Commack captures the Conference I Long Island Championship with a 3-1 victory over Massapequa ! pic.twitter.com/QCz1prESnG
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 21, 2021
Commack will take the field with heavy hearts in 2022 following the passing of their Head Coach Bryan Bonin in January. Bonin was an incredible person and coach – who led the Cougars to the County Championship during his first year in 2017 and also their first Long Island Championship in program history in 2021.
Incumbent coach, Matt Salmon, had the following to say:
“Since Bryan passed away, I’ve been in constant contact with the guys. The kids really loved him. It’s almost taken on a natural feel the way Bryan would’ve wanted it. Everybody is locked in on baseball. During tryouts, from 3 o’clock to 6 or 7, I don’t think they are focused on him and that’s the way he would’ve wanted it. I’m sure throughout the course of the season, I plan to have things scheduled about Bryan and we will address it. For now, everyone is pretty focused on baseball and I think that’s a good thing.”
It’s remarkable that the young men were able to compartmentalize the situation last year knowing their coach’s diagnosis – which makes their season even more impressive. They truly rallied behind their coach and it brought out the absolute best in them. They defeated Sachem East in the Conference I County Championship before moving on to defeat Massapequa, 3-1, in the Conference I Long Island Championship – which was a rematch of the 2017 game that Massapequa came away victorious in.
The players are now heading into the season as the reigning champs without some of those key pieces from last season.
RHP Craig Pihlkar was named All-County and was the winning pitcher in the LIC. He is now at Suffolk CC. They also graduated their #2 starter, Matt Edwards, who was the winning pitcher in the Suffolk County championship over Sachem East. He was named All-League and is now at SUNY Plattsburgh.
From their position players, they graduated All-County outfielder Johnny Catuosco who hit close to .500 and was a key piece to their lineup. He is now at Adelphi University. They graduated All-League and Gold Glove SS Connor Pedersen, who is now at Ithaca College.
Salmon also mentioned the importance of 1B Gavin Newman last season, who he called “one of the best defensive first baseman I’ve seen.”
Which segues into the returning players. They are fortunate to be somewhat of a baseball factory so the talent pool never runs dry.
Leading the charge offensively is SS Chris McHugh. He batted over .500 last season and is committed to VCU. He is one of the top hitters on Long Island and is their only returning All-County player. He played third base last season with the presence of Pedersen but he will now shift to SS.
They have two Division-I catcher in Anthony Chiapetta and Nick Gnardellis. When asked how they will both fit into the lineup, coach noted that they can both hit so one can simply slide into the DH role or 1B.
They also have a Division-1 OF in Matt McGurk (LIU) and 3B Connor Schramm (Niagara). Both will be counted on to provide punch in the lineup.
Justin Crispino is a left-handed hitting CF committed to Pace and Mike Pulcini is a second baseman, both are seniors that could contribute.
The pitching staff will be led by Queens-commit Joey Patane, who can also handle the bat. Behind him they have Stony Brook-commit Eric Mohr and Aidan Murphy, who has been garnering Division-I interest. Salmon noted the latter two did not pitch much on varsity last year but are capable. He added that Sebastian LoCurto has looked good during tryouts and he was on JV last year.
Aidan Murphy (Commack 2023) slings it from a low 3/4. Fastball 80-81 MPH, slider can be a weapon at 73 MPH pic.twitter.com/R5XB2my7B3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 7, 2021
Another player coming up from the JV is OF Joey DiMotta, who may wind up locking down a spot in the outfield. He has a smooth swing and can fly on the bases.
The Cougars will drop down from League I to II this season and compete with Ward Melville, Bay Shore, Lindenhurst, Northport, Sachem North and Walt Whitman. They will open up on March 29 on their brand-new turf field against Sachem North.
Coach Salmon graduated Commack and won a championship in 1997, was a part of both championship clubs as an assistant and will now take over at the helm. With his experience, the Commack faithful can be confident they have a qualified coach in charge – albeit under such a sad circumstance.
