By: Daniel Lopes
After an 11-5 season that ended in the playoffs against Oceanside, Farmingdale and head coach Frank Tassielli hope to remain near the top of a highly competitive conference in 2022.
“You look at a few of our conferences and divisions in Nassau County and there’s not many [teams] where you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s a cakewalk for that team,” Tassielli said. “Parity is alive and guys are working hard.”
However, if Farmingdale is going to succeed, it’s going to be without most of their pitching rotation from last year, as multiple players graduated. One such player is Drew Alameda (St. Thomas Aquinas). Alameda was a quality player on both sides of the ball, hitting .410 with four home runs and 21 RBIs while pitching to the tune of a 0.81 ERA in 17 ⅓ innings pitched. Another pitcher they lost was Anthony Quatromani (St. Joseph’s- Patchogue), who had a 3.40 ERA and led the team in starts and innings pitched. The last major pitcher that has since graduated is Matt Hynes (Roger Williams). Hynes had some dominant performances on the mound for Farmingdale, pitching to 2.30 ERA and striking out a team-leading 36 batters in 21 ⅓ innings.
“Right off the bat, we lost our three starters on the mound, for the most part,” Tassielli said. “Those are really the guys that kind of injected some life into us.”
On top of their losses on the mound, infielder Michael Gardener (St. Joseph’s- Brooklyn) also graduated. Gardener hit .349 in 2021, adding on six RBIs, four doubles, and a stolen base.
As for the replacements on the mound, Tassielli will lean heavily on Nick Napolitano (Caldwell). Though primarily an outfielder, Napolitano did see some action on the mound in 2021 due to injuries. He made two starts, pitching 11 ⅔ innings with a 3.00 ERA. He will most likely slot in as the second starter, giving him time to play the outfield where he hit .302 with eight RBIs last year.
The player who may wind up as the ace of the squad is Thomas O’Neill (St. Thomas Aquinas). O’Neill didn’t make an appearance in 2021, but he was called up for the postseason. However, as a player who focuses on pitching, Tassielli plans on him having a big role in the rotation this year. He has performed extremely well in travel ball against top-tier competition.
STAC-commit Thomas O’Neill (Farmingdale 2023). 3-pitch mix with command. T85. Very reminiscent of Justin Rosner pic.twitter.com/XlDFKQqEVy
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 27, 2022
Controlling the pitching staff will be catcher Steve Licata (SUNY Purchase). Licata had a major year in 2021, leading the team with a .489 batting average with 15 RBIs, eight doubles, and one home run. Licata will also take on a major leadership role, being named a captain of the team by Tassielli.
“The kids look up to him,” said Tassielli. “He’s the nicest kid, and any coach would love to have him on the team.”
Joining Licata and Napolitano at the top of the lineup will be Joe Burriesci. Burriesci showcased his ability as a leadoff hitter last year, batting .345 and stealing eight bases without being caught once.
“Hopefully he can be our table setter from the get-go,” said Tassielli. “That’s a guy we’ll certainly be relying on.”
Tassielli also has multiple players coming up from Junior Varsity with hopes to make an impact on the team this year, including first baseman/pitcher Carmine Scardina, first baseman/outfielder Joel Cartagena, pitcher Joe Tagliavia, and third baseman Jordan Welch.
Heading into this season, Tassielli has preached to his team about not focusing on individual stats and instead looking to what they can do to help achieve their goal of competing for a division title.
“We try to convey to our guys [to] not worry about hitting .489 or going 4-0 or whatever the case may be, you do what you’ve got to do to get the team a victory,” Tassielli said. “If someone goes 0-3, but moves a guy over, hits a sacrifice fly or makes a couple of nice plays defensively, then he’s done his job.”
Farmingdale will officially start their season on April 11th against Oceanside, a rematch of their playoff game last season.
