If you are judging programs on their ability to win championships and get players to the next level, there’s no question that Kellenberg is right there with any program including Nassau and Suffolk public schools. Since 2016, they have won two CHSAA titles and have sent 21 players to the collegiate level.
Chris Cappas (Pittsburgh), Robert Weissheier (Hofstra) and Terrence Murray (Fordham) are all playing at the Division-I level while Kevin McCarthy is in the Major Leagues with the Kansas City Royals.
Last year was certainly a down year by their standards, falling to 8-13 after winning back-to-back CHSAA championships and being named Axcess Baseball’s Team of the Year in 2017.
“During the previous two years we found ourselves in a lot of one-run situations where we would bunt or steal a base. Last year we didn’t put ourselves in those situations, or if we did we would strikeout,”said Head Coach Chris Alfalla, who is just five wins away from 200 for his career. He went on to add that “during the championship years we had dominant pitching, last year walks destroyed us,” he added.
That is a by-product of being a young team.
After graduating 15 seniors in 2017, including the CHSAA Player of the Year in Chris Cappas, they were forced to start several inexperienced players and that certainly led to them falling back to the pack.
This year should be different as those young players took their lumps and they will also have an influx of talent from their successful JV team that went 16-2 (more on that later).
Leading the pack is senior Jason Diaz. For our audience, you are certainly familiar with the Miami-commit by now. He has lightning in his arm and shut out St. John the Baptist, 1-0, in 2017 to clinch the CHSAA championship in front of 1,000 people at Hofstra University. He has firmly been on the draft radar ever since. He did prove to be human last season, compiling a record of 4-2 with a 1.54 ERA. He struck out 59 batters over 31.2 IP but walked 16 batters.
Final: Kellenberg 1, St. John the Baptist 0
WP: Jason Diaz (4-Hit Shutout, 10 K)Kellenberg wins CHSAA Championship for consecutive year pic.twitter.com/SVUCaB11Be
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 29, 2017
Alfalla noted that the outfield defense behind him cost him last season and they will hope to sure up their defense behind the ace this season.
“He’s going to get drafted this year, I just want to enjoy him as a person. I always make sure to ask him how he is, how’s the family, so it’s not just baseball constantly. I want him to enjoy his senior year,” he said. He noted that the presence of scouts behind the plate is a positive for the program, and it is an “opportunity for the other players to get themselves noticed, so they need to hustle down to the first because they are watching”.
The rotation behind him is still up for grabs. They are hoping that All-League reliever John Carroll (1.46 ERA, 17 K, 14.1 IP) will be able to seamlessly transition into the rotation and provide a capable No. 2 behind Diaz. They are also hoping for some other players to step up during the competition to win a spot in the rotation. He named Max Greenwall, Frankie Roder, Matt Leahy and Robert Coleman as possible candidates.
As for the offense, the team will be looking for Kansas-commit Luke Napolitano to have a bounce-back season. The 6’1 180 lb SS certainly looks the part of a Division-I athlete, with a beautiful left-handed swing and smooth footwork defensively to match but he struggled to a .207 AVG last season. If he plays to his capabilities the team’s ceiling becomes much higher.
As far as returning players, Alfalla also mentioned CF Dan Cardito as a critical player. He batted .293 and stole nine bases, scored 11 runs and hit two triples. He is also hoping for a successful transition from 2nd base to OF for Andrew Cascio. Diaz is also an impact bat, as he hit .365 last year and stole nine bases, so those four seniors will be crucial if they are to be closer to 2016-’17 than ’18.
A huge X-Factor is the performance and also the possibility of sophomores being called up.
Alfalla named Kyle Sharkey, Xavier Cruz and Jordan DeLucia as three juniors that are “huge additions”.
Additionally, he noted the possibly of calling up Joe Durso or C.J. Picone as 10th graders.
“Usually with Kellenberg we call up sophomores on a need-to basis, it’s not like other schools. We’ll see how tryouts go but they are certainly on the radar. Picone has one of those swings with a finish like Manny Ramirez or Griffey Jr.”
They will go to battle in the competitive CHSAA conference against the usual suspects this season.
“You have the two new coaches (St. Dom’s & St. Anthony’s) who will inject some new energy into the program,” he said.
They will open up their league schedule against St. John the Baptist, the reigning champs.
