During his 10 years at Springfield College Steve has compiled a record of 285 and 217. He has had one player drafted in the MLB draft, he has coached 3 All Americans, 3 all district players, 14 members of the all region team, 36 all conference players.2 Pitcher’s of the year and 2 Freshmen of the year 14 members of the All region 24 team and 2 region 24 tournament MVP’s. On the academic side of student athlete he has had the privilege of coaching 23 Academic All Americans 64 players who have landed on the Academic All Conference team. Of his 110 former players roughly 93% of those have graduated and many have moved on to earn their Bachelor’s degree, of those same 110 players 54 of them have moved on to play at a 4 year school.

Coach Tor’s 2007 and 2008 teams won back to back Region 24 crowns while the 2008 team won the first conference title in the history of the program, The 2009 season saw the Dogs share the MWAC championship as co-champs with Parkland College. The Bulldogs finished the 2007 and 2008 season ranked in the top 10 both athletically and in overall team G.P.A. boasting a program high of 3.42. The 2009 cumulative team G.P.A.. of  3.41 earned the program their highest ever national ranking in overall team grade point average as they finished second in the nation out of a possible 398 schools with baseball programs. For his efforts coach Torricelli was recently selected as Region Coach of the year in 2007 and 2008 and as the Coach of the Year in the MWAC conference in 2008.

The Torricelli family has strong roots to the Springfield area and SCI. Steve shares his life and goals with his family- Brothers Jim and Tim serve as assistant coaches for the Bulldogs, his siblings Virginia and Jeff also support the club with their involvement with the annual golf outing and dugout club party. Their father James and Mother Kathryn are active in all of the booster activities along with the love and support of Steve’s wife, Gina and their Daughter’s Olivia and Lauren.

My brother Jim has been the offensive coach and recruiting coordinator for the SCI Bulldogs since 2003 after taking a short absence from the game to coach his daughter’s softball team. He previously coached at Sacred Heart Griffin High School where he was a Varsity assistant for several years as well as head coach in 1993.

“Slim,” as his players call him, has always been associated with winning teams and he reminds his players of this every year. Jim stresses to the players in being confident in their ability and to develop a winning mind set. Brother Jim can be best described as a player’s coach who allows his player’s to reach their full potential by stressing the finer points of their game in a relaxed way. Slim employs an unconventional offensive style that works well with the players we recruit.  
When it comes to recruiting talent, Slim takes great pride in finding players who get overlooked by other colleges. His philosophy is “you never know who is out there so you better see for yourself” which finds him at many out of the way places, following down a lead in the spring and summer.

Personal
Jim was a former high school standout in Baseball and Football at Springfield High School where he earned All city and All conference honors in the late 1970’s. Jim was also named to Chicago Sun Times Special mention All State football team in 1979.  He chose the Football path instead of accepting a Baseball offer to pitch for Bradley University out of High School. A car accident ended his playing career, but didn’t stop him from completing his degree at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Jim has worked for Illinois Department of Transportation since 1985 while he has graciously juggled his time to accommodate our program. Jim is married to the former Karen Dustermer and they have a one daughter Sara who is a  current Benedictine University student and SCI alum. Both Karen and Sara are two of our biggest fans and can be seen at most of our games.  

A third member of the Torricelli family joins the staff of the Bulldogs. Tim recently returned home after spending several years in the Phoenix Arizona area. Tim spent the better parts of 12 years in professional baseball in several different capacities. During his playing days as a catcher Tim was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Montreal Expos, making it as high as triple a ball. Tim finished his career as a coach and manager in the Detroit Tiger organization. We are very lucky to add Tim to our staff. The professional experience is a huge boost to the program. Tim will primarily be used as a bench coach during game days and will assist with our hitters, catchers and middle infielders during practice sessions. Tim and his wife Mary have two sons Reece 14 and Bryce 11.  

