Cooper Johnson comes through with the walk-off RBI single to propel Adelphi to a 5-4 comeback victory over St. Rose ! pic.twitter.com/5v1qCe1RA5
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2022
Entering the 2023 season, the Adelphi Panthers have what head coach Bill Ianniciello called a “good problem” and that’s having to find at bats for some talented players.
With the cancellation in 2020, Adelphi – like many collegiate teams – has an abundance of upperclassmen on the roster. But in the case of the Panthers, they also have a number of quality freshmen, sophomores and juniors that would warrant starting jobs on many other competitive teams in the region.
The big loss, however, will be 3B Matt Alifano. The 2021 Axcess College Player of the Year followed that season up with another All-American season this past spring hitting leadoff for the Panthers. He batted .401 with a robust .516 OBP, .686 SLG and scored 60 runs. He was a staple in the lineup for Adelphi over the past few seasons and he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies after the season.
Matt Alifano rips an RBI double to extend Adelphi’s lead to 4-2. He is 3-for-4 with a HR, 3 RBI pic.twitter.com/JPEVne0dYx
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 16, 2022
Replacing him will be impossible, but he was just one of the three-headed monster atop the Adelphi lineup – a lineup that batted .320 and reached base at a .399 clip. Coach Ianniciello noted that not only were those offensive numbers strong, but they were even higher earlier in the season before some injuries hampered the lineup.
They return a trove of impact players. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, they also have 1B Mike Draskin and LF Kyle Olson. Draskin missed some games with a concussion which slowed him down a little, but he still finished with a .385 AVG, 10 HRs (9 in one month), 44 RBIs, .447 OBP and an incredible .723 SLG thanks to 29 XBH. He was twice named Player of the Week and coach noted he probably deserved another. Olson was another player that flirted with hitting .400 before cooling down a bit towards the end of the season. He still batted .367 with a .436 OBP and .576 SLG. It is very rare for a team to have three hitters of that caliber in the same lineup.
Not to be overlooked, though, was freshman Jack Wishner who not only played a great shortstop but also batted .347 with a .391 OBP and went 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts. He was named to the NE10 All-Rookie team.
RF Tim Feliz missed time with an injury but is one of the top hitters in the region. He was first-team All-Conference in 2021 (.359 AVG, 1.056 OPS) and will be a welcome addition in the middle of the order.
CF Cooper Johnson is an outstanding defensive outfielder and Coach has always spoke glowingly of his prowess, but he’s also continued to become more of a weapon with the bat. Last season, he batted .280 and also had the big walk-off RBI single in the NE10 playoffs against St. Rose in a dramatic victory.
Cooper Johnson comes through with the walk-off RBI single to propel Adelphi to a 5-4 comeback victory over St. Rose ! pic.twitter.com/5v1qCe1RA5
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2022
Coach also spoke highly of 2B Anthony Cipri, whom he said “had as strong of a fall as anyone”, coming off a season in which he batted .308 with a .366 OBP and 5 HRs. Coach added that he’s “made significant leaps every year” and they’ll be counting on him once again up the middle.
Behind the dish, they have two veteran players in Alec Maag (.321 AVG, .808 OPS) and Jose Matos (.357 OBP over 100 ABs). They graduated Jack Ryan who was a highly-respected player and leader that had a .994 OPS in 2021.
One player that really impressed during the Scout Day was 1B Greyson Pizzonia, who ran a 6.58 60-yard dash and has some terrific instincts defensively.
Where the Panthers really thrive is in their depth. They have really talented backup infielders such as Alex Rende (.321 AVG last season), C.J. Picone, Joe Pellegrino and a really exciting freshman in Albert Ramos. It’s hard not to be impressed with what Ramos brings to the table. He’s uber-athletic and has a very strong arm at SS. He’s a player that will be tough to keep out of the lineup and has a “prototypical SS body”, according to Coach. He also mentioned that Phil D’Aguanno, who was really a standout pitcher at Bethpage, has impressed with the bat and has showed some pop in the fall.
Another interesting depth piece is OF Johnny Catuosco. The Commack product hit .326 as a freshman over 96 at bats and then took his game to the next level during the HCBL where he had a .471 OBP and coach said he’s been “barreling the ball up” during the fall. They have to feel very good about their offense.
Historically, Adelphi has been known for their pitching. Nic Luc signed with the Empire State Greys of the Frontier League after the collegiate season to continue their good run with getting pitchers into pro ball. Ed Baram anchored the rotation in 2019 and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics. Before him, there was T.J. Santiago in 2017, Jonathon Mulford in 2016, Dillon McNamara (New York Yankees) in 2013, Robert Nixon in 2011, Keith Couch in 2010, Bobby Lanigan in 2008 and so on.
This season, they will lean on two sophomores that blossomed in 2022. John Rizzo and Jordan Falco, two players who stepped into large roles as freshman and look like they should’ve been Division-I pitchers, will anchor the Panthers rotation. Rizzo pitched like the ace of the staff and Falco has improved considerably – touching 95 MPH at Scout Day and sitting 90-92 much of the fall.
6’6 RHP Jordan Falco (Center Moriches 2021) up to 94 MPH pic.twitter.com/K7g3tUHiOY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 27, 2022
In terms of Falco, Ianniciello said, “he’s very athletic, he was a hoops guy. He fields the position as well as anyone. Great team guy – hits fungos, he umps for intersquads and he’s 6’6.” Falco will look to take that next step this season into a dominant force.
They got a huge boost to the rotation when Jack Carr transferred in from Stony Brook. He’s been 86-90 in the fall and looks like every bit of the impact pitcher they hoped they were getting.
Those are likely their top 3 starters, and they’ll need others to emerge with their four-game weekend sets and weekday games sprinkled in. They have a slew of talented pitchers that could fit that bill. Coltan Reitan, a transfer from Wesleyan, could fit that description. He is familiar with Coach having pitched for him in the HCBL. Ianniciello noted that he was his chesspiece in the bullpen, filling in whenever needed and he’s hopeful that that translates. They have two pitchers returning from Tommy John, Stevie Proko and John Carver, that have huge upside and they can be backend of the bullpen type arms. They have Gavin Graff and Tommy O’Sullivan who may play big roles. There’s Jacob Pedersen and Steven Murphy, two returning relievers that should be dependable. Coach noted that Pedersen pitched an immaculate inning during their intersquad last week.
Nick Gavilla and Jonathan Fallacaro are two lefties that will compete to be one-inning relievers. Brendan Kenneally recently saw a bump in velocity from the low-to-mid 80s and Coach said he’ll get innings. Zach Rovner was 84-86 over the summer and had some great outings in the ACBL. Robert Affenita III is a converted infielder with a strong arm on the bump.
The Panthers will play 18 games before the NE-10 conference games open up. They have a four-game tournament in Myrtle Beach, two games against Felician, three games against Molloy before heading to Florida on March 10 for 9 games in 8 days.
The games aren’t played on paper, but this Adelphi team is deep with veteran players and they have the star power that typically translates well in the standings.
