By Michael Malaszczyk
We spoke to Garden City Head Coach Dave Izzo about his thoughts following the 5-3 championship victory pic.twitter.com/knlgdqS1AT
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 20, 2021
It goes without saying that Garden City’s baseball team knows how to win, especially under the guidance of Coach Dave Izzo. Coach Izzo, while proud of how his team performed in 2021, remains humble ahead of 2022.
“Last year we won the Long Island Conference II Championship,” said Izzo. “We were happy with how it ended. It was our first L.I.C. since 2000.”
Coach Izzo still wants to keep in mind the blood, sweat, and tears that led Garden City to its championship in order to keep his 2022 team hungry.
“We didn’t have a tremendous regular season,” he said. “We went 11-5 in league play. We split each 2-game series with the other playoff teams in our conference. We just got hot at the right time!”
Considering they won the championship of the first true season in two years, one could not blame Garden City if they were brimming with confidence ahead of 2022. Nevertheless, humility is one of the most important things in sports, and it is important to remember that Coach Izzo’s mindset likely was a driving force behind Garden City’s success in 2021.
Garden City saw a couple of players graduate last year. One of them is now playing for college: Frank Santeramo (All-County player) is now playing at SUNY Maritime. Garden City also graduated Joe Infante (All-County player), Aidan Magnotta, and Joe Frandina.
Despite these graduations, Garden City will return six out of eight starting players from its championship season. These players include left-fielder Francesco Ingrassia (‘22, All-League player), center fielder Pete Halloran (‘22), second baseman/right fielder Joe Wood (‘22), third baseman Gabe Elmokian (‘22), shortstop Jack Fanning (‘24, All-Conference player), and first baseman Pat Heber (‘22, All-Conference player).
Of the seniors on the team, Pat Heber is committed to Bentley University.
Coach Izzo feels his team will be at its strongest on the mound this year. “Our 2 returning pitchers are both lefties that had great success last year – Pat Heber and sophomore Gabe Beschloss,” said Izzo. “The experience of winning an L.I.C. last year should help us tremendously this year.”
Coach Izzo is anticipating challenging games against MacArthur and Mepham. “Last year’s county semifinals with MacArthur went to 10 innings in game 3 and each game was decided by 1 run,” he said.
If Garden City’s returning championship-level players aren’t enough of an indicator of a potentially great year, Coach Izzo’s experience drives the point home even more. He has been coaching baseball for 24 years, the last six years being as Garden City’s lead varsity coach.
“Baseball has been a major part of my life,” said Izzo. “Growing up in Brooklyn, not many get the opportunity to play multiple sports in high school since the schools are so large, so baseball has meant a lot to me from high school, to college, and then as a coach.”
With a team of experienced, championship winning players and a coach eager to remind them of the struggles that lead to success, Garden City will be a major contender to repeat their 2021 successes in 2022.
Garden City’s opening day is set for March 28th. They will hit the ground running, as they will be playing against aforementioned Mepham.
