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| Head Coach Rich Smith Photo Credit: Garden City Public Schools |
The Garden City Trojans are coming off a 13-7-3 season, in which they qualified for a playoff berth. They were beaten twice by Division in the double-elimination format. They aren’t even the team that the Trojans are most excited about getting revenge against.
That would be Bellmore Kennedy. According to Head Coach Rich Smith, “Last season we were 0-2-1 verse (them). We let late inning leads get away in two of the three games. A win in that series would have given us the conference title. We are geared up to not let that happen again,” he added. The tie game went eight innings but was called due to darkness. They also played a close 4-3 game in the first game of the series. They had a two-run lead in the fifth inning but allowed three runs to come across-which proved to be the difference.
The team will have the challenge of replacing 13 seniors from last year’s team. According to Smith, four of those were the team’s biggest impact players from last season. Pitchers David Butler who is now pitching down the road at Adelphi University, Brian LoRusso along with catcher Nick Giannone and outfielder Ryan Giacini. Smith noted that they all had “outstanding seasons and will be missed”. The combination of Butler and LoRusso was dynamic last season, they combined for eight of the team’s 13 wins. Butler struck out 50 batters in 37 innings and was named Conference MVP, while LoRusso was named All-County. Having a duo of that caliber is often enough to lead a team into the postseason, because they can account for ⅔ of the team’s innings.
That is not to overlook the current crop of players. There are three players that are headed for college ball on this roster. Pitcher/outfielder Ryan Smith has committed to play at the prestigious Princeton University, pitcher/outfielder Victor Danza has committed to the University of Maine and catcher Justin Samardich is still mulling over his decision. Having three college caliber players–especially those that can contribute on the mound as well as in the field–is nothing to scoff at. Many teams have one, perhaps two, players that are talented enough to play collegiately.
Smith won three games on the mound last season for the Trojans. He beat Wantagh, Jericho and Southside. The victory over Wantagh–April 3–was spectacular. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but settled for a two-hit shutout. On April 24, he threw another gem–a five-shutout inning outing with nine strikeouts while yielding only a single hit.
Danza defeated Valley Stream North on May 10–which was a key two-inning outing to push the Trojans into the playoffs.
Samardich proved his worth last year, when his RBI single in the same May 10 game against Valley Stream North tied up the game at 4 and ended up contributing greatly to the Trojan’s postseason berth.
The Trojans will also be counting on senior shortstop Rich Mattone to be a key cog in the lineup as well as senior third baseman Tom VanWallendael.
Bellmore Kennedy, the reigning conference champions, will again be a tough task for the Trojans, but before they see them they will open up against Jericho with a three-game series beginning on March 30. They swept them last year towards the end of the season by an aggregate score of 31-2. It should be a successful first week of the season for the Trojans.
Following that series, they will take on Wantagh, New Hyde Park and Carey in three-game series. Those four series will account for the entire month of April.
The Trojans will be looking to qualify for postseason play for the fourth consecutive season.
