by Mike Anderson
Grand slam by TJ Maher breaks the game open – South Side leads 10-1 in the third pic.twitter.com/Gix5YrXLP3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 17, 2021
After reaching the Long Island Championship last year, South Side High School varsity baseball enters the 2022 season as contenders to defend their league title. They finished 2021 14-8, and had a wild ride all the way to the end, before falling 3-1 to Newfield in the Conference III LIC. This year, they’ll look to do more of the same, and have a lot of guys coming back to help them do so.
South Side will be without some of their impact players from a year ago, such as catcher Jack Temple, center fielder Paul Mata, and shortstop Kyle Aromiskis. Temple is now playing Div-III football at USMMA, and Mata is running track at the Div-II level for Adelphi. These players were integral in their championship run, but they have a solid core intact to help keep the program atop the standings.
Senior TJ Maher is entering his fourth year as a varsity player. A team captain last year, Maher will be starting in the outfield for them, and pitching as well. Maher posted a .384 batting average last year, with four home runs and 21 RBIs. He also scored 32 runs. On the mound, he pitched to a 1.41 ERA. Maher is committed to play college football at Utica this upcoming fall.
Another player to watch out for is junior Sean Britt, who will be moving from right field to behind the dish in place of Temple. Britt had 31 hits in 2021 (.411 average), the third most in school history. Also, All-League first baseman Andrew Fingleton will be returning to the lineup and the mound, as he was recovering from an arm injury for most of the 2021 season. From the middle of their lineup, Fingleton drove in 24 runs. Third baseman Robert Pericolosi, who was called up to varsity during his sophomore year last year, figures to play an even bigger role this year in the middle of their lineup. He played 13 games as a sophomore, batting .486. Rounding out the list of returning position players to lookout for is junior Drew Aromiskis, younger brother of Kyle. He started as a sophomore, and will be starting in the middle infield again this year after playing second base last year.
Head coach Tom Smith also mentioned a junior who will be making his varsity debut this year; a utility player named Justin Peralta. Peralta had an impressive sophomore season on JV, and is an early-season favorite to find a starting spot in their lineup.
“He’s going to make an immediate impact… He’s going to play a little bit of infield, but I think he’ll also be starting in the outfield for us,” said Smith.
Most of their pitching staff is returning, which is a key factor in their high expectations. Fingleton is slated to be their number one starter in the rotation this year. Senior Danny Russell, who won Game 3 of the County Finals against Manhasset last year, figures to be their day two starter. Also returning are seniors Max Breiter, Danny Fuentes, and juniors Thomas McCarthy, and Chris Rosenbaum. Fuentes had a 1.40 ERA, the lowest of the group. Fuentes is also known for his smooth hands at third base.
Having such a deep, talented pitching staff, Smith spoke about the embarrassment of riches he has coming into 2022.
“Like I said, we’re returning so many pitchers… I have a bunch of quality arms. That’s the benefit, is that I don’t have to ask kids to throw extended. I could use a few innings from everybody spread across,” Smith said.
Smith right now has a general sense for the top of the lineup that we can expect to see. As of now, Aromiskis is likely to be their leadoff hitter, followed by Britt, Maher, Fingleton, and then Pericolosi rounding out their top five hitters. The rest of the spots will be earned throughout the competition before and during the season.
This team is very experienced, having started lots of underclassmen last year. Along with that, Smith believes their culture and their team attitude is their strength.
“The chemistry between the team is a strength. They’ve become a brotherhood; they’re all very, very tight. Nobody blames anybody,” Smith said.
In order to get better this year, Smith believes they have to be more consistent, specifically when it comes to overcoming adversity.
“While we did win the county in our conference, we’ve got to take the next step… We let the fact that we faced a talented, young pitcher, get in our heads. We’ve got to take the next step and bounce back from adversity right away. We actually did it in the playoffs versus Manhasset… But we’ve got to be more consistent as a team and as a program,” Smith said.
This team has every reason to be excited about their upcoming season, as they have the bullets to repeat this year. Mixing their high-scoring offense with a loaded pitching staff is likely going to guide them to another very good year, but only time will tell.
Their season kicks off with a road game at Manhasset on March 28, with the first pitch coming at 4:45.
