Over the last two years, it’s safe to say Plainview has been one of the powerhouses in Class AA.
In 2017, the Hawks fell to Massapequa in the county championship and in 2018, they lost to Massapequa in the seminfinals, who went on to win the state championship.
Three years ago, the Hawks knew they had a strong core of sophomores that had potential to be great. They capitalized on that window. This core included 2017 Diamond Award-winner Mark Faello (Hofstra), Tyler Marinaccio (Maine), Ryan Saltzman (Mercy) and Michael Cole (Franklin & Marshall). Fast forward to 2018 and they carried Plainview deep into May two seasons in a row.
Losing a core of players with their level of talent is never an easy thing to do, but it certainty won’t be the first time they’ve had to deal with some adversity. Expect Head Coach John Givargidze to utilize his young players early on in order to reap the rewards later on.
Although they lost their star players, they still have key pieces that made an impact for them last year returning to the lineup.
Offensively, the Hawks will be led by seniors Michael Rothstein and Ethan Schorr. Both players were a force in their every day lineup in 2018, so expect nothing less from them this season.
Behind the plate, Tyler Galletti will handle the catching duties. He is a senior that transferred back from St. Anthony’s, which is extremely beneficial for the Hawks.
Aside from the three seniors that will lead the way offensively, there will be competition for a few remaining starting spots in the lineup.
On the mound, Plainview will have to replace their best pitcher in school history, Mark Faello. In 2017, Faello won the Diamond Award for pitching. In 2018, he gave up seven earned runs, all that came in the same game.
With Faello gone, that leaves junior Ziv Gar to be the ace of this pitching staff. Gar did a fantastic job at the back end of the rotation as a sophomore. He will seek to transition that success to this season.
Behind Gar in the rotation, Plainview will have a few options to fill. Expect Jordan Lambert, Nick Arciold and James Manzo to eat some innings for them throughout the April and May.
As far as their competition, Plainview plans to find themselves at the top of the conference once again. Their schedule includes Hicksville, Port Washington, Baldwin, East Meadow and Long Beach.
On April 8th, Plainview will open up their season against Port Washington, who they defeated in 12 innings last year in the quarterfinals. Port Washington will be seeking vengeance, but expect the Hawks to be ready.
