladino was a pitcher for St. Peter’s Boys High School in Staten Island, N.Y. The 5-foot-8, 185-pound right-hander also played hockey for the Eagles. A member of the AAU Long Island Mustangs, he intends to major in business administration at Felician.

“Stephen brings another power arm to our program,” said Langan, who has completed six seasons with Felician. “He has a closer-type mentality, attacking hitters with a fastball in the 87-89 mile-per-hour range. Our recruiting focus this year has been on retooling our pitching staff, and Stephen is another piece to that.”

Paladino is the sixth player to commit to the Golden Falcons for the 2010 season. High-schoolers Jonathan Arche (Miami, FL/John A. Ferguson), Vincent Kossack (Lake Worth, FL/Trinity Christian Academy), Joe Petosa (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood), and John Siedler (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty), and junior college pitcher Joel Sanchez (Hialeah, FL/Monsignor Pace/Monroe), inked national letters of intent during the early signing period.

Felician is a member of the NCAA Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Golden Falcons are coming off a 24-24 won-lost record in 2009.