Newfield’s first-year Head Coach Eric Joyner is no stranger to winning. He has won two Long Island Championships as an assistant coach with the Wolverine’s football team in the past five seasons.
He will be looking to enjoy that type of success on the diamond beginning this year.
When asked what he would consider a successful first year at the helm, he did not concede anything.
“We expect to win,” he said. “Winning a championship is always the goal. We should be able to beat anybody. We need to take that attitude. Whether we can actually do that is extremely different,” he added.
He will be inheriting a young and talented team. Last year’s team went 8-11 but the team was primarily composed of underclassmen. There will be a couple players that will be tough to replace. Pitcher Brandon Alberto, who is currently playing at NYIT, won four of their eight games last season and was a four-year varsity player. Joe Pepe was their starting SS in 2015 and is playing at American International College and outfielder J.J. Lindgren is currently at Old Westbury.
They gave significant playing time to a number of underclassmen.
Headlining the group is sophomore Kyle Johnson. The 2018 graduate is among the top players in the graduating class and has garnered interest from top 50 programs. He is a pitcher/shortstop and will be headlining a rotation that could surprise a lot of people.
Joyner noted that he has good bloodlines, his cousin Chris Cepeda is a former All-County pitcher for Ward Melville and currently plays at Dowling. His uncle won a NY State Champion with Comsewogue.
He will be joined by fellow sophomore Bobby Vath, who started three games on the varsity team, beating North Babylon as a freshman, last season.
“He has good velocity, works with great tempo and he’s a competitor,” said Joyner.
As you can see in the above video, he has a herky-jerky motion, low 3/4 arm angle, throws across his body significantly and has a sweeping breaking ball. Not someone you want to bat four times against.
Rounding out the rotation will be senior Ryan Acevedo. He defeated West Islip and rival Centereach last year. He’s a 6’4″ power arm that could take on a pivotal role with the team.
The offense will be “very young”, according to Joyner.
They will count on two seniors to supply some production. Catcher Kyle Wappaus and second baseman Frankie DiAntonio will be key cogs in the offensive attack.
The Wolverines have endured a few lean years in a row, but with their young talent already having experience at the varsity level, they are right on the precipice of turning a corner.
They will open up against Riverhead, whom Joyner expects to be a difficult test for his squad. The schedule hands them no favors after that, as they will take on Half Hollow Hills East and Smithtown West, in consecutive weeks. If they can survive that gauntlet, they will definitely be in good position to make a playoff run.
One interesting schedule tidbit to note, it will be the first year that they are not playing rival Centereach, due to enrollment changes in the past year.
The Cougars defeated them on the last day of the season in 2011 to keep them from qualifying for a postseason berth.
That history does not pertain to this group of players, they are looking to make history on their own.
