Playing during one of the most successful eras in Gettysburg College baseball history, Marc Favieri left his mark as one of the Bullets top hurlers of all-time and became the program’s first-ever All-American.
Favieri joined the Bullets in 1987 while the team was well-established, having won a Middle Atlantic Conference title the season before. A crowded, and talented pitching staff limited his innings that year, but as a reliever the right-hander was able to pick up the win in Gettysburg’s 3-1 M-A-C championship victory over Upsala College as the Bullets captured their second straight conference crown.
As a sophomore Favieri worked his way into the rotation for a team that many consider the best in program history. He teamed with pitching ace and future St. Louis Cardinals’ draft pick Brian Golden to form a tremendous 1-2 combo and finished the year with a 5-1 record and a 3.14 ERA. Though the Bullets lost to Johns Hopkins in the M-A-C Championship game, they were granted an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. After a 13-inning loss in their opener, the Bullets rebounded with a 6-0 win over Southern Maine, with Favieri throwing 8 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. Another extra-inning loss ended Gettysburg’s season, but did little to damper a 28-10 campaign in which the Bullets established a program record for victories.
Favieri turned in another outstanding season during his junior year, finishing 7-4 with a 3.30 ERA and his first three collegiate shutouts. Despite losing Golden and several additional starters, the Bullets finished with a solid 18-15-2 record.
Saving his best for last, in 1990 Favieri turned in a brilliant senior campaign, marked by a host of stunning performances. His first masterpiece was a 13-strikeout, seven-hit victory as the Bullets defeated the University of Maryland 4-2 in College Park. His Division I dominance continued eight days later when he allowed only an unearned and four hits in seven innings of work in a no-decision at Navy. For good measure, he tossed a no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Muhlenberg.
Favieri won over half of his team’s games that season and posted tremendous numbers with a record of 7-3, an ERA of 1.13, five shutouts, and 82 strikeouts over 79 innings. He was named First Team A-B-C-A All-American and earned several additional awards, including the M-A-C Southern Division MVP.
After earning his degree in health and physical education, Favieri competed for a U.S. travel squad that competed in Czechoslovakia and Poland in the summer of 1990. Since 1997, he has been the co-owner of Palisades Rehabilitation Center in New Jersey where he and his wife, Jennifer, also a Gettysburg graduate, reside in Ridgewood with their children Samuel, Matthew, and Olivia.
