One of the sure signs of a team having a breakout year is when they have many third-year varsity players that received playing team as sophomores and juniors. An even better sign is when they have fourth-year varsity players that received playing time for three years. The best sign is when they lost a bunch of one-run games the previous year as a young, inexperienced team.
Huntington checks off all those boxes and for that reason, I think they will shock a lot of people and be a legitimate contender in 2021. They were going to be very good last year as well. After going 2-18 in 2018, they went 9-11 in 2019 and lost six one-run games – including a 2-1 loss to West Islip on the last game of the season which could’ve clinched a playoff berth.
They are littered with talent. Look no further than their starting rotation which features Chris Segreti, Kyle Colleluori, Palmer O’Beirne and Aidan Bender. All are extremely talented and are leaders on the team. Segreti and Colleluori are captains on the team for sixth year HC Bill Harris.
Segreti, a senior SS/RHP, “is a five-tool player,” according to Harris. He batted .324 over 68 at bats, he slugged .515 with a robust .955 OPS. He will be a mainstay in the rotation.
Colleluori, a CF/RHP was snubbed out of All-County in 2019 after hitting .406 with 28 hits and just one strikeout. He will also be a key cog for them on the mound.
O’Beirne a hard-throwing LHP that has been courted by many of the top Division-I programs in the northeast won four games as a freshman, struck out 35 batters and started last summer’s Town of Brookhaven tournament in the opening game against Commack.
6’2 LHP Palmer O’Beirne (Huntington 2022) sitting 81-83 with command pic.twitter.com/9IbTRdrKdT
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 3, 2020
An X-Factor is RHP Aidan Bender, who injured his shoulder in 2019 but was a workhorse for them as a freshman. So they have four pitchers that they are returning with significant varsity innings and all are top of the rotation starters. That in itself is a big deal coming off the canceled 2020 season.
Offensively, Segreti, Colleluori and Bender are all middle of the order hitters but don’t forget senior 1B/3B Zach Gordon who is committed to Carleton College in Minnesota. Harris has been very impressed with his pop.
“He hit a bomb at Medford onto Horseblock Road,” said Harris. “He hit a bunch of home runs in the fall,” he added.
Another key player for them will be catcher Dylan Schnitzer, who we named Preseason All-Long Island along with Segreti, Colleluori and O’Beirne which was the second most of any school behind St. John the Baptist and Chaminade.
“Him and a couple others were raking before the shutdown last year. He barrels up everything,” said Harris.
The team has nine seniors, four juniors and they will call up a couple underclassmen.
“The core of this team has been together since freshman year and they play together all summer and fall. I don’t think they’ve lost a league that they’ve played in together.”
They will open up against Connetquot on May 7. They also will face Northport, Hills East, Copiague, Bay Shore, Smithtown East, Bay Shore, Lindenhurst and Walt Whitman.
