Missing out on the playoffs is unfamiliar territory for Bay Shore, who has made a habit of overachieving and even pulling off playoff upsets, as they did twice in 2018 season.
It wasn’t a rough year, but they did finish one win short of a postseason berth in the loaded League 2 led by Connetquot and Commack.
This year’s team appears to be loaded with offensive firepower.
“I think we have a heck of an outfield – one of the best around,” said head coach Mike Herbst. Leading the charge is Ryan Brewer. The Johns Hopkins-commit is coming off a huge season in which he batted .439 with 2 HR, 20 RBI, 12 runs scored, .571 OBP and .649 SLG. “He’s a heck of a hitter and he’s clutch – that’s always key. He’s going to hit fourth in the lineup and he’s one of the best in the county. He’s going to have to step up when it counts,” said Herbst.
They also have Seton Hall-commit Coltrane Calloway who is a junior. He batted .261 with 11 RBI and 8 runs scored. Herbst is also high on junior Jason Ambos, who has a sweet lefty swing that has produced 93 MPH exit velocities. He batted .314 as a sophomore. Herbst noted he has generated some D1 interest, and while “he’s not the most physically imposing kid, he’s legit,” said Herbst. Senior Jayden Colon is another player that could have a big impact. Standing 6’4 190 lb, he is an impressive athlete and was the top wide receiver on the Bay Shore football team.
Herbst also said they should have a formidable staff.
Ithaca-commit Ryan Smerechniak, a southpaw with a deceptive delivery, should be a reliable pitcher for them. I watched him throw a live BP on Sunday, and you can see that he will get plenty of swings-and-misses on his sweeping breaking ball to go with his low 80s fastball.
As an eighth grader, Ty Panariello went 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA over 22 innings. Herbst said he is going to eat up innings.
“The funny thing is we didn’t even look at him as a pitcher initially,” said Herbst. “All of our pitchers last yea were middle infielders, so we wanted him to fill in for one of them when they pitched. But he said ‘coach I can pitch’ and we put him out there and he was just a bulldog. He has no fear, he attacked the zone and pitched with confidence. As you know, at the high school level that’s all you need. He worked his way into the rotation. They will be relying on the freshman to duplicate that success.
Coltrane Calloway will also pitch when he is not in the outfield, and they have a couple potential diamonds-in-the-rough. They have Vladimir Guerrero‘s nephew, Darnell, a 6’1, 200 lb LHP that is a junior. Either him or Chris Rouleau, a 6’6 RHP that is primarily a volleyball player may surprise some people. And he’s extremely athletic.
“Since he’s a volleyball player he hasn’t played summer ball but he’s 6’6, he’s in the mid 80s and throws downhill,” he said. When I brought up their 2017 graduate Matt Lawlor, who had similar characteristics, he said he is taller and throws a little harder.
As always, they will play in a difficult league, but they should be able to hold their own. They did lost a bit of offense last year with graduating Jaison Andujar, a power-hitting OF that’s at Alvin CC as well as SS Tommy Secaira and All-League RHP Joshuel Rodriguez, but they are fortunate to have some high-end players back.
They will play non-league games against Pat-Med and West Islip before opening up league play against Sachem North.
