by Zevan Shuster
On his 108th and final pitch Randall Alejo retires Jose Matos to strand the bases loaded in the seventh. Pat-Med looking to walk off pic.twitter.com/ffZoqvsylH
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2019
According to head coach Anthony Frascogna, Patchogue-Medford should be in more than capable shape heading into the 2020 season. They finished 2019 with a 9-9 league record, qualifying for the postseason with a 9th inning walk-off win against Longwood.
“We did graduate a couple of seniors, but our key guys all played last year. Our best pitcher, Chris Baldwin, was All-League last year, and did a nice job for us,” said Frascogna.
The head coach had enormous praise for his star pitcher, for his talent, his character and his competitive drive.
“He’s going to Alfred State College next year. I could rely on him at all times. He always throws strikes, and he always competes. To me he’s like one of those guys I grew up with who’ll beat you, he’ll battle with you on the baseball field, and then go home and beat you at a game of wiffle ball,” said Patchogue Medford’s head coach. “He just loves to play. He always tries to get himself in the lineup even when we haven’t planned on it. He’s really worked on it (his hitting) and he’s probably going to get some at-bats this year to get a shot with that too.”
Frascogna maintains that they have to get as much out of him as they can, they need him to pitch well, keep his pitch count down, and get as deep into games as he possibly can. If Baldwin can eat up innings, keep his team in games, Patchogue-Medford should be put in an excellent position for success this season.
Elsewhere on the field, Frascogna has key returning players that he’s going to need to rely on for his club to be as complete and well rounded as he knows they need to be.
“Our catcher, Peter Pannullo is back. We’re filling in elsewhere; our first baseman last year, Tyler Miller, graduated, but his backup, who was our designated hitter last year, Dante Morabito will fill in this year. I feel like we’re going to be pretty competitive. We’re going to contend in every game,” said Frascogna. “We play pretty good defense, we’re pretty sound, and the kids have been playing together all summer for the most part.”
And the head coach isn’t worried about his team’s mindset, he assured me that “We’ll be ready on Day 1 wherever we’re at.” The Raiders’ focus should be up to par, and they should play fundamentally sound baseball. But for them to be able to compete at as high a level as their coach wants and expects them to, they will have to have arms that can give them a chance to win game in and game out.
“We got a lot of pitching. We got a lot of guys that can throw strikes and compete in our league. I don’t have a 90 mile an hour guy, so I don’t have that, but I have a lot of guys that can mix it up and throw strikes with off-speed pitches and stuff like that,” said Frascogna. “The older I get the more I figure out that that’s almost a little harder to deal with.”
Pat-Med’s skipper went as far as to say that he has “five or six guys” that he’d been comfortable giving the ball to, and to go along with his club’s solid defense, Frascogna has supreme confidence is his team’s run prevention ability.
As for the offensive side, the coach says, “we’re going to be creative and make things happen, and try to push the envelope a little bit.” Baldwin’s battery mate, Peter Pannullo, will be a key force in the lineup, in addition to all his defensive responsibilities. According to his head coach, he has “really committed to the program this year,” he “had a nice growth spurt,” and came in this year “a lot more mature. Commitment, maturity, and increased physical strength could certainly be a recipe for improvement for Pannullo.
“We look forward to having him behind the plate,” said Frascogna.
John Kearney, a senior whom his teammates call, “the ninja” has good power, and will play in the infield for his team, as his range is excellent too. Kearney should also be a centerpiece for Pat-Med this upcoming season.
Obviously, having talent is crucial to win in any sport, but having guys who buy in to the team, and who check their ego at the door can be vitally important as well. Though Frascogna may not be overly verbal when it comes togetherness or team chemistry outright, it is important to his team, and prevalent within it.
“We don’t preach it too much because I feel like we’re together all the time. We have a lot of guys who have played summer ball together… We check in at least once a week and have weekly workouts. So, we’re with them a lot, and even in the offseason, we’re in the weight room together, we have our workouts, and even in the summertime, we’ll have a bunch of different teams in different age groups; One of the seniors, Anthony Osborne (shortstop) even came and coached one of my younger teams,” said Frascogna
Anthony Frascogna will have to have his key players maintain their high level of play, but they will need help in their young up and comers if they are to get to where they want to go. Only time will tell if all their work will produce the results that they are looking for.
They will open up on March 30 at William Floyd in the first of a three-game set.
