50 wins over the previous three seasons. That’s what Smithtown East was able to accomplish thanks to a seemingly never-ending pipeline of pitching talent coming through the system that has extended back into the middle of the decade.
While they weren’t ultimately able to get over the hump and capture a County Championship they were firmly in the mix in each year under Head Coach Ken Klee. They were eliminated by Longwood in 2019, Connetquot in 2018 and Ward Melville in 2017.
The core of those teams were pitching – specifically upperclassmen. The 2020 team was going to be built similarly as Klee noted he had 15 seniors on the team last year. Four of them are currently playing in college and they are Mike Ciminiello (Seton Hall), Nick Dagnello (Charleston), Ryan Klee (Anderson) and Jai Sharma (Oswego).
College of Charleston-commit Nick Dagnello (Smithtown East 2020) pic.twitter.com/PrGXV61cKW
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 12, 2020
“We’ve been so upperclass-oriented the past few years – the program is built on having younger players. So last year, it was their time to shine,” said Klee in reference to the 2020 seniors. “I feel terrible for them. They worked so hard. And considering how strong our 2019 senior class was – probably our best group ever – they didn’t get to play as much,” he added.
The 2019 group of seniors, who were all on 2018’s team which entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed had 10 players that went on to play in college. That is just a special group regardless of how you slice it.
This year will be uncharted territory. They have eight players on the team that made the 2020 team – that is three seniors and five juniors. None of them have appeared in a game so that means 0 returning at bats or innings.
Additionally, Klee noted that the school has not allowed them to meet in-person at all due to the indoor space being used for desks and chairs and their field is being used for soccer.
“We are young, inexperienced and haven’t been able to develop chemistry,” he said. “So if a team is going to beat us, get us early, because we will figure it out and by the end of the year, we will be playing Smithtown East baseball.
Klee compared the situation to when he took over in 2010 when the coaches picked Smithtown East to finish sixth out of seven teams and they returned only five players from the year before. Then they went out and won the league. “So I’m taking on that mentality,” he added.
“We have a nice tradition here and we will get them ready,” he said noting that he has confidence in his staff which includes Mike Miller and two recent graduates Pat LaGravinese and Ryan Ingerozza.
“They will be great for our young players.”
