By Michael Malaszczyk
Dylan Banner just crushed a go-ahead, 2-R HR in the eighth to give Plainview JFK a 6-4 lead over Syosset pic.twitter.com/xNZOHPnXmm
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 13, 2021
Coach John Givargidze of Plainview is gearing up for another playoff run in 2022.
Plainview had a terrific season in 2021. They finished with a 14-7 overall record, and went as far as the county finals; they ended up losing the county finals to a great team in Massapequa. Givargidze had nothing but praise for how his team performed in an interview with Axcess Baseball.
“I am so proud of the way the boys came into the season last year with focus and a little chip on their shoulders,” said Givargidze. “It was a great group of kids who had fun together and most importantly, played for each other.”
Considering their previous season was cut short by the pandemic, Plainview played amazingly. Givargidze took special note of this fact, adding that “I couldn’t have asked for more coming off of 2020 where we had no season because of COVID”.
Plainview had a couple of players graduate last year, including Sam Saltzman (SUNY Purchase), Michael DeAngelis (Alcorn State), Gavin Weinstock, Charlie Knoll, and Sid Mantravadi.
Plainview’s 2022 team features many returning players from its stellar 2021 team. Look out for pitcher/third baseman Dylan Banner (‘22), catcher Andrew Lenski (‘23), pitcher/first baseman Michael D’Ambrosio (‘24), pitcher/center fielder Sebastian Lippman (‘24), shortstop Josh Indek (‘22), pitcher Tyler Ciulla (‘22), and pitcher Jake Goldfarb (‘22).
Sebastian Lippman (Plainview JFK 2024) showing off the cannon pic.twitter.com/MhfTj8BvOP
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 2, 2021
“This year’s team will be a nice mix of upperclassmen; we have eight seniors, and the rest will be juniors with a few sophomores mixed in as well,” said Givargidze. “We will have a nice mix for this year and for the next few years. We are very excited as well about our new group of freshmen in the program.”
Of the players named, Plainview has three college commitments: Dylan Banner is committed to University of Albany, Josh Indek is committed to Brockport University, and Sebastian Lippman is committed to Georgia Tech.
Coach Givargidze feels that his team is very well-rounded, but placed a special emphasis on his defense.
“We feel that our pitching staff is a big strength of ours. We have some guys who can really bring it and we are confident that all of our pitchers will have successful years,” said Givargidze. “Defensively we feel we will be pretty strong as well. We have some pretty good athletes who can play different roles for us. We will need guys to step up and fill the shoes in our lineup as we will be looking to replace the 1, 3, and 4 spots in the lineup.”
Despite his team being perfectly poised for another successful season, Coach Givargidze remains humble and refuses to overlook any opponents.
“We feel all of our opponents are going to be tough,” said Givargidze. “We will go into every game with the same mindset of playing our best baseball and giving ourselves the best chance to win no matter who our opponent is. You can’t take anyone lightly because the second you do, it’ll come back to bite you in the end.”
Givargidze is not new to the game of baseball; he has been a coach for over twenty years and looks forward to another season of the great American pastime.
“I have been coaching high school and travel baseball and travel baseball for 24 years now,” said Givargidze. “I love being on the field with my other family, my baseball family. We always talk about how we are a family and how much we enjoy being around each other. Baseball has afforded me many opportunities and has enabled me to meet so many people, make so many lifelong friendships, and travel to places I probably wouldn’t go to if it wasn’t for baseball. I love what I do and I love being able to be around young men who are going to be the future of our country.”
Givargidze also took note of a couple of special games Plainview will be playing this season.
“We will play on April 9th at MacArthur in our annual Autism Game and also will play St. Anthony’s at SUNY Maritime under the lights to benefit childhood cancer,” said Givargidze. “We have raised $825 for that game so far in under two weeks. Hopefully, we can get some more donations to help the children and families suffering through some tough times.”
Not only is baseball a beautiful and sentimental sport that brings out the best in people, it can also be used for a variety of great causes.
Plainview’s opening day is set for March 28th. They will be playing against North Shore High School.
