WESTFIELD – The Westfield Starfires, the newest entry in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, has announced veteran baseball professional Bill Sandillo as its first-ever field manager.
A native of West Springfield, MA, Sandillo is the founder of the Predator Performance Sports Management and Stars & Stripes Baseball Academy in Chandler, Arizona and will return to Western Mass this summer to manage the Starfires.
“Bill checks off a lot of the boxes for us as our first coaching hire,” said Donnie Moorhouse, co-owner of the Westfield Starfires. “He is local, a fellow AIC alum, and he has a wealth of experience coaching players at all levels.”
Sandillo was a three-time All-Western Mass selection as an infielder at West Springfield High, an All Northeast 10 player and team captain at American International College, and has an impressive coaching resume that includes a stint with the U.S. Military All-Star traveling team, and a year abroad as the Field Manager for Padova in the Series A – Italian Professional Baseball League.
Sandillo has also coached summer collegiate ball in both the Northwoods League and the Cape Cod League. In 2010, he served as the hitting and first base coach as well as the defensive specialist for the Orleans Firebirds, working with the likes of current St. Louis Cardinals infielder Kolten Wong and current Toronto Blue Jays hurler Marcus Stroman.
“When I found out about the new team in Westfield, I was excited for the chance to Interview for the job and maybe come back home for the summer to coach,” said Sandillo. “Thank you to Chris Thompson and Donnie Moorhouse for this tremendous opportunity for me and my family. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit this summer.”
The Westfield Starfires were founded by business partners Don Moorhouse and Christopher Thompson and will play their inaugural season at historic Bullens Field in Westfield, MA. The team is named after the F-94 Fighter jet that was stationed at the city’s Barnes Air Base in the late 50s and aims to build on Westfield’s legacy as a baseball mecca by showcasing the top college players in the country.
Since 2011, the Futures Collegiate Baseball League has experienced a meteoric rise to become one of baseball’s top summer collegiate leagues.
Season ticket packages and merchandise for the new franchise are available now through westfieldstarfires.com. Follow the team at Facebook.com/westfieldstarfires, Twitter @starfiresBB, and Instgram @starfiresBB – Courtesy of Westfield Starfires
