by Brian Honka
Uncommitted RHP Sean Costello (Seaford 2023) up to 88 MPH. Was named All-County and Conference Pitcher of the Year pic.twitter.com/BKLf1rlZw2
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 24, 2022
Seaford is looking to improve upon a season that featured a 12-10-1 record and 2 playoff wins over Garden City and Island Trees giving them a trip to the quarterfinal. Unfortunately, the season didn’t end the way they hoped as they lost to the 3rd seed MacArthur Generals.
Coach Milano said that last year was something to be extremely proud of coming out of arguably one of the toughest leagues in Class A.
The team lost All-Conference SS Evan Block (SUNY Maritime), the team will also need to replace battery mates RHP Jack Kellner (SUNY Maritime) and C Joe Bello (Baruch) who received All-League honors.
Block batted .361 with a .418 OBP, scored 14 runs and drove in 10 runs. Bello batted .342 with a .432 OBP, he scored 9 runs and drove in 8 runs. Kellner compiled a 3.55 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP over 25.1 IP.
Senior RHP Sean Costello (Pace) who was All-County and Conference A4 Player of the Year will look to bring the team back to the playoffs. He put together an incredible season and is one of the best pitchers in the county. He went 5-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 0.92 WHIP and struck out 47 batters over 36 innings, walking just 14 batters. Most impressive about Costello’s season is that he did it against some of the best competition on Long Island. He beat previously undefeated Clarke, the reigning county champs (Island Trees) and previously undefeated Tyler Kregeloh. His 1 loss was a 1-0 game to Mineola. Needless to say, the team will go as he goes.
Also coming back to the team from last year is senior catcher Stephen Ierides who was All-Conference. He had an outstanding season – he batted .439 and a robust .629 OBP over 62 plate appearances. He drew 21 walks, scored 12 runs, drove in 8 runs and stole 9 bases against only 6 strikeouts. He also has a cannon behind the dish.
Stephen Ierides (Seaford 2023) with a 2.0 pop to second pic.twitter.com/RdJ0S5bqrs
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 22, 2022
All-League senior SS TJ Harrington (Oswego) who hit .320 and led the team with 15 RBI as a junior will be a player to watch this season.
Other returning players who will look to make an impact this year is P/1B Billy Kind (Adelphi) who hit 2 HR last year and 3B/P Nick Apollo.
Coach Milano said that this year’s team will have a lot of experience as they will have 11 seniors with Sean Costello, Stephen Ierides, and Nick Apollo being 3-year starters.
Last year’s team had an overall AVG of .312 with a .406 OBP which are lofty numbers to live up to, but fortunately, they have the caliber of pitching that shouldn’t require many runs to win games.
Sean Costello and Billy Kind have used the offseason to improve and are looking to pitch games 1 and 2 just like last year as they get ready to pitch at the next level.
Kind in particular has made massive strides over the past year. The 4.50 ERA from last season may not standout but he had a huge summer and his fastball has jumped 16 MPH since 2020. Those two will form a dynamic duo atop the rotation.
Uncommitted RHP Billy Kind (Seaford 2023) has been absolutely dominant this summer. Fastball has been 84-87 MPH recently pic.twitter.com/zFoVjESyOO
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 30, 2022
The team will look to Stephen Ierides, Kevin Knox, TJ Harrington, Nick Apollo, and Billy Kind as leaders on the field.
Coach Milano mentioned that it will be fun to watch as his 2 senior catchers, Kevin Knox and Stephen Ierides, battle it out in practice for the starting job. The team will also look at a few senior outfielders Justin Jaskolski (St. Josephs) and Chris Viggiano who the team will also be hoping to get innings on the mound.
