If there is one thing that’s consistent across all sports, it’s that teams who get hot at the end of the season win championships.
That was exactly the case last year for the St. John the Baptist baseball team as they won 11 of their final 12 games on their way to a CSHAA league championship.
And it wasn’t easy.
“In [this] league, it’s almost whoever gets hot at the right time,” said St. John the Baptist head coach Casey McKay.
“A lot of the games we were actually down,” he said. “We were behind or tied in every single game in the playoffs.”
That includes the deciding game of the league championship where the team was down 3-0 and rallied to win the game 5-3 and their first league championship since 2014.
“We don’t get high on ourselves.” McKay says that’s the reason why the 2018 team never counted themselves out.
The team finished 18-4 in 2018 and was led at the plate by Logan O’Hoppe, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
Kevin Czeczotka, who graduated last season, led the team on the mound in 2018 with a 6-1 record.
Last year’s championship team had 13 seniors on the roster, including O’Hoppe and Czeczotka, as well as centerfielder Will Shaw who brought a .340 clip to the table.
“We’re young this year,” McKay said. “To me it’s more important to be as successful as last year because we’re such a young team.”
McKay says his expectations for the team are just as high as last season’s championship run.
“We’d like to be back there,” he said, referring to the league championship series.
Such a large and impactful graduating class means it is time for the next wave of talent to come through.
This wave is led by freshman Kyle Chase, who will command the corner infield positions on the diamond and spend some time on the mound.
Chase begins his career at St. John the Baptist after batting an .833 clip including 11 homeruns in the 2017 Cooperstown tournament when he was only 12 years old.
Last fall, he was also asked to play quarterback for the school’s football team after their starter was injured. Chase accepted the challenge and threw for over 200 yards and two touchdowns in a playoff game.
“[Chase] has a pretty high ceiling,” McKay said. “He’s a tough competitor.”
Key returners to the roster include New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)-commit EJ Exposito. The senior captain spent some time on the mound last season, but most of the year was spent at shortstop.
“[Exposito is] the best defensive shortstop on Long Island,” McKay said. “He shot up late on the team and I credit that to the hard work he put in during the offseason.”
“He’s [Division I] talent,” he added.
Exposito will be spending time on the mound again this season.
“He’s running up there around 87-88 [mph],” McKay said. “We want him to touch 90 this year.”
Giancarlo Giacometti, the junior pitcher, will also be key to St. John the Baptist’s rotation in 2019.
Giacometti threw 22 innings in 2018 and finished with a 1.70 ERA along with a .275 batting average.
“[Giacometti] is one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached,” McKay said. “He’s a tough player. Old-school, throwback, tough competitor.”
McKay is looking forward to taking a new-look, young squad and competing for another CSHAA league championship in 2019.
“I think top to bottom it’s one of the most competitive leagues,” he said. “It’s pretty wide open.”
“We’re going to battle and put ourselves where we need to be in May.”
