By Michael Malaszczyk
Coltrane Calloway fires a 4-hit shutout and Bay Shore advances to the Suffolk Conference II Finals with a 1-0 win over Connetquot ! pic.twitter.com/FryTZ6oBMO
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 16, 2021
Last season was a resounding success for Bay Shore, who took down a talented Connetquot team on the road before losing in the Conference II County Finals against Huntington.
With that said, it is a new era for the Marauders, who not only graduated several impact players but also longtime head coach, Mike Herbst, retired following the season. He is replaced by Coach Christopher Schiro, who was happy to share his thoughts on the upcoming season in an interview with Axcess Baseball.
“I would have loved the opportunity to be on board last year’s staff with the talent that they had,” said Schiro. “I did, however, take note of their journey while coaching in Uniondale, and can say they had a tremendous amount of talent and a successful year falling just shy of a County title.”
Bay Shore saw a number of talented baseball players graduate last year, most notably League MVP Coltrane Calloway and Jason Ambos (playing at UCF). Chris and Matt Rouleau were All-League, as was Darnell Guerrero and Ty Panariello, who transferred to Elev8 Academy in Florida.
Not only was that group one win away from a County Championship, they also won the Boys of Summer championship in 2020 which was consisted of some of the top high school program on Long Island – and they beat Plainedge in the finals.
Outfield view of Darnell Guerrero’s HR yesterday for Bay Shore. He’s been a big reason for the Marauders 6-1 start to the season. He’s the nephew of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero pic.twitter.com/sVZ4FAkEZb
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 19, 2021
Despite those graduations, Coach Schiro feels confident that his team is hungrier than ever this year, as it is made up of players who got to witness a team on the verge of winning the country championship.
“We are a very young team built of primarily juniors and sophomores with some key leadership from returning seniors,” said Schiro.
Players to look out for at Bay Shore in 2022 include pitcher Hayden Preston (‘22), outfielder Owen Price (‘22), infielder Cole Fesefeldt (‘24), infielder Jorge Rosario (‘24), third baseman Jason Carrion (‘23), and first baseman Liam Knapp (‘23).
Other seniors returning from last year’s successful run are Matt Brewer, Brendon Diem, and Brandon Soumakis.
There currently are not any college commitments on Bay Shore’s team, although Coach Schiro says they are “looking to change that”.
Coach Schiro feels that this team’s biggest strength is their work ethic; it is a great attribute to have as a good work ethic lends itself to any aspect of a good team.
“This team’s strength, for sure, is their work ethic,” said Schiro. “These guys put in serious work in the off season and came into the first week ready to grind.”
Coach Schiro wants his team to be prepared for any and all opponents they may face, and he is not overlooking anybody, saying that “we are in a strong conference with loads of talent.”
But, while it is Coach Schiro’s first year with Bay Shore, it is far from his first year coaching baseball. Coach Schiro has coached for thirteen years.
“Baseball is everything to me,” he said. “I am just happy to have the opportunity to share this game and my passion for it with this group.”
It may be a transitional year for Bay Shore but they are a program you can never count out.
Bay Shore’s opening day is set for March 30th against Hills West.
