BRISTOL, R.I. – Graduate students Chris Flynn (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Brandon Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.), senior Ben Bonavita (East Longmeadow, Mass.), and sophomore Jack Morin (North Andover, Mass.) were named team captains for the 2022 Roger Williams University Baseball team, as it was announced recently. The group looks to lead a veteran roster that posted the second-best winning percentage in program history a season ago, finishing 20-11, 11-5 in conference play, good for second in the Commonwealth Coast Conference in the regular season.
 
"I am excited to announce the captains for the 2022 season; Chris, Brandon, Ben, and Jack all possess what every coach looks for in a captain," Head Coach Kevin Kelley said. "Each one brings a different style of leading but they all value what we preach within the Roger Williams University Baseball program: a positive mindset, not settling with being average, and greatness demands everything."
 
Despite Flynn being the lone returning captain from a season ago, Bonavita, Jenkins, and Morin were undisputed leaders on the Hawks roster both on and off the diamond last spring.
 
Entering his second consecutive year as a captain, Flynn returns to Bristol as a graduate student after enjoying a breakout season in 2021. He earned All-CCC First Team accolades by dominating as the Hawks closer. He threw 15.0 innings across a team-high 12 outings locking down a roster-best four saves and picking up a pair of wins along the way. His 2.40 ERA was second on the team among players with at least ten innings pitched while his 30 strikeouts ranked third. He also finished the season with 18.00 K/9, the best mark on the team and one that would have led the conference had he qualified.
 
"Chris is the type of player a coach dreams of!" Kelley praised. "He has outstanding character, dedicated, highly motivated and is a natural leader.  I do not think I have ever coached a player that works as hard as Chris.  I always say you can tell a man's true character by who he is when no one is looking.  Chris is the same person no matter what, and that is hard to find."
 
Another player who had a breakout 2021 campaign, Jenkins returns as a graduate student after being maybe the most dominant offensive force in the Commonwealth Coast Conference last spring. He anchored the Hawks lineup a season ago, pacing CCC in hits (46) and RBI (45), leading the team and ranking in the top-five in the conference in batting average (.430), on-base percentage (.515), and doubles (9). For his efforts, he was named to the All-CCC Second Team and also led in the classroom, finishing with a cumulative GPA of 3.94 as a civil engineering major, making the CCC Academic All-Conference list and Dean's List in every semester he was eligible. All that culminated in him being named as the fourth CCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the program's history.
 
"Brandon possesses it all!" Kelley raved. "The passion he brings day in and day out is infectious to the entire team and the players feed of his positive energy.  Brandon is the type of man who must do everything to perfection.  He is usually the first one to practice and the last to leave and in doing so, he sets the standard for work ethic on an everyday basis." 
 
The only true senior who was selected as a captain, Bonavita was a force as a two-way player for the Hawks a season ago earning All-CCC Second Team recognition. At the dish, he posted a .306/.400/.708 triple-slash, leading the team in slugging while adding seven home runs, the second-most on the team and third-most in the CCC. On the mound, Bonavita tossed 26.2 innings across six games including five starts, going 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and finished fourth on the team with 21 strikeouts.
 
"Ben is the type of man when he walks in a room, he is a presence and demands respect," Kelley said. "He is a great communicator and has a tireless work ethic. The younger players look to him constantly and he is always doing the right thing."   
 
A sophomore backstop, Morin holds the distinction of being just the second underclassman to be selected as a team captain in program history after Tyler Pogmore '14 was named a team captain as a sophomore in 2012. Morin burst onto the scene as a freshman posting a .304/.420/.446 triple-slash for the Hawks, in which each mark would have ranked within the top-four on the team if he had qualified. He finished the season ranking fourth on the team with an .866 OPS, was tied for fifth with five doubles, and sixth in runs scored with 21. Splitting duties behind the plate with George Somers '21, Morin helped handle a pitching staff that finished third in the Commonwealth Coast Conference in team ERA (5.04), fourth in K/9 (8.61), while recording a 1.54 WHIP while gunning down five of eight (62.5%) would-be base stealers against him.
 
"Jack is the first sophomore I have ever named a captain," Kelley noted. "It is not often you find a player like Jack. I have always said that it does not matter if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or a senior; anyone can lead. Jack was a great leader as a freshman, so it was a no-brainer for him to be named a captain this season."
 
The Hawks enter the 2022 season with high expectations and will open the campaign on March 5^th when they venture to play Framingham State.