After a promising regular season in 2018, Herricks postseason run came to an abrupt end as they lost 10-0 to Freeport in the first round.
Evidently, this one still stings.
For several reasons, Herricks believes they can learn from last year’s struggles and turn it into success. However, this year will be much different for them.
Due to the new conference alignments, Herricks will now compete in Class A. This means they will be facing new competition, resulting in new rivalries along the way.
Herricks new opponents consist of MacArthur, Calhoun, Great Neck South, Valley Stream Central and Mepham. Entering a new conference means a fresh start, and a chance to turn things around.
This season, Herricks returns several seniors who will play baseball at the next level.
On the mound, they have the privilege of returning their ace, Scranton-commit Chris Marshiano. Last year, Marshiano finished the regular season with a 4-1 record, a 3.49 ERA, 38 strikeouts and only four walks. Coming off a strong 2018, he will seek to do even more damage this season.
Behind Marshiano in the rotation is junior Peter Carreca. He’s a two-way player who possesses a lively fastball and will be the number two starter. As a sophomore, he didn’t get much of a chance to pitch. That will change this year.
Offensively, Herricks returns the Nassau County leader in regular season home runs, catcher Matt Yip. The UNC Wilmington-commit finished 2018 posting a ridiculous .458 batting average, along with seven home runs and 34 RBI. Yip is the catalyst of this offense who has a ton of power behind his quick bat speed.
Aside from Yip, Herricks brings back other significant players who had successful seasons in 2018. They return shortstop William McCreery, West Florida-commit Mike Scordo, Alex Banks and Peter Carreca to their lineup.
Although this Herricks teams lacks postseason experience, they return enough impact players to have a better season than last year. In a conference that is wide open, there’s no reason why they can’t compete for a playoff spot.
Herricks opens up their season against Valley Stream Central on April 8th. Expectations for Herricks are high, and they are eager for the start of another playoff push.
