Prior to the season, I wrote up some predictions for Suffolk Class AA based on my observations from the previous season and the improvement I saw from each team in the off season. So far, those predictions are looking pretty good. Here’s the top 10 teams in Suffolk Class AA right now. The obvious limitations to this list is that I’ve been covering games in Nassau and the CHSAA as well, so I haven’t yet gotten to see all the teams in Class AA, but within the next two weeks I should be able to. Here’s my best stab at it.
10) Deer Park (8-4)
One of the biggest surprises this year, they have been led by senior Connor Hewlette, who already has four wins and Robert Belotti, who has three. They also have a fairly easy schedule remaining, which gives them a good chance at a playoff berth. Oliver Tavares has done the heavy lifting at the plate, while Evan Mallon and Steven Plachcinski have done a good job as well.
9) Northport (6-5)
Despite having a worse record than Bay Shore, I give them the slight edge due to my observations when I watched the two teams play. Northport impressed me with how they handled the bats when they had the opposing pitcher on the ropes. They also play very sound defense and draw walks, which will work to their advantage with the pitch-count rule. The top of the order with Matt Lindley, George Sutherland and Frankie Stola (very underrated players) , and Jacob McCarthy (Molloy-commit) is pretty potent. Alex Reuter (Concordia-commit) has done a good job stepping up in the absence of Brian Herrman and Nicholas Palmerini. I like their chances down the stretch.
8) Sachem East (8-5)
The trio of Anthony Siroka, Roman Dorosh and Aiden Dadabo has been very effective. The sophomore Dorosh has really been turning heads. Siroka is a masher in the middle of the order (garnering interest from local MLB scouts), and Brendan Ryan and Brandon Davis have been critical to their success as well.
7) Bellport (8-4)
It doesn’t hurt having two terrific arms in Joe Greco and Anthony Jacabacci at the top of the rotation. They give them a chance to beat anybody, but they also have an emerging young arm in sophomore Andrew Veit, who has two wins. Offensively, they have been led by Greco, Jacabacci as well, but Ryan Baumann, Adam Colon and Mike Sangiamo have done a good job providing protection in the order. They held their own against West Islip and it will be an interesting race down the stretch.
6) Smithtown West (8-4)/Smithtown East (7-3)
I’m cheating a little here, but these two teams are virtually identical. I give the slight edge to East due to the volume of arms but Nicholas Trabacchi is doing his best to carry West on his back. Alex Gross has won two games as well, helping to lengthen the rotation that also has senior RHP Anthony Amato. They have won three games in a row, but they have plenty of work remaining with East looming at the end of the year. Speaking of them, they are led by a strong pitching staff with arms like Michael Ruggerio, Michael Storms, Tyler Schmid, Nick Harvey, among others. They’ve done enough offensively to get the job done, led by Andrew Cannino, Ryan Pennisi and Ruggerio but their staff is certainly what has carried them and will continue to.
5. Hauppauge (9-4)
Coach Gutes has done a great job with a young team. Fortunately, they’ve gotten great performances from their senior first baseman/closer Matt Overton and junior Kevin Sambuco (four wins already). The big surprise has been freshman Ryan Levenberg, who I watched out duel one of the best arms in Suffolk, Brad Camarda, two weeks ago. They are a scrappy team offensively. Connor Cutino, Blake Adamo, Dylan Flynn, Nick Sellitto and Brett Boller work at bats and really make the pitcher earn his outs. They have also gained some crucial experience in postseason baseball the past two years.
4. West Islip (9-3)
It’s impossible to count out the reigning Long Island Class AA champs, but the injury to Fordham-commit Jake Guercio was a tough blow. Outfielder Anthony Ippolito has done a commendable job in his absence. Kyle O’Neill has been terrific as the ace and the third-place hitter. Joe Valentino has three wins on the mound, and Anthony Cinquemani looks like he could be an emerging ace. Greg Tsouprakos has been fantastic in the field and as the cleanup hitter. They are very tough to beat in the late innings of a close game. They recently have gotten clutch late-game hits from players like Brandon Isolano and Tom Parson, which makes the lineup dangerous and deep.
3. Hills East (10-2)
With Patch Dooley, Kevin Glasser and Joe Litchhult basically refusing to give up hits, it’s been pretty tough to beat them. Dooley and Litchhult both have thrown no-hitters, while also carrying no-hitters deep into other starts. Mike Palazzolo has been scorching at the plate, with plenty of help from hitters like Matt Hogan.
2. Ward Melville (10-2)
They got the nod at No. 2 due to a balanced team that will be a tough out in the playoffs. Their pitching staff of Ben Brown, Max Nielsen, Matt DiGennaro and Chris Buehler is talented and deep. Brown has a chance to win the Paul Gibson Award. They are very disciplined and are tough to beat in close games thanks to a strong defense and offensive attack. Center fielder, Joey Rosselli, has been crucial to their success as well as junior SS Logan Doran, who smacked a walk-off HR against Pat-Med last week. Mike Sepe, Kyle Rafferty, Tom Hudzik, Vinny Pepitone and Trevor Cronin have really provided length in the lineup as well. They are riding a six-game winning streak.
- Commack (10-0)
It’s not really a stretch to say they have more pitching than they know what to do with. Aside from possessing two Div-I commits in Brian Morrisey (Stony Brook) and Peter Theodorellis (Farleigh-Dickinson), a Div-II commit in Johnny Pohlman (St. Rose) who is 3-0, they also have last year’s No. 8 ranked player James Cardinale available when they need a fourth starter. They have more, too. Sophomore LHP Jake Krzemienski throws in the mid 80s and is their closer. They’ve allowed only 24 runs this year. They are averaging over 10.0 runs per game thanks to a balanced attack led by Theodorellis (recently had 29-game hitting streak snapped) plus Jake Jacobs, Tim McHugh, Jason Salerno, Anthony Lambroia and Andrew Chidester. They will have their toughest series coming up though, with Northport, Bay Shore and Lindenhurst in the following weeks. Should be interesting if they can run the table, but they have already clinched a playoff berth.
