Final: Garden City 12 Wantagh 3
WP: Andrew NagelWinner take all game Tueaday @ 4PM. pic.twitter.com/D3JLUtDuLz
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2017
Among the most impressive teams in Nassau Class A over the last two years is the Garden City Trojans.
After taking Wantagh to Game Three of the County Championship two years ago and losing to them in the semifinals last season, it’s evident they came up just short of something special. The question of “what if” will linger around the locker room this off season, but expect the Trojans to turn the page and be a threat once again in 2019.
As far as Garden City’s conference opponents, it’s hard to envision anyone preventing them from being conference champions once again. Their 2019 schedule includes New Hyde Park, Manhasset, Jericho, Carey and Bellmore JFK. Although these teams are talented, consider Garden City to open up the season as favorites to win Conference A2.
Garden City’s deep postseason runs in back-to-back seasons were due to their all-around talent. Perhaps the largest obstacle they have to face is replacing their strong pitching staff.
With Robert Lucano (Hofstra) graduating along with the rest of their pitching staff, this leaves new opportunities for young players to step up and make an impact. The only returning pitcher that appeared in significant games is Stonehill-commit Billy Duff.
“We have a lot of holes to fill both on the mound and in the lineup,” Head Coach Dave Izzo stated. “Hopefully new guys will step up and help us continue our winning ways,” he added.
Aside from their pitching staff, their lineup took a toll on graduating seniors as well. They lost Garrett Going, Mark DiPierro and Kevin McNiff.
Although they lost some players offensively, the Trojans still have a strong core of seniors that all have postseason experience. Their core of impact players include Binghamton-commit Tommy Reifler (SS), Mike Rasquin (OF/C), Jake Fraher (3B/2B) and Andrew Zupicich (C/DH).
Reifler will be the leader of this experienced Garden City offense, as he’s been the starting shortstop since their county championship appearance in 2017. Expect him to be a leader offensively, defensively and off the field.
Expect Garden City to go into the season with not only something to prove, but a ‘next man up’ mentality. The Trojans open up their season against a sneaky Manhasset team on April 8th. They’re eyeing another deep postseason run for the third consecutive year.
