The Great Neck South Rebels dominated last year, wining the county wide league with an 18-1 record, which was also the best record for any varsity team in Nassau County. With that considered, this year, they were ready to take a step up in competition. The coaches were ready, and the players wanted the challenge. This year the Rebels move up to the A1 league, where they will find the competition they were looking for. They have the talent to compete and win this year.
Coming back for this year’s team is senior and all county catcher, Brett Figelman. He has already committed to Ithaca. He hit a ridiculous .529 last year, with 23 RBI’s. Another leader from last year’s team is junior and all conference pitcher Phil Menist, a left-hander who went 6-0 last year, with an insane two earned runs in 32 innings. That makes for 0.43 era. These two played huge roles on last year’s team and will look to prove that their production was not a result of the division they played in.
In the infield, the Rebels return several juniors to this year’s team. Infielder, Brandon Aldwadish, is one of those juniors, who returns after a year where he hit .298 with 20 RBI. He returns with fellow junior infielder, Adrian Balckom who looks to play both third base and catcher for the team this year. Balckom had a very impressive season last year, hitting .429 to go along with 13 RBI. He figures to play a very important role on this year’s team. As does junior infielder, Eric Madenberg who also hit an impressive .377 with 14 RBI.
For this year’s team to compete successfully in their new league, they’re going to need these players to repeat their success at this new level, which the team is very confident that they can do. The Rebels will also look for other to help step up and support the team. This includes junior infielder, Paul Depaulis and junior John Vlantis.
The Rebels are unquestionably a success story. After dominating their division, they wanted to prove that they can hang with anyone. Having a successful season this year in the A1 league will make for a great next chapter in their success story. It won’t be a cakewalk, however, facing the likes of Macarthur, Calhoun, Herricks, Valley Stream Central and Mepham.
