by Mike Anderson
Final: Bayport-Blue Point 3, Mattituck 2
WP: Brady Clark
S: Charles Aurandt pic.twitter.com/xJsKWJIpXg— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2021
Led by League V MVP Luke Schartner in 2021, Bayport-Blue Point varsity baseball made the playoffs for the 24th consecutive year. They went 15-3 and captured the third seed in the league’s playoff picture. Turning the page now to this year, the Phantoms still have reasons to expect success in 2022.
The team will be returning 13 players this year after only graduating seven. However, replacing Schartner’s bat from the three-hole and his arm from the rotation will not be easy. They also lost pitcher Charlie Aurandt, who is now playing Div-III ball at St. Joseph’s College. However, they have the bullets to help fill in their shoes.
This year’s squad will be led by three All-League players: catcher Logan Robertson, infielder Trey McGowan, and pitcher Brady Clark. Robertson and McGowan are both Div-III commits, as Robertson will be going to Ithaca and McGowan will be going to Oswego. Clark, on the other hand, is a junior Div-I commit, as his stellar pitching landed him a spot with St. John’s University. Clark also DH’d last year, and he hit .370 last year with 18 RBI’s and six doubles. He may play some corner infield this year when he’s not pitching.
Their entire infield is returning, as they are returning middle infielder Ryan Cummings, a senior who is committed to play Div-III baseball at the College of Mt. Saint Vincents. Senior Brendan Most is also returning to play first base for them, and will play across from junior third baseman Ryan Costa, who was a starter as a sophomore for them last year.
The outfield is a rather crowded group, as head coach Jim Moccio listed several players who will be competing for playing time in the outfield this year. They are returning two seniors who played a lot of outfield for the team last year in Max May and Luke Olsen. Moccio also named senior Matt Lombardo and labeled him as a guy who “had a couple of big hits for us last year.” Moccio added that there are three other senior outfielders who will be vying for playing time out of that deep outfield: Chris Ball, Eric Wuestmann, and Justin Walter. Moccio sees having this many outfielders as a good problem to have.
“It’s a nice mix of outfielders that are really athletic…We’ll see where the chips fall,” said Moccio.
As for the pitching staff, Moccio expects three juniors to take up the three starting pitcher roles for Bayport-Blue Point. Clark will headline the group as the ace, while Costa will follow him. Rounding out the group is two-way junior Liam Stemmler, who played most of right field for them last year. Moccio expects him to be their third starter, while also sliding over to center field defensively. Moccio spoke highly of Stemmler in his interview with Axcess Baseball.
“Speaking of under-the-radar guys, Liam Stemmler is a junior pitcher/outfielder who started for us last year in right field and he’ll play a lot of center field this year. And he’ll pitch towards the back end of the week without a doubt. He’s a super high-ceiling, really talented player. He’s uncommitted, but I think he’s going to have a really good year,” Moccio said.
Moccio believes the pitching staff is the strength of the team.
“I think our three junior pitchers are a strength of ours. They all have great control. I think they’re going to keep us in games. At times, they can all be dominant, but most importantly, they’re all going to keep us in games,” Moccio said. He also cited their strong defense as another key to their success, as the pitching staff will likely feed off of their play this year.
Their experience won’t hurt them either this year, and that can help Bayport-Blue Point tremendously.
“Aside from Schartner, we really return our entire starting nine defensively…There’s enough guys who had a lot of varsity at-bats last year,” Moccio said. Having said that, the lineup is not yet set in stone, as there will be a lot of competition for playing time.
Mixing their experience and continuity with the talent of their pitching staff and the top hitters in that lineup, Bayport-Blue Point is a contender for this upcoming season. They will open their season with a home game against Mattituck on March 28.
