In a little over one year, Eastport–South Manor went from the Class AA Finals to a 3-12 season. Graduating eight seniors from 2018 certainly did not help–including Axcess League 5 MVP Ryan Foran. There was a huge amount of roster turnover and the year did not go so well for them as they dropped to last place.
Coach Jim McGowan has made some big changes this offseason, though, to make sure that the events of last year never happen again.
“With 12 returning players, we put a team in a summer league where we were able to play the equivalent of a high school regular season,” McGowan said. “We also played a fall tournament together and have changed some of how we run our winter workouts.”
Pitching was a big question mark heading into last season, but now McGowan says that the depth of arms should be a strength for this year. Among those arms is SUNY Purchase-commit Justin Doskoez. Last year, Doskoez had a 2.62 ERA in 40 innings with 3 complete games. One of the more up-and-coming young arms is sophomore Jake DesLauriers, who as a freshman posted a 1.31 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.
Seniors Joe Sanguedolce, Trevor Zanderzuk, Peter Devito and Ben Robles also return this year. McGowan thinks of them as experienced and knowledgeable leaders who know how to compete at a high level.
“We will be relying on them heavily this year, not only with their play on the field, but their leadership off the field,” McGowan said. “We will be very young again this season, with potentially two sophomores in our rotation and the chance for four sophomores to possibly start in the field. So, the leadership of our senior group will be paramount to any success we have this season.”
The league will “be a battle from top to bottom,” according to McGowan. Teams like the defending league champion Hauppauge, West Babylon, Harborfields, and new member Rocky Point will be strong contenders.
Eastport-South Manor will need some big at bats to accompany the stellar pitching.
“Our guys have been focused and engaged,” McGowan said. “If our pitchers keep us in the game, which I anticipate they will, our offense needs to have quality at bats and hit with runners in scoring position, things we struggled with last year.”
