Coach Fucarino speaking about his 2017-’18 team pic.twitter.com/FzIiO7mriL
— Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) September 14, 2017
Today I was down at Mitchel Field in Uniondale to get a good look at the team Molloy will be going to battle with during the upcoming 2018 season. After struggling during the early part of the 2017, they caught fire in the latter portion of the season and made a playoff run. They made it to the ECC championship, but ultimately had their season cut off by LIU Post; who were crowned champs.
That team graduated 11 seniors, including several of their impact guys; notably workhorse Ron Bauer, LHP Dominic Danetti, SS Brian Murphy, INF Michael Rahn, INF Kevin Podell, OF Anthony Alberghina and OF Anthony Galanoudis.
Despite the large group of outgoing seniors, Coach Joe Fucarino is very pleased with his crop of incoming players. There are six freshman and three transfers. Several of those could play critical roles for the Lions this season.
During the time I spent at practice, I kept an eye on some players that I am expecting to have impacts right off the bat.
Senior first baseman Angelo Navetta is one of the best players in the ECC. We named him the Most Valuable Player of 2016, and his production will be paramount to their success next season. He has a very smooth swing, and he also is very talented in the field; saving the infield countless errors per season with his ability to scoop both the short and the in-between hops. He also is adept at converting 3-6-3 double plays and cutting off the lead runner on bunt attempts. That is truly a weapon.
Senior OF Elijah Leerdham is a physical specimen at 6’4″ 215 lbs. The ball jumps off his bat with incredible velocity. He broke out last year with 49 hits and 38 runs batted in. He looked very good swinging off the tee. He’s another critical component to their offense.
6’4″ power hitting Elijah Leerdham getting his swings in pic.twitter.com/5PsRpftH48
— Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) September 14, 2017
They will also be counting on sophomore Jake Saltzman and James Messina to build on last year’s freshman seasons and step into the everyday lineup and produce.
I am expecting freshman 3B Jacob McCarthy (Northport ’17) to be a force in the lineup right away. He had a very productive high school career for the Tigers and is a talented defensive third baseman as well. He looked very smooth in the field tonight.
Matt Overton (Hauppauge ’17), who we named League 5 MVP, will be given a chance to both pitch and play the field. He is a tremendous pitcher that throws in the mid 80s, has command of a sharp breaking ball and is a durable workhorse. He was a middle-of-the-order hitter for the Eagles, but it remains to be seen how much he is counted on as a two-way player as a freshman.
Another critical component of the team will be Nassau CC-transfer Nick Marino. Nick was named to our 2016 All-Long Island team and he followed that up with an other-worldly 2017 campaign in which he ranked second in the nation with a .504 AVG. He should step right in and be an immediate force in the lineup.
Molloy will be counting on Nassau-transfer Nick Marino who hit .500 this past season (second in nation). pic.twitter.com/3O4ziJNSnO
— Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) September 14, 2017
It won’t come in to play this upcoming season, but the Lions also have received verbal commitments from two class of 2018 players in Justin Renner (Kellenberg) and Patrick Hoffman (East Meadow), which bodes very well for their future.
It’s still way too early to prognosticate, but the Lions appear to have a very good mix of experienced players as well as underclassmen that can have an immediate impact.
