Coach Steve Corrado knows his team drew some tough luck when they were placed into a playoff bracket with Northport and Bay Shore. After losing the opening round playoff game to Northport, they had to face a hungry No. 1 seed in Bay Shore coming off a loss. They were defeated 7-3, but Corrado knows that shouldn’t take away from the success of the season.
“Everything went great until the playoffs,” he said. “We were right there–we beat West Islip during the season and took them to extra innings in the third game. The team really bought in–that’s what happens when you have 13 seniors,” he added.
It helped that the team had two seniors that hit .500 in Steven Burke (.500, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 29 runs scored, 37 hits) and Nick Balfe (.500, 5 HR, 37 RBI). What was most impressive about Balfe’s numbers is that he did that while missing two games. Burke also fired a no-hitter on April 20 against West Babylon on 85 pitches. He is now at the College of St. Rose and Balfe is at SUNY Old Westbury.
Those two are a major reason the team compiled a .334 average, and they must find replacements for that production.
They also graduated ace Pat McCabe, who won six games on the hill, and is now at LIU Post.
Mike Trout photographed for BodyArmor sports drink by Monte Isom
Fortunately, they have no shortage of players ready to make an impact.
Pat Solomita will be anchoring the rotation. He was 3-0 with a 3.77 ERA as a starter last season. He compiled 25 innings last year and those account for 25 of the 38 innings returning from last year. He will also be the center fielder when he’s not on the hill. He hit .429 over his final eight games in 2016.
Corrado noted that how the rest of the rotation performs will likely determine how far the team goes. “It starts with pitching and often ends with pitching.”
They will be counting on some underclassmen to contribute as first-time varsity players, but they have all shown great promise already.
Brian Primm, Nick Burke, Evan Christopher and Anthony Palumbo are four pitchers who will be competing for spots in the rotation. Primm’s older brother, Kevin, was a part of the 2009 Long Island Championship team. He is already 6’1″ 175 lbs and throws in the low 80s. Burke (younger brother of Steven) is 6’0″ 160 lbs and fired three scoreless innings on varsity as a freshman last year.
He added three seniors that could have an impact are James Gray, Angelo Cruz and Nick Elliot.
The Bulldogs will be in really good position up the middle. They will be counting on three-year starter Joe Barbuto to set the tone at the top-of-the-order and provide stability at shortstop. Despite missing four games last year, he hit .306 with a .521 OBP, scored 24 runs and stole nine bases as the leadoff hitter.
“He really solidified the shortstop position for us–he made only five errors last year,” said Corrado.
Second baseman Zach Kolano committed only one error last year and hit .265 as a sophomore. The X-Factor will be catcher Jose Michael Santana. The senior just moved here from the Dominican Republic. He has recorded a 2.01 pop time and is the fastest runner on the time with a 6.84 60-yard dash. He can swing the bat
How about the sound off the bat of Jose Michael Santana? The North Babylon senior just transferred from the Dominican Republic. High follow pic.twitter.com/qTpEQnYTnk
— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) February 26, 2017
The only issue is that as the catcher, it does require the ability to be very vocal and he arrived here with no knowledge of the english language. He has been working very diligently, however, on taking classes in order to communicate with his teammates. Corrado noted he is allowed to communicate through a translator on the mound, if necessary.
The outfield will be rounded out by juniors P.J. Tchinnis and Greg Pimentel. Tchinnis is a “high energy kid” and was so liked by the senior-class last year that they lobbied to have him stay on varsity during tryouts, according to Corrado. Pimentel, an All-County running back on the football team, will be making the switch from middle infield to outfield this year. He has great speed, and he was second behind Santana with a 6.86 60-yard dash.
“Our goal is always the same–we’re trying to get to the playoffs and take it from there,” said Corrado. He added that League 4 will be very difficult with the reigning champs from West Islip, among others.
