In his second year at the helm, Victor Manzella led his squad to a deep playoff run, but ultimately they had their season cut short by rival Center Moriches by the score of 9-1. It was still a strong season, which featured a postseason upset victory over Stony Brook-commit Liam Pulsipher.
Their 12-win season was in large part due to the contributions of two seniors, now currently playing at the collegiate level. Axcess Baseball League 8 MVP Kenneth Gordon, now at Flagler College, and Shaun Kaminski, now at SUNY Old Westbury, had phenomenal seasons.
Manzella spoke glowingly of his two departing seniors.
“It’s a lot easier to win when you have two college caliber kids,” he said.
Gordon batted .498 last season with a .602 OBP and owns the tenth most stolen bases in New York high school baseball history with 113. He also batted .672 with runners in scoring position.
“Kenneth was a lightning rod for us in the lineup. He should’ve been our three-hitter but I batted him leadoff to maximize his at bats. Defensively, anything hit to him was an out,” said Manzella. Speaking on Kaminski, who went 6-3 for Babylon, he said, “Every time he took the mound I knew we had a shot to win that day. Shaun had ice in his veins–he used to tell me that. The bigger the situation, the better he pitched.”
Of his three loss, all were tough-luck losses including one on a dropped fly ball.
Despite losing last year’s biggest impact players, Manzella is confident in the group that is returning. Senior center fielder Ian Morgan is their biggest offensive threat. He batted .351 last year and Manzella noted he could be the player that fills the void left by Gordon.
He is also high on three-year starter Joseph Rende. He has played first base, second base and third base and could move to shortstop this season. Competing with him will be junior Antonio Tufano, who played second base last year as a sophomore and did a solid job.
A wild card could be Antonio’s younger brother, Christiano, only a seventh grader. Speaking from experience, I have watched the kid play during the NYBA camp at Hofstra in the summer of 2016 when he had just completed fifth grade and he honestly has a chance to compete at the high school level with his advanced skills.
The pitching staff will be led by junior Dylan Pane, who pitched 19.2 IP last year and struck out 22 batters as a sophomore. He pitched five shutout innings in his varsity debut against Southampton–a solid postseason team–before allowing a run in his sixth inning of work. He also recorded a victory during the regular season.
Joining him will be Mitch Carmody, who won three games and recorded a 3.50 ERA over 27 IP. Competing for the third spot in the rotation will be brothers Frank and Gino Vano. Frank, a senior, may have the inside track as he pitched 17 innings last season with a 1.67 ERA. Their older brother, Anthony, is a sophomore at Molloy College. Two years ago, they all pitched in one game at Babylon.
They will open up their season against Center Moriches, looking to avenge that season-ending defeat.
