Sharks hire new head coach

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Sharks pitcher Nick Fuller, in the 2014 Futures Collegiate Baseball League championship series. — Photo by Ralph Stewart

The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks made an off-season management change on Friday, hiring Marymount University head coach Frank Leoni to lead the Sharks for the 2015 season. Mr. Leoni will replace John Toffee, who led the local team to a second consecutive appearance in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) championship series in 2014. The team lost the three-game series to the Worcester Bravehearts in Mr. Toffee’s first and only year as coach.

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the next head coach,” Mr. Leoni said, according to a press release issued by the team Sept. 19. “The FCBL continues to build its reputation as one of the finest summer collegiate baseball leagues. College coaches want to send their players to play in a great league, but they also want them to have an overall positive summer experience. I can’t think of a better place than Martha’s Vineyard to accomplish both.”

Mr. Leoni is no stranger to the region. He attended the University of Rhode Island, and coached at his alma mater from 1992 to 2005.

“We are thrilled to bring Frank back to his New England roots,” said Scott Lively, a member of the team’s board of directors. “He has a proven record over more than two decades as a college coach, and we are confident he will help the Sharks improve as a team both on and off the field.”