by Eric Belyea
Commack baseball is one of the most touted programs on Long Island, and that does not change going into the 2021 shortened season.
Head coach Bryan Bonin, a former CW Post Pioneer, is heading into his fourth season with Commack, after leading the Cougars to a Suffolk County championship in his first season. Although this year has been different in terms of preparation, Bonin has been able to put trust in his upperclassmen leadership when getting physically prepared for the season; “the kids have taken it upon themselves to work out together a few times a week. We do meet via Zoom but as far as getting physically ready they have been working really hard and mirroring workouts that the guys who have been around for a while are familiar with”, Bonin explains. With the COVID-19 pandemic still at the forefront of everyone’s lives, it is imperative to have a fantastic leadership group.
This year’s senior class for the Cougars is deep. There are a 12 total, highlighted by UConn-commit Craig Pihlkar, who will be the ace of the staff this season.
“Pihlkar has a power arm with a true pitcher’s mentality” says Bonin. Adelphi-commit pitcher/outfielder Johnny Catuosco is another senior Bonin will rely on who “works on his craft 365 days a year”. The two-way player will look to be extremely effective on both sides of the baseball in the 2021 campaign.
They have other seniors committed to play in college; RHPs Nick Goldberg & Matt Edwards (SUNY Plattsburgh), Connor Pedersen (Ithaca) and Zach LaGrasta (Roger Williams).
During Bonin’s four years as the Commack skipper, he has had great success in getting players to the next level. Four players from last season; Joe Pellegrino and Anthony Foti are at Adelphi, Jack Reardon is with the Panther’s division rival, New Haven and Drew Vincent is at SUNY Oneonta.. 2019 graduates Tim McHugh and Jake Krzeminski are playing for St. Johns and Boston College respectively. Drew Silverman is at New Haven. In Bonin’s second year with the team, then senior James Cardinale continued his playing career at Hofstra after graduation from Commack.
LHP James Cardinale (Commack 2017) showing off a nice breaking ball against Will Kennedy pic.twitter.com/j37txZkA4h
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 9, 2020
With a great group of upperclassmen taking the field this season, Commack has the opportunity to be one of the stronger, if not the strongest team in Suffolk Conference I. The Commack Cougars have their sights set on one thing, another county title for their trophy case.
