After a long wait it’s safe to say Connetquot is fired up to be playing
An RBI double by freshman Ryan Kiendle off the fence in left gives them a 1-0 lead pic.twitter.com/Op8gOV7zbs
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2021
For the first time in program history, Connetquot will complete in League III this season. The program had previously been in League II and is one of the perennial powerhouses on Long Island.
2021 was a typically strong season for the T-Birds, who finished with a record of 15-4. They lost, 1-0, in the Conference II semifinals against Bay Shore and League MVP, Coltrane Calloway.
Despite not reaching their goal, Connetquot was a very young team. Coach Rob Burger, who won the Class AA County Championship in his first season in 2019, stated that they had 7 sophomores in their lineup and 11 on the team. All told, they return 16 underclassmen for this season. Incredibly, the JV team still found a way to go 14-2 without all of these players.
“We’re going to have a really good stretch for the next 3-4 years,” said Burger.
Now, they did lean on two outstanding 2021 graduates that were named All-County and they were SS James Goff and LHP Sean Mileti. Goff was named second-team All-Long Island and to our All-Axcess team. He batted .491, hit 9 doubles, three triples, drove in 18 runs and scored 21 runs. Mileti was named to the All-Axcess team as well. He compiled a record of 4-2, saved one game, with a 0.75 ERA and .919 WHIP. He is currently at Molloy. One of his losses was the 1-0 playoff defeat in which the lone run scored on a wild pitch. They graduated another impact senior, Ryan Appell, who is now at St. Thomas Aquinas.
The crux of the team is from an incredibly deep and talented group of younger players.
Final: Connetquot 8, Northport 0
WP: Ryan Waring (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R)Beisel and Appell drove in 2 runs
Kiendle hit a HR pic.twitter.com/dbiiJtOfSs— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 17, 2021
Three returning players were named All-League and they were 3B Ryan Kiendle, CF Anthony Scarabino and 2B Colin Beisel. We’ll start with Kiendle, who was called up as a freshman and had an immediate impact. He batted .302 with two HRs, 5 doubles, 17 RBIs and scored 12 runs. He will likely hit in the middle of the order and also contribute on the mound as well. Scarabino is a junior CF who batted .367 last season, with five doubles, 11 RBIs, scored 15 runs and also went 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts. Burger stated he “knows how to run the bases” and he will hit in the top of the order. Beisel is a senior and batted .353 with 13 RBIs and 15 runs scored. He will either bat at the top or the bottom of the order.
That is far from the only impact players they return.
Replacing Goff at SS is Adelphi-commit Erick Duignan. He is an exceptional athlete that drew rave reviews from the Adelphi coaching staff. Additionally, Burger stated he spent last year learning under Goff and “it’s not every day you get to learn from a kid like that.”
Anchoring the rotation is senior Ryan Waring (SUNY Polytechnic) who went 5-1 with a 2.85 ERA over 29 innings. Burger stated that “his slider is filthy. After the season we told him he has gotta have two pitches and I’m pretty happ with what I’ve seen.”
Another exciting player is junior Nolan Britt. He’s sitting in the mid 80s and Burger stated “his arm is electric.”
Coach named three other players in the junior class that will be impact guys for them this season. Behind the dish is Scott Northrop, at first base is Justin Wilkinson and potentially in the rotation is Dylan Thomasson. who went 6-0 on JV last season with a sub 2.00 ERA.
Burger noted that this season is a big one for the program as they have 892 wins – just 8 shy of a milestone.
The program has routinely competed for championships and this year they will be hoping to do the same as they’ve done many times before – most recently in 2019. From that team they have several players still playing in college – Joey Savino, Matt Brown-Eiring, Josh McGee, Derek Yalon, Anthony Amato, Trevor Adamo and Peter Montana.
It won’t be without challenges, though. League III boasts the reigning Conference III Long Island Champs, Newfield, and also the reigning Conference II Suffolk Champs, Huntington.
They will open up at Hills East – a team that Burger stated they have never played before.
