by Daniel Lopes
After a season defined by COVID and the scheduling changes that it caused, Hills East head coach Tim Belz is hopeful that his team can bounce back from their 3-15 year in 2021.
“Rebounding from a bad year last year, we’ve got some significant players coming back, and a lot of growth coming back with age and experience,” Belz said. “We’re definitely looking forward to getting back into the playoffs again, as a two-year drought for us hurts. So we want to get back into the playoffs.” Prior to that, they had reached the playoffs in four consecutive seasons.
While the team did graduate some seniors from last year’s team, Belz believes that the core of the team remains intact.
Hills East 2, Lindenhurst 0
WP: Ari Gluck (CG shutout)Nick Farnacci (video) and Kyle Cavataio homered pic.twitter.com/vWPcKJQxHF
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 3, 2021
That core is led by four-year varsity shortstop and pitcher Nick Farnacci (University of Massachusetts-Boston). Farnacci was an All-League player last year, hitting .375. Despite his talents at the plate, some of his biggest impacts for the team were on the basepaths, as he scored 14 runs and stole 15 bases.
“He’s extremely fast, [he’ll] steal two bases every time he gets a single,” Belz said. “[He’s] probably the best baserunner I’ve ever had in the program.”
Other seniors who will contribute to the team on and off the field include catcher Ryan Plocker (Framingham State University) and outfielder Justin Kay.
On the mound, the team will be headlined by sophomore Ari Gluck. Gluck made a name for himself early in his career, being an All-League level pitcher as a freshman. He had a 3.87 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 31 innings last year. Belz believes that having Gluck on the mound gave them their best chances of winning last season.
“I’m looking forward to him having a great career,” said Belz. “He started it last year, but now he’ll be playing as a number one [starter].”
Other underclassmen that Belz will look to include junior pitcher Mason Kapell and sophomore second baseman/third baseman Connor Bunce. On top of his pitching, Kapell hit .375 after getting called up to varsity later in the season. Bunce provides contact and speed to the team, hitting .306 with eight stolen bases last year.
The team has been working hard in the offseason, holding pitchers and catchers workouts in the mornings as well as hitting and defense practices at night. According to Belz, one of the major benefits of having offseason workouts compared to last season is the ability to develop command with his pitchers.
“Last year, since we weren’t able to do [pitchers and catchers], we walked 10 to 12 batters a game last year,” Belz said. “I think a lot of that correlated with not working in the morning and getting our control down.”
While the program has struggled in recent years, Belz believes that they are starting to get back into the rhythm that gave them plenty of success- both individually and as a team- in the last decade.
“I think we’ve got the right players in the program,” Belz said. “A couple of years ago, we pulled up a bunch of 8th graders every year to [junior varsity] and then to varsity. That was where our success came from, [because] by the time those kids were juniors and seniors, they were the best players on the island. We have gotten to get those kids back up again.”
8th grader Joey Castro (Hills East) with a wood bat grand slam pic.twitter.com/MGvCWmWPhW
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 13, 2020
An example of this is outfielder Joey Castro, who Belz expects to be a contributor this year as a freshman. Castro hit .297 at the varsity level as an 8th grader last year.
Hills East will begin their season on March 29th with a game against Connetquot High School.
