(This is the final stop on the 2020 Fall Ball Series Powered by East Coast S & P – thank you for the continued interest!)
The Sharks working on their bunt defense pic.twitter.com/0tcvyGRxoa
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 19, 2020
The players on Long Island University have been no stranger to adversity this year.
Scratch that – they’ve been no stranger to adversity for longer than that.
“When you consider the merger, these guys have had to deal with adversity for the past 20 months,” said Head Coach Dan Pirillo. “They took it a lot better than other programs. They were like ‘okay, let’s go’. That helped us deal with the adversity. Guys want to be a part of where we are going. We have a chance to be pretty good,” he added.
The Sharks entered 2020 with a new batch of players following the merger of the LIU Brooklyn and Brookville athletic programs. They got off to a 5-7 start, but had won three of their last four games. They return all three of their starters (Jackson Svete, Joshua Loeschorn and Alex Huertas). It’s impossible to have a better start to the season than that trio did – they combined to allow four runs over 51 innings (0.70 ERA). Loeschorn was unblemished with 0 ER allowed over 15 IP. It may seem like eons ago but Loeschorn captured the 2019 Axcess Baseball Pitcher of the Year Award for his 10-0 record with LIU Post. The backend of the bullpen is solidified with Rob Griswold (2.25 ERA, 8 IP, 4 H, 12 K).
Pirillo noted that the pitching will be the strength this season. He’s also bullish on his team’s defense up the middle with Colin Adams behind the dish and the combination of NYIT-transfer E.J Exposito and Anthony Warneke – both of which can really swing it as well. Warneke was batting .438 (21-for-48) through the team’s first 12 games.
On March 11, they scored two runs in the top of the first inning against Hofstra. You can make the argument that at that moment it was the peak of their 2020. They wound up losing that game 9-5 and the NCAA then pulled the plug on the remainder of the season.
Due to many of the players being placed in leagues out of the state, they were unable to travel there and compete. Pirillo said they had about half of the amount of players in summer leagues as they normally would. Some guys just wound up going home and working out on their own while others played in local leagues.
Since coming back, the university also had to deal with a COVID shutdown and only recently were able to start back up. Many of the players went home for the semester which is why only 28 of the 41 players were at practice today. Friday will be the final practice of the fall season.
On a positive note, they were able to make a significant addition to the coaching staff with Chris Rojas, who made the short move from New York Tech following the suspension of their athletics from the NCAA for two years.
Pirillo spoke glowingly of Rojas.
“He’s been an asset to us already. He comes with over 20 years of experiences. His baseball knowledge is off the charts. We are immediately better with him. He’s helping with everything – pitchers, catchers and infielders. We all learn from him. He is definitely making an immediate impact,” he said.
Another obstacle they are dealing with is the NCAA dead period. They extended yet again yesterday – which comes as no surprise but it also makes little sense to anyone involved in college athletics as it only hurts the players and coaches. Pirillo had the following to say:
“For us it’s not the same,” he said in regards to how they’ve adjusted to the rules. “We are trying to adapt. We don’t have a choice. We’ve been signing guys from videos and personal contacts. Part of recruiting is watching a guy play a game, the nuances of the game. Everyone is in the same boat but we need to make the best decisions from the people we trust. It’s important to get quality people not just baseball players. We might miss a tool here or there but we still want a quality person that’s going to give us the best effort. You’re going to miss out on guys, but kids will still get signed. We still sign guys – none of that changes b but our focus becomes we want everything else to work out off the field,” he added.
As of right now, they have a 52-game schedule for 2021. That is down from 55 because they needed to cancel their series against Michigan State after the Big Ten announced there would be no non-conference games in an effort to limit travel. The Sharks have non-conference games scheduled against Winthrop, Georgetown and LaSalle early on in their season.
It remains to be seen whether those games get played. I will not be surprised if other schools follow the Big Ten’s lead.
For now, all we have is hope. I certainly hope we have a full 2021 season. In the meantime, everyone please stay safe and enjoy your Thanksgiving and Holiday season!
