When the season was shutdown in March of last year, Bayport-Blue Point was in the middle of an intersquad game.
“They told us to make sure we clean up good – it might be the last time we’d be playing,” said Head Coach Jim Moccio, who is entering his 22nd season at the helm and won Class A State Championships in 2013 and ’14. “I didn’t tell the guys that,” he said knowing that it would be deflating for them to hear it.
Their team was comprised of 12 seniors, four of which were entering their fourth season of varsity baseball and were poised for a deep playoff run.
“We felt really good with that group,” said Moccio. “We were playing really well going into the shutdown. When you have seniors, they’re just more relaxed. We felt that was one of our strengths,” he added.
In 2019, they made their annual postseason run – defeating Harborfields and No. 1 seed Miller Place but lost to Hauppauge and the eventual-champs, Sayville Golden Flashes.
Nevertheless, players like Richie Cimpric (Franklin Pierce) and Francesco Geraci (Queens), were hungry for revenge and a shot at a County Championship.
While that was taken away from them, Coach Moccio did stress the excitement that the players had from playing in the Town of Brookhaven Varsity Wood Bat Tournament in July.
“It was awesome, they had a blast. It was just low pressure, playing with their buddies. I played the seniors a lot. Because there were 12 seniors, they were just having so much fun,” he added.
One of the players that performed well was junior RHP Charlie Aurandt. The St. Joseph’s-commit was slated to compete for a rotation slot last year and has a chance to log significant innings this year as well.
Aside from him, the team is young and/or inexperienced. The lone returning player from 2019 is OF Luke Schartner. And he is a good one.
Bayport-Blue Point takes an early 2-0 lead on a HR by Luke Schartner against Brock Murtha pic.twitter.com/gkj9o3imOg
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2019
Had there been All-State Awards in 2019, he probably would’ve been on it. As a sophomore, he batted .430 with 9 XBH including three HR. He also drove in 26 runs and scored 18 runs. Just as impressively, he possesses exceptional bat control – striking out just 3 times over 89 at bats. One of those HRs came off Brock Murtha, now at Notre Dame.
“He had a monster year as a sophomore and we expect him to be a League MVP candidate. He may also pitch as well.
They had seven other players that had made the team in 2020, but obviously none accrued any playing time. But two players that are very exciting are both 2023 graduates – Brady Clark and Liam Stemmler. Both play for Body Armor Titans, so they have gotten their experience playing high-level travel ball.
Clark is a RHP and infielder, Stemmler is a RHP and outfielder. Both throw in the mid 80s and will compete for rotation spots.
“We’re definitely excited about them. They’re going to get a lot of time. They’re going to be a big part of what we do – exciting young players, great size, skillset and hard workers,” he added.
They will be playing in Conference 5 this season, which will feature Mount Sinai, Shoreham-Wading River, John Glenn, Mattituck, Center Moriches, Babylon, Amityville, Southampton and Port Jeff.
