Coming off one of their most successful seasons under 10-year Head Coach Ryan Argenziano, the Deer Park Falcons will be looking to duplicate that success in a new league. They were co-champs with Bellport and West Islip in league 4. With the re-classification of many schools, the Falcons will now be competing in League 5.
The switch means they will not have to face West Islip, who was a real thorn in their side last season–responsible for five of their eight losses on the season including a 4-1 season-ending loss and also an epic 10-9 loss in the first round which featured theatrics such as a grand slam, game-tying hit in the sixth and a walk-off for the Lions.
“We played them six times last year and we just couldn’t get past them,” said Argenziano. “We battled them tough every game but it was always one inning that we blew up or that they rallied. I’m sure if you asked Shawn {Rush}, he would say we were the toughest team they faced. They are no slouches, look how far they went,” he added.
Outside of that, the Falcons had a phenomenal season led by league MVP Oliver Tavares, who is currently playing at Farleigh-Dickinson. It was the first league MVP during Argenziano’s coaching tenure, and the first for the program since Bo Budkevics in 2007.
“He was a four-year starter for us and he led us on-and-off the field,” he said. “He was in a leadership role and he just improved a little every year since freshmen year. He had the type of season last year he was hoping to have in his junior year, but he turned into a legit monster last year–he batted over .460 at the plate with a ton of RBI and only made two errors all season at shortstop,” he added.
Additionally, they graduated All-County RHP Connor Hewlette who won seven games on the mound and hit two HR at the plate. He is currently at Roger Williams University. Not to be overlooked is the loss of All-League catcher Steve Plachinski who was named Gold Glove last season by Section XI.
“He completely shut down the running game,” he said.
The good news is that they have plenty of talent returning.
Argenziano is excited about starting center fielder Jordan Rios. He described him as a “crazy athlete” and he will also contribute on the mound as well. He has been garnering interest from some major Division-I programs.
Joining him in the lineup is returning All-League player Evan Mallon, who is committed to Cochise College in Arizona, which is a Division-I Junior College. “He’s been with us for four years now,” said Argenziano. “He played middle infield with Tavares last year, now he will be replacing him at shortstop. He had a really good summer for us with the East Coast Jays–we are expecting big things from him. He’s sort of stepping into that leadership role of Connor and Oliver last year,” he added.
Another major component of the team will be 1st baseman/pitcher Charlie Rainone, who is committed to St. Joseph’s College. He noted that he has a nice lefty swing, as was evident in our inaugural Home Run Derby back in September that he participated in.
Rainone, who won three games last year, will also anchor the rotation along with Robert Belotti, winner of four games last year.
“We are confident in them, we also have more depth in pitching than we’ve had in previous years,” said Argenziano who is anticipating a battle for the third spot in the rotation.
He noted that the strength of the team is in their speed, and that six of last year’s eight starting position players are returning.
League 5 will feature Bellport, Hills West, Eastport-South Manor, Comsewogue and West Babylon.
“The league is tough. We open up at Bellport, which I think will be a great test right out of the gate. I also like Hills West, they are always dangerous.”
