By Michael Malaszczyk
Coach Joe Fusco of St. Dominic’s High School is ready to take the team to new heights this year.
St. Dominic’s bounced back in 2021, the first season since baseball was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, to have a strong season in the highly competitive Catholic League. St. Dominic’s finished fourth overall in the league, losing to Kellenberg in the semifinals.
While this is Coach Fusco’s first year with St. Dominic’s, Fusco is no stranger to baseball and brings a ton of experience; Fusco previously worked as an assistant coach at Clarke High School under the tutelage of Tom Abruscato.
“We made 2 county championship appearances and won a county championship,” Fusco said of his time at Clarke. Fusco also works as a coach for Team Francisco Hitting Academy. “We are ranked 37th in the country and number 1 in New York State. Our record in 2 years is 89-25.”
St. Dominic’s saw two players graduate last year: Sean Lane (now playing for University of Maryland) and Dom Camera (now playing for George Washington University). Both are Division-I players.
Maryland freshman Sean Lane (St. Dominic 2021) with a grand slam against Navy pic.twitter.com/RRLUi8z59X
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 30, 2021
The Bayhawks are going to be “senior-laden” according to Fusco, although Fusco did state that “we will also have some underclassmen contribute as well.”
When asked for specific players to look out for, Fusco was quick to name catcher Chris Sais (‘22), Luca Lopetrone, Luca Goldflam (‘22), Enzo Carpentiere (‘22), Derek Torres (‘22), and shortstop Albert Ramos (‘22).
“On the mound in particular, be sure to look out for KJ Dow (‘22) and Victor Frederick (‘24),” added Coach Fusco.
Fusco took special note of player Matt Cruz (‘24). “I expect Cruz to be a major contributor,” said Fusco. “Cruz has already generated a high level of interest from Division-I schools, including Power 5 schools.”
St. Dominic’s has a number of players committed to college on its team: Christopher Sais is committed to SUNY New Paltz, Derek Torres is committed to St. Thomas Aquinas, Albert Ramos is committed to Adelphi, and Enzo Carpentiere is committed to Wesleyan University.
When asked what he feels his team’s strengths are, Fusco feels that their offense is key.
“Our offense is our biggest strength,” said Fusco. “We can really swing the bat. We have a lot of team speed and we will feed off of that as a motor to get us going. Our offense is something we work very hard on. Our coaching staff’s style is all about putting a ton of pressure on the defense. I think the fact that we are somewhat of an older team will help make the transition quicker to that style than if we were young and inexperienced at the varsity level.”
Look out for St. Dominic’s at bat; Coach Fusco and his staff seem to be of the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense. If St. Dominic’s can rack up the runs as they plan to, their defense simply needs to play competently enough to get by in order to get them the win.
St. Dominic’s bench of experienced players will certainly help them engage in this heavy-offense style.
Fusco is not overlooking any opponents; when asked if there are any particular opponents he anticipates facing, Fusco replied “The Catholic League is filled with good teams. We’re looking forward to being successful in a very talented league.”
It will be interesting to see how St. Dominic’s offense-equals-defense philosophy will play out on the field. But with an experienced team who performed well in 2021 and a coach with a record as stellar as Fusco’s, it’s hard to see any scenario other than success. St. Dominic’s will make a strong play for the Catholic League Championship in 2022.
St. Dominic’s opens on March 26th. They will be playing against Syosset in a non-league game.
