Northport came up one win shy of a postseason berth last year, but expectations are high entering 2020 due to their large contingent of returning impact players.
“Almost our entire team is back from last year,” said head coach Sean Lynch. “With the exception of All-League 3B Trent Mayer and pitcher Kevin Rooney,” he added.
University of Charleston-commit Larry Citrola is their big bat and will also anchor the rotation. He was recruited as a two-way player and Lynch called him “one of the most athletic kids at Northport” and that he will play the field on the two days that he doesn’t pitch. He may potentially play on the left side of the infield.
Accompanying him in the middle of the order is CF Colin Shashaty, who batted over .400 but just missed out on All-County by one vote. “He was our most consistent hitter and he’s another huge part of what we do,” said Lynch.
His brother, Ryan, is a middle infielder, and will be critical to the team’s success at converting ground balls into outs.
“Our biggest strength has been our pitching and defense. A big thing that we preach is ‘avoiding the big inning’ so returning our entire article and three of the four infielders is key,” he said.
They also have a unique conundrum as they have four players that are capable of catching. Western Connecticut-commit Max Romano and Joe Kearns are two names that he mentioned, but that they “will have to figure that out soon.”
The pitching staff is in good hands with the hard-throwing Citrola as well as junior Liam Fodor, who was All-League as a sophomore and won the game that we covered last season against Copiague. As for the third spot in the rotation, there is a chance that will go to another hard-throwing junior Liam Darrigo who has “tremendous potential”.
The question is how the offense will perform.
Lynch stated that they have only hit two HRs in the past two years and they were both hit by Citrola. Some of that can be attributed to the vast dimensions of their home field but they have “really stressed strength training since the summer.” They are “hoping that is improved this season.”
They will open up against Newfield, a team that is expected to be in postseason contention all season. Lynch called it a “good test early.”
