Division is headed back to the County Championship for the second year in a row!
FINAL: Division 5 Bethpage 1 (F/14) pic.twitter.com/1DZ0DqayCK
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2019
The irony about the 2021 season is that –at least in the beginning – the best programs may be at the biggest disadvantage. While it may sound hard to believe, it’s because of the cancellation last year. The strongest programs in 2019 typically featured senior-laden teams. Those players have all since graduated and the current seniors all played JV or earned modest playing time in 2019.
Division is one of the strongest programs on Long Island. They have made the County Finals six of the previous 12 seasons and have made the postseason every year since 1974.
Head Coach Tom Tuttle, who is entering his 13th season as Head Coach and has been on the coaching staff since 1997 has seen a lot of baseball. Even he understands the obstacles that this season will present.
“We are having our 9th session tonight,” said Tuttle. “The district has been good with letting us come in the building and get our work in — while following the protocols with the distancing and masks and everything,” he added. He added that while he only has two players that logged significant playing time in 2019, that problem is not unique to his team. He said, “most of our guys played JV in 2019.”
“Everybody is sort of in the same boat. We don’t really know who a lot of these kids are, and we’ll only have about 10 days to figure out a lineup that works. It’s possible that there will be kids sitting on the bench to start the year that will be in the lineup mid-season,” he added.
The team is counting on Sacred Heart-commit Nick Roselli, who was his starting SS in 2019. Since that time, he stated he has bulked up from 140 to 185 lbs.
“Most of all he’s coachable, but he has tremendous work ethic. He is the hardest working kid I’ve had since ’97. He’s a baseball junkie, and he really worked hard this off-season — he’s deadlifting 410 lbs. He’s a great leader, guys gravitate towards him and he leads by example. We were expecting a big year out of him last year and we are expecting him to compete for the Diamond Award this year,” he added.
Another important piece will be catcher Colin Siegel who got some time in 2019 and they will be counting on him to play a key role.
“He’s a defensive catcher, we expect him to run a lot of the catching stuff – and I’m expecting him to be a leader,” he added.
As far as the pitching staff goes, that is a question mark. The staff was lucky to be led by two-time All-County RHP Robert Bradley and Jake Lombardi in 2019 – the latter won Game 2 of the County Finals to force a division Game 3.
“Our pitching is young, we have about five or six guys competing for spots. That’s why it’s critical we get outside when we can,” he added.
He noted that a lot of the players have really dedicated themselves to the gym since 2019 and they’ve changed their bodies so they can be ready to handle varsity baseball but what they do on the field is to be determined.. While many of them play high-level travel ball, that doesn’t always translate, according to Tuttle.
“Summer is different than school-ball. A lot of guys do well in the summer and struggle during school. That’s because there’s a little more pressure involved and they know people are watching.”
He went on to add that “the teams that have even three or four players with varsity experience – especially pitchers – will be ahead of the game.”
Another variable will be how coaches handle their pitching staff. There’s no more three-game series, it will now be two. Tuttle described it as “Russian Roulette”, since you may get a coach that withholds his ace to face an opponent that is more winnable. Or you may get a strong team use their Number 3 thinking they can handle an opponent with a lesser pitcher. This could equal plenty of upsets this season.
“That’s why I can’t wait to get outside,” he said. They will open up on May 4 against Roslyn.
