NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers baseball team and head coach
Blake Dean have announced the hiring of
A.J. Battisto as the new pitching coach. Battisto will begin his second stint with the Privateers after being hired on Monday, Jul. 1.
Battisto previously worked with the Privateers before heading to North Carolina Central in 2016. Under Battisto's guidance, NCCU finished in the top five in the MEAC in ERA three out of four seasons. In the last two years, the Eagles had the second-best staff ERA in the conference.
"We're excited to have A.J. back. He's familiar with our area and what we do," said Coach
Blake Dean. "He's brought in some good guys from the northeast in his first tenure here in Semple and Warzek. It's hard to replace Rudy (Darrow) and what he's done but with a guy like A.J. he has the experience and the know-how."
In his first year, Battisto worked with Andrew Vernon who became the first player drafted in school history. Vernon made his way into the top ten in four single-season categories including strikeouts per nine innings (12.34). He went on to be selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 28
th round that summer.
While at the Lakefront for his first go-around with the Privateers, the running game was shut down. In 2014, New Orleans pitchers had 14 pickoffs. Meanwhile, Privateer catchers combined to vanquish 41.7 percent of stolen base attempts.
The first signing class Battisto was a part of at UNO featured two future draft picks in Kevin Kelleher (12
th round) and Shawn Semple (11
th round).
A Pottstown, Pa. native, Battisto pitched at Georgia Southern University. He was drafted in the 30
th round by the Miami Marlins and appeared in 176 games on the mound. That included 27 games pitched (six starts) with Triple-A New Orleans.
While at GSU, Battisto played for head coach Rodney Hennon and graduated with a perfect 12-0 record over three years. He left school ranked first in winning percentage for pitchers with at least 10 wins and the 92 appearances during his three years in Statesboro, Ga. rank second in school history.
A second-team All-SoCon selection in 2007, Battisto added 12 saves during his collegiate career, including 10 in his final season.
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