|
|
Baseball teams hope to be competitive
|
April 02, 2009 | 11:56 AM
This should be a far better year for the Centereach Cougars and Newfield Wolverines baseball teams than 2008 turned out to be. Both schools struggled and posted losing records last year. This year, however, should be a different story for both.
"We should be able to get into the playoffs," said Centereach head coach Mike Herrschaft, whose Cougars haven't seen postseason action in six years. "We started five sophomores last year and now they are a year older. If our pitchers stay healthy we should be competitive. Getting to the playoffs is a big deal for us."
The Cougars are led by two-time All-League honoree, senior pitcher/shortstop James Milani who has already agreed to attend Adelphi University. The right hander hit .375 last year with seven RBIs and went 3-4 with a 3.70 ERA.
Hoping for a bounce back year is senior outfielder Kenny Willms. Two years ago, Willms hit a solid .339 but dropped over 100 points in 2008 when he hit just .231. Willms will also be used in relief by Herrschaft.
Junior Andrew Abreu was another Cougar who received All-League honors in 2008. The second baseman led the team in hitting with a .365 average. A solid contact hitter, Abreu will also be used as a relief pitcher.
The Cougars' third returning All-League player is junior Nick Luciani. Luciani will be the number two starter in 2009 and will also play first base. Last year he hit .361 and belted four home runs.
Junior pitcher Bret DeRosa will also start and play third base for this year. Last year DeRosa filled in for the injury plagued pitching staff and hit a healthy .286. DeRosa will be Herrschaft's first choice in relief.
Senior pitcher Vinny Messana is slated to be the number one starter. Out all of 2008 with a broken arm, Herrschaft is confident that Messana will make an impact. Playing on junior varsity as a sophomore, he never lost a game as a starter. When he isn't pitching Messana will play center field.
"A lot of coaches have us in the top three of the league because of our pitching," said Herrschaft. "But I think that we're a stronger hitting team, better than we're given credit for. I'm confident with our pitching. The weakest part of our game is our defense but if we are able to stay healthy I'd be disappointed if we weren't in the playoffs. We could compete for a league title."
Across town, Newfield head coach Paul Pedersen is cautiously optimistic about his 2009 prospects. The Wolverines lost just two players to graduation and return four seniors to their lineup. They also start four sophomores.
"So far they're doing everything right," said Pedersen. "I'm happy with the kids. They're playing well together."
Key players for Newfield are junior first baseman/pitcher Brendan Ebbitts who was promoted midway through the 2008 season; senior third baseman Christian Huber; junior pitcher/catcher John Cohne; sophomore outfielder/pitcher Kieran Quinn; senior first baseman/outfielder Anthony Dyer; sophomore shortstop Jacob Coners; sophomore outfielder/catcher Dan Merola; senior pitcher Chris Lane and sophomore second baseman/outfielder Chris Scura.
"Offensively, they will take the ball and hit it where it's pitched, and that's exactly what you want," said Pedersen. "We'll also be aggressive on the base paths. But what has impressed me the most has been our defense. They are playing nice fundamental baseball and they're hungry too. I don't know if we will challenge for a championship but if we play the way we have been, we'll win a bunch of games."
Expect both Centereach and Newfield to receive competition from League III teams like West Islip, East Islip and Smithtown East. In fact, the league is simply loaded with talent.
Take note that Section XI will incorporate a new double elimination playoff format this year. However, in order to qualify for the postseason a team must finish with a winning league record. In prior years, teams needed only to finish at .500. As teams will play an even number of league games, that means a team will actually have to be two games better than .500 to get into the playoffs.
| |
|
|
|
| |
Copyright 2010
(631) 751-7744 | news@tbrnewspapers.com | www.northshoreoflongisland.com | About |
|
| |
|
