When St. Anthony’s opens up the 2018 season, they will do so with heavy hearts.
Just one month ago, beloved senior Anthony Pagano, 17, was tragically killed in a car crash in Albany. Head Coach John Phelan was on vacation with his grandchildren and came back to attend the funeral and console his grieving players during spring break.
“They went in to spring break as 15, 16, 17-year old kids and they came back to school as young men,” said Phelan. “They really handled it with so much maturity. They have a different level of focus,” he said.
The team is planning a few different tributes to the fallen teammate, including replacing the “S.A” behind home plate with “A.P.”, wearing camouflage No. 16 uniforms during the season and also a tribute on senior day against St. Mary’s.
Without question, it will be a difficult season having to deal with the unspeakable loss of a beloved teammate, but Phelan was certain that this team has rallied behind it and they have the talent to compete for a championship.
They will go to battle armed with an extremely talented pitching staff led by senior RHP Jared Restmeyer (College of St. Rose-commit). He had a stellar season last year and will anchor the rotation. He will be joined by junior Frank Massa, who went 5-1 as a sophomore. Joining them is a collection of four southpaws; Colin Kehoe, Billy Fitzgerald, Brian Fitzpatrick and Michael Kneessy.
Phelan is excited at the prospect of having four southpaws.
“Usually you’re happy to have just one!” he said. This positions them very well to neutralize the top left-handed hitters in the conference late in games.
Their infield is supremely talented as well. Sophomore Jack Reardon is expected to be the starter, Phelan noted he had considered calling him up as a freshman but decided against it considering the challenges of the CHSAA. Robbie Affenitta (Adelphi-commit) will slide over to second base from SS last year, which gives them a formidable double play combo. Junior 3B Jake Barrett will man the hot corner after wrestling the job from a senior last year.
“He’s going to be a big middle-of-the-order guy for us,” said Phelan. “He has some power and he got himself into shape this winter.”
The first baseman will be Logan Vallas, whom Phelan described as a “dynamic base runner.”
He stated that the infield is going to be an exciting group to watch.
The outfield will be arguably more talented as senior Jordan Rose (College of St. Rose commit) will be in a corner position after suffering a serious knee injury last year but is back to 100 percent. At full health, he is among the top hitters in the league. Anthony D’Onofrio will man the other corner, and he is a 6’2″ power hitter with a high ceiling and is ranked as the No. 3 outfield prospect in NY by Perfect Game.
Center fielder Steve Rizzo is back after a strong sophomore season. He is transitioning from playing infield last year, Phelan noted he has really looked comfortable in the outfield so far. He performed exceptionally well down in the Dominican Republic at Sal Agostinelli’s elite tournament.
“He’s all business, all the time,” said Phelan. “He’s got a good arm, he’s a middle-of-the-order guy. This is going to be his year. He’s in a spot suited for him. He’s really changed physically this year,” he added.
He noted that there’s another player Cameron Leary, that may force his way into the conversation as well.
“He’s got a good baseball sense and he has tremendous power for his size.”
They will begin their season in Florida but will come back and open up their season against St. John the Baptist and Kellenberg, two of the top teams in the league.
“I think (Robert) Malandro said it best, ‘it’s a black-and-blue league, anyone can beat up anyone,” he said.
They are coming off a season in which they entered the playoffs with a record of 13-5, but had a layoff of 9 days before the postseason, which Phelan feels contributed to their postseason performance. They were defeated by SJB, who they had swept during the regular season.
“I think we have something to build on,” he said.
