Big Mac's hits:  Whoppers

May 17, 2010

By Jennifer Toland, Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER —  Corey McDonald’s proud dad has always been a diligent keeper of his son’s statistics, so you can understand Fred McDonald’s excitement when he realized in mid-April that Corey had a 14-game hitting streak.

“He called to tell me,” said McDonald, Worcester State’s junior designated hitter. “I said, ‘Really, dad? Thanks. You’re not really supposed to tell someone about that.’ It didn’t bother me, though. It’s fun knowing that stuff.”

McDonald kept the streak going for eight more games.

The former Hudson High star, who transferred to Worcester State this year after two years at Community College of Rhode Island, has had some huge hits for the Lancers, including the game-winners in all three of last week’s Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference tourney showdowns.

In the championship game against Westfield State, Lancers coach Dirk Baker gave McDonald the green light on a 3-0 count and McDonald snapped a 2-2 tie by cracking a seventh-inning single that scored freshman Chris Creen.

“I struck out twice real bad at the beginning of the game,” McDonald said. “Bakes had a lot of confidence in me there, so that was great.”

The victory earned Worcester State (31-9-1) an automatic bid to its fifth NCAA Division 3 tournament. The Lancers open regional play on Wednesday.

McDonald, who clubbed winning home runs in WSC’s two other MASCAC victories, was named MVP of the tournament. He takes an eight-game hitting streak into the NCAAs.

“He really has been swinging it,” Baker said. “He’s been phenomenal getting on base.”

Playing for coach Brian Davis at Hudson High, McDonald was a T&G Super Team selection as a junior after leading his team to the Division 2 state final. He pitched (9-0, 0.92 ERA), played third base, and batted .438 as the Hawks won 26 straight before falling to Somerset, 3-2, in the state championship game.

“I’ve always been on good teams,” McDonald said, “and this year just kept it going.”

He planned to attend Worcester State after high school, but, he admits, his grades weren’t great. He played baseball for two years at CCRI and worked hard in the classroom. McDonald is a health education major at WSC — he’d like to teach and coach — and his GPA is a commendable 3.2.

McDonald is among four transfer students who have played major roles in the Lancers’ 2010 success. Tyler McElman came over from American International, Chad Kasik from Wheaton, and Paul Rodriguez from Wayland Baptist, an NAIA school in Texas.

Worcester State has won 30 games for the second straight season and the Lancers had a school-record seven players selected to the All-MASCAC team, including McDonald, who — along with senior Joey Lucier and juniors Johno Hinkell and Nick Fluegge of Ware — earned first-team honors.

McDonald led the MASCAC in hitting (.414), slugging percentage (.707), on-base percentage (.518) and total bases (94). The Lancers hit a school-record 50 home runs with McDonald and Fluegge (eight each) leading the way. Fluegge’s towering homer to center field got Worcester State going in a 15-14, second-round MASCAC win over Westfield State.

The Lancers nominated McDonald for MASCAC Player of the Year — he sure had numbers worthy of the award — but Westfield State’s Kevin Lyons took the honor.

A number of players from Worcester State’s 2008 NCAA team — which registered the school’s second regional victory, 14-4, over St. Joseph’s (Maine) — are on this year’s squad, so Baker likes the experience factor.

The Lancers have five solid starters — Lucier, Mike Borowiec, Bobby DeVito, Kasik and Shaun Slattery — and McDonald thinks the offense is getting back to where it was during a 12-game winning streak earlier in the season.

The Lancers hope it all comes together this week.

“The players from our last NCAA team haven’t told me much about it,” McDonald said, “but one thing they did say was, when you go to regionals, just go out and have fun.”