Joe Sarno is entering his sixth season at the helm of the
Merrimack baseball program.
He guided the Warriors, led by All-Conference outfielder Jeff
Bercume, pitcher Ryan O'Rourke and second baseman Brendan Pyburn,
to an 18-27 record in 2008. The Warriors upset #4 Franklin Pierce
7-3 on April 9th and did not lose a home game until April 17th.
He was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director at Merrimack
College in September of 2007.
In 2007, Sarno guided the Warriors to a 16-26 record in the
competitive Northeast-10 Conference.
The Warriors had an 11-win improvement from the 2005 season and
won four of their final five games, finishing 18-13 and keeping
them in contention for a Northeast-10 playoff spot until the final
week of the season. The pitching staff lowered its earned run
average by more than a run, while the hitters increased its batting
average by 48 points and scored 28 more runs. Merrimack finished
one game short of a playoff spot, capping the season with its first
doubleheader sweep of Sarno's career.
Before being hired as Merrimack's fourth baseball coach, Sarno
completed his Master's Degree in athletic administration at
Springfield College in May, 2002. While at Springfield College,
Sarno was an assistant baseball coach during the 2001 and 2002
seasons and served as a class instructor and intern in the athletic
department.
Prior to attending Springfield, Sarno was the top assistant coach
at Amherst College, where the Lord Jeffs posted two NCAA regional
appearances.
Sarno earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology at the
University of New Hampshire in 1996. While at UNH, Sarno was a
two-year captain and MVP of the Wildcats baseball team in 1995. He
is the UNH record holder for most stolen bases in a game, season
and career, as well as hits in a season. As a senior, Sarno earned
first team all-region, all-conference honors and was a first team
All-New England selection, while hitting .416, 17th in the nation
in Division I. Sarno moved on to play independent professional
baseball for the Nashua Hawks in 1995.
Sarno and his wife, Noreen Fiore-Sarno, reside in Stoneham,
Massachusetts with their one-year old son, Lucas.
