by Mike Anderson
Sometimes, you’ve got to go through some growing pains. That’s exactly what Holy Trinity High School Varsity Baseball head coach Dan Luisi and his club did last year. The team struggled overall in a tough CHSAA conference, which featured dominant teams like Kellenberg and Chaminade. Despite a last place finish, Holy Trinity gained something invaluable towards their future: experience.
Luisi said in an interview with Axcess Baseball that Holy Trinity went into the 2021 season with a very young varsity team by design, as they were starting seven sophomores and one freshman in their lineup by season’s end. These players have now experienced the competitive nature of their opponents, as well as the level of varsity baseball in general, something that statistics cannot weigh.
Being a young team comes with other benefits as well, as the Titans are returning a great deal of their core for this year.
“We’re returning most of our starting lineup and rotation arms…” said Luisi.
Some of the players that highlight that Holy Trinity core are seniors Sadier Vicioso and Nick Mace, who are both committed to play in college. Mace is a left-handed hitting outfielder committed to play Div-III ball at the College of Mount Saint Vincent’s, and Vicioso is a lefty-throwing pitcher committed to play DII at St. Thomas Aquinas College.
“Vicioso will be the leader of our pitching staff,” said Luisi, as he proclaimed Vicioso his ace. Vicioso’s fastball was sitting in the low-80’s last summer.
Sadier Vicioso (Holy Trinity 2023) through 2 scoreless innings. No score in the 16u Finals between LI Elite Prospects and South Shore Elite pic.twitter.com/hs2cKeblel
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 25, 2021
Another star player to look out for would be junior first baseman Kyle Kozlowski. This past fall, he was ranked as the top first baseman of the junior class in New York state by Perfect Game. He’s a big guy, standing at 6’4” and 240 pounds, and his power does not disappoint his huge frame. Luisi spoke glowingly of him, calling him an “…extremely hard-working and self-motivated young man.”
6’4 1B Kyle Kozlowski (Holy Trinity 2023) pic.twitter.com/sT1pFBRMKd
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 20, 2022
But the list does not stop there. Holy Trinity boasts a lot more young, varsity-experienced players, who still have a couple of years left at the school. Some of those names include sophomore catcher Tyler Cook, junior middle infielder Nick DelVecchio, junior outfielder Nico Quiroz, and junior catcher/first baseman Brian Zweigbaum.
Luisi says that junior pitcher Sebastian Velazquez is a good player to keep eyes and ears open for this year, as he will take on the role of the number two starter in the rotation, behind Vicioso. Velazquez pitched mostly in relief last year as a sophomore because he was also a regular position player for Holy Trinity.
When asked about the potential lineup this year, Luisi said that he has a general sense for what the lineup may look like, but did not get into specifics.
“The coaching staff has been around many of these players for a couple of years. We will give every player in the program an opportunity to earn a spot in the lineup, based off of skill, not age.”
With a core full of talented, young, and now experienced players, the Holy Trinity Titans have a great chance to improve on their record from a year ago. But in order for that to happen, Luisi says that these improvements are going to have to come from within.
“We have a great challenge ahead of us… Winning doesn’t just happen. We need to be tougher, disciplined, and accountable for how we perform.”
Holy Trinity is set to open their season at home versus Xaverian High School on Saturday, April 2nd.
