The following was submitted to Westwood Patch:

The Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League recently signed four New England natives to their 2012 roster, including College of William and Mary junior pitcher John Sheehan of Westwood and University of Rhode Island redshirt junior infielder Pat Fortunato of Stratford, Connecticut.

As of April 23, Sheehan had appeared in seven games out of the bullpen this season for the Division I William and Mary Tribe of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Westwood native owns a 5.79 ERA and had yet to earn a decision in 4.2 innings of work, while striking out two and walking one. As a freshman in 2010, the right-hander appeared in eight games; four as a starter and four as a reliever. Hhe went 2-0 with a 5.64 ERA over the course of 22.1 innings, striking out 21 and walking 13. Following a solid rookie campaign, Sheehan sat out his sophomore season due to injury.  

A two-time Tri-Valley League All-Star while at Westwood High School, Sheehan was named the 2009 Tri-Valley League Pitcher of the Year as a senior after going 3-1 with a 0.36 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 36 innings. As a junior, Sheehan helped lead the Wolverines to the 2008 Division 3 Massachusetts State Championship, earning South Sectional Playoff MVP honors along the way. During the 2008 postseason, he went 3-0 with one save and a pristine 0.82 ERA. Sheehan spent the summers of 2007 and 2008 playing in the Dominican Republic and also spent the summer of 2010 with the Lowell All-Americans of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), where he went 1-5 with a 2.92 ERA in 27 innings of work. 

Fortunato, meanwhile, is the everyday second baseman for the Division I Rhode Island Rams of the Atlantic-10 Conference. As of April 23, the redshirt junior had started all 40 games for URI this spring, hitting .299 with 11 doubles, two homers, 24 RBI, 23 walks, nine stolen bases, and 31 runs scored. As a sophomore in 2011, Fortunato had a breakout season for the Rams, hitting .252 with seven doubles, one homer, 20 RBI, 18 walks, eight stolen bases, and 17 runs scored through 49 games. The 22-year old began his collegiate career at Winthrop University as a freshman in 2009, where he appeared in 13 games as a pitcher before transferring to URI.

A four-year member of the baseball and basketball teams at Fairfield College Preparatory School, Fortunato helped lead the Jesuits’ baseball team to a state semifinal appearance in 2007. He was an All-Area, All-Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) and two-time All-State selection in baseball, and also participated in the Connecticut All-Star Game as a junior and senior. Fortunato spent a chunk of the summer of 2011 with the Sanford River Rats of the Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL), where he hit .240 with two doubles, five RBI, and four runs scored through 13 games.

Along with the Sheehan and Fortunato, the Rox also added Boston College freshman infielder Nick Colucci of Portland, Maine and Wheaton College freshman pitcher Gregg Kirkpatrick of Lebanon, Connecticut.

Colucci is a reserve infielder for the Division I Boston College Eagles of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Although he had yet to appear in any games this season as of April 23, the smooth-fielding 19-year old is expected to contribute at second base for the Eagles in the near future. Prior to his time with Boston College, Colucci starred at Deering High School in both baseball and basketball, earning all-conference honors in both sports. On the diamond, he helped the Rams reach back-to-back state championships during his junior and senior seasons and was twice named to the Maine Baseball Coaches' Association Underclassmen All-Star Game, as well as to the MBCA Senior All-Star Game in 2011.

As of April 23, Kirkpatrick had appeared in one game out of the bullpen for the Division III Wheaton College Lyons. The right-hander surrendered two runs on two hits to go along with a strikeout on April 6 against Curry College. A 2011 graduate of the St. Bernard School in Uncasville, Conn., the hard-throwing hurler starred for the Saints for one season after transferring from Lyman Memorial High School.