By Thomas Cregan
Mattituck 2
John Glenn 1 (8 innings)
WP-Garrett Grathwohl 2 innings 3 K’s
Burke Evers 2-3 rbi
Brady Mahon 1-3 2 runs scored
Michael Mowdy walks it off in the 8th with bases loaded single pic.twitter.com/zSiZChi9Yq— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 15, 2021
Mattituck coach Dan O’Sullivan will be looking to his core leadership group to propel the team to success in 2022.
Last season in 2021 was O’Sullivan’s first full year as varsity coach after a covid shortened 2020 season, though he was no stranger to the team having spent time with the junior varsity program in prior years. In 2021 Mattituck posted an 11-7 record making the playoffs. They defeated John Glenn High School in the first round on a walk-off and eventually lost in the semi finals to Mount Sinai. That team saw two college commits graduate, but coach O’Sullivan is confident with the team chemistry they have built and maintained, along with the core group that is returning this year.
Mattituck saw four seniors graduate in 2021 with two of them going on to play at the collegiate level, both were starting pitchers. Connor Fox (Stevenson University) who was named All League in 2021 and Nate Demchak (Baruch) who was named All-County in 2021. Coach O’Sullivan said of them “They were our number one and two starters in the rotation last year and also hit in the middle of the order for us when they were not pitching, certainly tough to lose but glad to see them move on and keep playing.” He further emphasized that they were a big part of creating the family that their team is today, and they remain close with a lot of the guys still on the team.
Mattituck is featuring a senior-heavy lineup this year with seven returning starters overall. Starting off with senior starting pitcher Brady Mahon, he was an All-League selection in 2021 posting a 2-2 record with a 2.80 ERA. O’Sullivan will be looking for him to be their ace this year after eating a lot of innings for them last season. Senior first baseman Bryce Hansen was also an All-League selection in 2021. He is a switch-hitter who posted a .370 batting average last year also totaling 15 RBI’s. SUNY New Paltz-commit Garrett Grathwohl who plays both first and third base had a batting average of .298 with 12 RBI’s last year. Also seeing 10 games as a relief pitcher with a 3-2 record and a 1.61 ERA, O’Sullivan will be looking to get some starts out of him as well in 2022.
Junior outfielder Mike Mowdy who is described by his coach as a field general in the outfield. He leadoff the lineup for Mattituck last year and will be doing so again said O’Sullivan as he posted a .327 batting average scoring 21 runs from the leadoff spot.
One newcomer for Mattituck this year will be sophomore pitcher James Reidy. He is coming off of an injury he sustained at the junior varsity level in the previous year but has shown prowess throwing well recently.
Uncommitted Jimmy Reidy (Mattituck 2024) showing his arsenal of pitches pic.twitter.com/LuwMJjdvES
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 1, 2022
When asked about his team’s biggest strength coming into 2022 coach O’Sullivan said that they were battle tested in the previous year. Playing in an A and B mixed league they competed in quite a few close games last year. O’Sullivan hopes the experience they have gained, and their strong core leadership group will help guide the way for them in 2022.
Mattituck competes in a tough league with quite a few talented teams in its ranks. They will face off against Bayport-Blue Point, Shoreham-Wading River, John Glenn, Babylon, Center Moriches and Southampton to name a few. Coach O’Sullivan emphasized the need to be ready to compete at all times but especially against the big-name teams like Bayport and John Glenn as they all possess talent up and down their lineups.
Mattituck will open the season in a non-league contest against Islip in the Town of Brookhaven tournament. Their first league game will be against Bayport on March 29th.