Coach Fuhler is entering his second season as a member of the Bulldog Coaching Staff, specializing as the catching coach and working with the hitters. After completing a great career at Trenton Wesclin High School in Trenton, IL, Fuhler went on to attend Kaskaskia College and was the starting catcher for the 1997-1998 season. Upon completing his freshman season at KC, Fuhler transferred to McKendree College in Lebanon, IL and completed his college career there. While at McKendree, Fuhler was a part of 2 conference championship teams, 2 conference tournament championships, and a member of the 2000 McKendree squad that won a school record 55 games. Justin was also a three time academic all-conference selection during his tenure at McKendree College.

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History/Secondary Education from McKendree College in 2002, Fuhler spent three years as an assistant coaching at Trenton Wesclin (2003) and Clifton Central High School (2004-2005). During his time at the respective schools, Fuhler contributed to the first ever state tournament appearance for Trenton Wesclin (2003) and a regional championship at Clifton Central (2004).

After the 2005 season at Clifton, Fuhler accepted a coaching job at Lake Land College in Mattoon, IL. While at Lake Land, Justin served as the pitching coach and helped the Lakers improve their win total by 11 from the previous season. In 2006, Fuhler moved to Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, IL where he served as the hitting and catching coach for from 2006-2008. During his tenure with the Warriors, Fuhler helped the offense rank in the top 20 for 2007 and 2008 seasons in team batting average (.351 in 2007 and .348 in 2008) and had the privilege to coach 10 players that have moved on to 4 year institutions (5 Division I), 5 All-Region 24 players, 3 position players that were drafted and 1 Conference Player of the Year.

Fuhler also served as the head coach for the Moose Jaw Millers of the Western Major Baseball League of Western Canada in the summer of 2007. During his year with the Millers, Fuhler doubled the win total from the previous season and helped the team qualify for the league playoffs for the first time in 4 seasons. Justin has also worked many camps around the country including TPX Top 96, Notre Dame, University of Kentucky, White Sox Training Academy and many more.

A Galesburg, IL native, Vest was a four year letter-winner and All-Midwest Conference performer as a catcher at Illinois College in Jacksonville, IL. Following his playing career, he spent two years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, helping lead the Blueboys to the Midwest Conference South Division Championship in 1999.

Vest then moved to Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where he would serve two years as Assistant Baseball Coach and Sports Information Director. In the summer of 2002, Vest was named Head Baseball Coach and Sports Information Director at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, IL, a position he held for four years.

Also active in numerous coaching associations, Vest has traveled the United States as a camp instructor at places such as Mickey Owen Baseball School, Mississippi State University, and the University of Illinois. Additionally, he has assisted at Head Coach Steve Torricelli’s SCI Bulldog Baseball Camps for numerous years.

Coach Miller is entering his second season as a member of the Bulldog Coaching Staff, working primarily with the pitchers.  Matt had a great career at Stanford Olympia High School in Stanford, IL, where he lettered four years in both basketball and baseball.  During his senior year, Matt served as Co-Captain and closer for the Spartans baseball team.  Matt received All-Cornbelt Conference Honorable Mention as a designated hitter during his senior year. 

Matt went on to attend Springfield College in Illinois, where he was a member of the Bulldog pitching staff.   During the 06-07 season, Matt posted a team high 13 appearances along with a 2-0 record, 2 saves and a 4.76 ERA.  Matt helped the Bulldogs to an overall record of 38-17 and the teams first ever Region 24 Championship.  During his sophomore season, Matt served as one of three team captains and also as the Bulldogs closer.  During the year, Matt had a season high 18 appearances along with a 1-0 record, 6 saves and a 2.19 ERA.  Matt helped the Bulldogs to a record setting season with a 39-11 record and to back to back Region 24 Championship.  Matt was awarded as a Prestigious Academic All-American, Second Team All-Conference, and Academic All -Conference during his two-year career at SCI.  After receiving scholarship opportunities from a variety of four year schools Matt chose to remain in the program as a volunteer student assistant working primarily with the pitchers.

Matt graduated earning his Associates in Arts Degree from SCI.  Matt now attends Benedictine University –Springfield where he plans to attain his Bachelors in Business Management Degree in the spring of 2010.  Matt, 22, resides in Bloomington, IL with his parents Mark and Debbie Miller and sister Sarah.