By Michael Malaszczyk
Sachem North has come out swinging in the first
Back-to-back doubles by Billy Bullock and Steven Kiendle followed by a 2-R shot by sophomore Brandon O’Neill and the Arrows have a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/kWIsRgWq9f
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2021
The 2022 varsity baseball season is almost upon us, and Coach Tom Gambino of Sachem North is getting right down to business this season.
Sachem North finished with an 8-11 overall record, which included a playoff appearance. They lost in the playoffs to Longwood, but Coach Gambino returns plenty of talent for this year.
“A couple of injuries hurt us at the end of the year,” Coach Gambino said.
Sachem North did see a few players graduate last year. Those players were Sean Kruse (now at Gettysburg College), Steven Kienzle (will be attending Southern New Hampshire University), and Justin Cordero (now at SUNY Farmingdale).
Despite these graduations, Sachem North still has a solid roster in 2022. Coach Gambino hopes that the knowledge gained from last year’s season will propel his team to success in 2022, saying “we are looking for the experience from last year’s players to help us this year”.
This roster includes outfielder Billy McKinney (‘22, All-League player, batted .340 in 2021with 20 hits), outfielder/pitcher Chris Kelly (‘22, All- League player, batted .327 in 2021 with 16 hits, and had 24 innings on the mound), center fielder/pitcher Billy Bullock (‘22, 2.5 ERA, batted .270 in 11 games, pitched 25 innings in 2021), infielder Brandon O’Neill (‘23, batted .292 in 2021), infielder James Horodyski (‘24, 9 hits in 2021), and pitcher Ryan Barlow (‘23, expected starting pitcher).
Coach Gambino said that Brandon O’Neill will also be pitching this year, while Ryan Barlow may double as a first baseman as well.
Of those players, Billy Bullock is committed to Monroe College, while Brandon O’Neill is committed to Central Connecticut State.
Tom Gambino has been coaching Sachem North baseball for 17 years.
With an experienced coach and a roster of players who have already been to varsity playoffs, Sachem North is ready to compete.
Sachem North’s opening day is set for March 29th. They will be playing against Commack.
