It’s tough to bounce back when you lose 13 seniors from your team. The John Glenn Knights learned just how difficult that could be last year. The good news? In coach Matthew Rocchio’s third season, they’re now ready to take the next step, as many players were able to get invaluable experience playing last year.
Just two years ago, they won eight games, including one over Shoreham-Wading River–their only loss before the Long Island Championship.
While the Knights are still a young team that is growing, they still have many areas of strength. One strength in particular is their pitching staff. Matt Polestino, who is a three-year starter for the varsity team, is a left-hander who mixes a fastball in the low 80s with the right off-speed pitches to keep hitters guessing. When he’s not pitching, he’s roaming center field for the Knights.
Nick DiDiego is another impressive starter, who is actually making the full-time switch from catcher to focus on pitching. While he was a valuable catcher in his own right, the switch needed to be made so he could pitch more. He’s joined by Aidan Desmond, who is a three-year varsity starter as well, in addition to playing in the infield.
To round out the staff, the Knights are expecting big strides to be made from pitchers Dan Brown and Mario Georgiou, who both are vying for spots in the Knights rotation.
It’s not as if the Knights don’t have any impact bats. One of the benefits of having a young team, is seeing a freshman like Joe Patane get a shot to win the job in the infield and then run away with it. The Knights can expect even bigger strides to be made this year. Junior, Nick Aufiero also received an opportunity last year, and took off with it, hitting .330.
Senior, Jordan Curiale was off to a fantastic start last season, batting over .400, until a broken wrist cut his season short. His return to the team will help the Knights lineup immensely.
This is still a young team, so you can expect there to be freshmen and sophomores who will get a chance to prove that they could be contributors to the team. As this team continues to grow, you can expect the John Glenn Knights to make a lot of noise in the years to follow.
