By Michael Malaszczyk
Final: Kings Park 14, Miller Place 11
WP: Declan Cumming
S: Jason Sacks pic.twitter.com/bTNWXUyeXz— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2021
Coach Andrew Abreu is ready to take his team to new heights in 2022.
Long Island baseball suffered immensely from the coronavirus pandemic. All sports did, of course, but baseball was in a uniquely unfortunate position as a premier spring sport. LI Baseball didn’t get a season in the 2019-2020 academic year, unlike fall and winter sports, and had to come back for the 2020-2021 season with all that time off the field.
With all of these factors in consideration, Kings Park played a great season in 2021. Coach Abreu felt strongly about this in an interview with Axcess Baseball.
“After losing the year prior due to the pandemic, we were all tremendously grateful to have the opportunity to get back on the field and compete,” said Abreu. “The overall win and loss record would paint a picture that last year was a disappointing season. However, we had a great group of guys, who were hardworking and selfless. We were led by eleven seniors, many of them who were not everyday starters. The influence they had on our younger players is more important than any stat that can be measured.”
Although true of all sports but especially baseball, a win-loss record doesn’t tell the entire story; five of Kings Park’s losses were one-run games. If Kings Park was able to play to that high of a level in 2021 under all these circumstances, all signs point to a great season in 2022.
“We truly believe last year laid the foundation for us as a program moving forward,” said Abreu. “The most valuable takeaway being results don’t happen just because you want them to, they take time, work and discipline.”
Kings Park saw a number of players graduate last year, two of them are still playing baseball in college: Mason Calafati will be playing for Stevenson University, and Anthony Mortimer will be playing for Alvernia University.
Kings Park’s team in 2022 will have a good mixture of both returning and new players. Coach Abreu is confident that the returning players will bring experience from last year and mentorship to the new players, and the new players will fill the gaps left by graduating 2021 seniors.
“Returners will include a mixture of upperclassmen as well as some younger players who played in impactful roles last year,” said Abreu. “We believe the newcomers can not only fill in for the positions we graduated, but have an impact doing so.”
Among players to look out for, Coach Abreu named John Tardino (‘22), T.J. Scannevin (‘23), Anthony Altobelli (‘24), E.J. Ettinger (‘23), A.J. Petraitis (‘22), John Moeller (‘22), Aidan Colagrande (‘22), Ryan Callaghan (‘22), and Jason Sacks (‘22).
Fairfield-commit Aidan Colagrande (Kings Park 2022) 80-82 crossfire delivery. Pounds outer third of zone pic.twitter.com/U0tJYXvkV2
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 6, 2022
There are a number of college commitments among the players named: A.J. Petraitis is committed to Le Moyne College, Aidan Colagrande is committed to Fairfield University, Ryan Callaghan is committed to St. Thomas Aquinas College, and John Moeller is committed to SUNY Old Westbury.
Callaghan is through two scoreless with a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/xEz6TADc03
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 2, 2021
Abreu feels his team’s strengths lie in pitching and overall athleticism.
“Our guys have been working hard both during baseball activities and in the weight room,” he said. “And we’re very excited about our pitching staff. Between A.J. Petraitis, Aidan Colagrande, Ryan Callaghan and Jason Sacks, we return over 75% of our innings from last year. They’ve all made tremendous strides developing as pitchers. At the HS level, they might be referred to as power arms but they’ve improved their command and feel for secondary pitches over the past year.”
6’4 LeMoyne-commit AJ Petraitis (Kings Park 2022). FB 83-84 with great mechanics. Sweeping SL 73 MPH pic.twitter.com/NSV2kScSUI
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 6, 2022
While he feels pitching is their biggest strength, Abreu also has faith in Kings Park’s offense, adding that “we return more than half the plate appearances from last year. We expect to put out an athletic lineup that won’t give any at bats away.”
Abreu is treating all of his opponents equally this year. “The entire league is extremely competitive,” he said. “We refuse to look ahead because we’re well aware anyone can beat anyone. Each game will need our total focus, energy and effort.”
Coach Abreu is looking forward to celebrating another year of the great game of baseball.
“This will be my third year at Kings Park,” said Abreu. “The game of baseball has provided me with so many incredible lessons, relationships, and memories. The hope is that each and every single one of our players can say their experience as a Kings Park baseball player provided them the same thing.”
Kings Park overcame the circumstances set by the pandemic to play a good, strong season in 2021. With Coach Andrew Abreu’s philosophy, a packed roster of experienced players, and a good number of new players they are primed to make 2022 their year.
Kings Park’s opening day is set for March 26th at Harborfields in a non-league game. Their first league game will be at home against Comsewogue on March 28th.
