A six-game winning streak right in the middle of the season was a huge factor in Deer Park qualifying for a postseason berth.
With the combination of seniors Charlie Rainone (St. Joseph’s) and Robert Belotti (Farmingdale State), the Falcons were able to put together an incredible streak of five consecutive shutouts.
“Rainone had a great year all-around–on the mound, at the plate and in the field for us,” said Head Coach Ryan Argenziano. Rainone was voted Axcess Baseball‘s League 5 MVP. He compiled an ERA of 1.81 with 65 strikeouts over 40 IP. At the plate, he batted .330 with 15 RBI as well.
Losing those two will certainly be a challenge to replace for an 11-win team. They had the makings of a team that could make a playoff run but they ran into Whitman in the play-in game and they were defeated 3-1.
“Losing that game was disappointing,” said Argenziano. “We lost some seniors too and our league is tough,” he added.
They will be leaning on Concordia-commit Jordan Rios, an All-County swiss army knife that plays CF, SS and pitches. He batted .383 last season with 28 stolen bases.
“He’s very athletic, he plays multiple positions and is a good right-handed pitcher,” he added.
Argenziano noted that they are a young team, but he noted sophomore Donald Lent is a player he is confident in, who played well on JV last season as well as sophomore Brendan Eising, who transferred over from St. Anthony’s.
League 4 is a challenge. With the reigning Class AA Champion West Islip Lions residing in the league, they are certainly the favorites until someone proves otherwise. He also spoke highly of North Babylon, who has two Preseason All-Long Island pitchers in Nick Burke and Brian Primm.
“Our goal is to get into the playoffs and make a run.”
