By Thomas Cregan
Harborfields head coach Casey Sturm is looking to pickup right where they left off in 2021 and make another run at the County Championship in 2022.
They embarked on a fantastic run in 2021 posting a 13-8 regular season record propelling them into the postseason. They would ride the wave until a close game in which they were ultimately defeated by East Islip in the County Championship. Coach Casey Sturm was incredibly proud of his group’s performance despite the loss. They had a great core group of players that had long been in the program who came together to make a tremendous run to the championship. Sturm described it as “truly a special run, and one of the most fun years that I have ever coached, that was an incredibly resilient group that always remained competitive and put up a fight in every game.”
2021 saw a large graduating class depart from the Harborfields team led by one of the top players on Long Island during his tenure with the team in pitcher/infielder Sean Keys (Bucknell). Along with versatile infielder Matt Torres who will be playing at Dickinson College this year. Coach Sturm also mentioned players like centerfielder Ryan Steel, pitcher Chirs Miranda, and pitcher Liam Dyer along with many others that will no longer be with the team in 2022. However, Sturm is looking to his returning players to fill in the roles that were left behind by those who departed.
Sturm is confident that the group of players that will return this year are going to fill the roles left behind in their lineup and make a big impact this year. Starting with senior year catcher Ryan Shih who Sturm says has a great relationship with his pitching staff and is always communicating with them in order to help them succeed. The team has a strong senior group to go along with Shih, with players like Peter Houston who Sturm says will be mostly used as a utility infielder. First baseman Gavin Crawford and outfielder Michael Peters. Junior Brogan Olson is another player that can be moved all around the diamond. Sturm said that he will be looking for a team effort out of this group as there is not a definitive standout player among them. “We have a whole of good ball players on this team who will be looking to make names for themselves this year.”
One newcomer to watch for will be pitcher/infielder Max Hilsenroth who was brought up to varsity last year as a freshman though he did not see any playing time. While he lacks experience Sturm spoke highly of him and will be looking for him to breakout this year when he is given the playing time.
Uncommitted Max Hilsenroth (Harborfields 2024) up to 84.4 pic.twitter.com/iTwGcexqRu
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 27, 2022
Sturm was confident in saying that pitching will be his team’s biggest strength coming into this year. “We have a strong rotation, a lot of guys with good velocity and movement. And what really aids us is having a guy like Ryan Shih behind the plate. He is always talking with our pitchers and giving them tips on how to improve and what they are doing well and not doing well. Having that kind of relationship with a catcher can really be a big help to any pitcher and Ryan has done well at building those relationships for us.”
Harborfields competes in a tough league which features teams such as Mount Sinai, Sayville, Miller Place, East Hampton, and Islip. Sturm said of their league “This is a strong league, we really have to be ready to grind it out every game of the season, and there are really no weeks off.” He further stated “I am confident in this group of players we have; we always have grit and we leave our mark on every game that we play. We may not always be the most talented team, but we manage to keep our games competitive and show a lot of resilience out there on the field.”
Harborfields will start play in a non-league game against Kings Park, then moving on to their first series against East Hampton on March 29th.
