by Nick Cipolla
6’5 Clemson-commit Justin LeGuernic (Hills West 2023) was up to 92 mph last season. Low arm slot generates plenty of arm side run pic.twitter.com/IT9yQKiqGJ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 8, 2023
Half Hollow Hills West has been one of the most consistent programs on Long Island over the past couple decades. Last season was a step back as they finished 7-11, missing the postseason. Head Coach Tom Migliozzi, who has won over 400 games, was very open about his team’s performance when he spoke to Axcess Baseball for their preseason preview.
“Last season was uncharacteristic and disappointing for Hills West Baseball”, said coach Migliozzi, “We only had three seniors on the team last year, we were a junior heavy team and the three seniors we had weren’t necessarily impactful to our team. The leaders were in our junior class”.
Uncommitted 6’2 OF Ryan Muskopf (Hills West 2023) max exit velo 98. Player to watch pic.twitter.com/Sge0hdRoOV
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 21, 2022
A rare thing in high school sports, Hills West will be returning the main core of guys that consists of 5 college commits, including their brightest star and early season Yastrzemski Award candidate, senior pitcher/first baseman Justin LeGuernic (‘23). Along with Pat-Med’s Josh Knoth (‘23), LeGuernic is considered to be one of the biggest stars that currently plays baseball on Long Island. He is committed to Clemson University and is most likely to be drafted to the MLB out of High School. According to Perfect Game, he grades out at a 10, the highest grade a player can receive. If you have a grade of 10, you are considered to be a potential very high draft pick or elite level college prospect. Leguernic is 6’5 and his fastball sits in the low 90’s consistently.
Joining LeGuernic is classmate and outfielder Ryan Muskopf (‘23). The George Mason-commit is also a big time talent who will add some major pop to the Colts lineup as his exit velocity is amongst the best in the class.
Ithaca College commit Luca Tipia (‘23) is going to be another major piece to the core in 2023. He missed the 2022 season due to injury but he looks to have a big senior year. Dillon Aery (‘23) is committed to Union College in the capitol region, he will be holding down the shortstop position for the Colts in 2023 according to his coach. The final college commit is Zachary Vasconcellos (‘23). Vasconcellos is committed to Barry College in Florida and looks to be another major piece to the core.
The Colts also return their leadoff hitter Aidan Suapengo (‘23) who is described as a very talented left fielder who is still looking for a home next fall. Along with Suapengo, James Farrow (‘23) is also expected to play a big role. Junior pitcher Artie Green (‘24) looks to build on last year for the Colts after a really nice sophomore campaign where he won four games for the team. Defensively, they will rely on Ryan Bonocore (‘24) to man the hot corner. Coach Migliozzi described the underrated Bonocore as an “extremely good defensive third baseman”.
Coach Migliozzi is looking for a different type of approach from his guys in 2023, one that he thinks was the reason for the big drop off from 2021 to 2022. “On paper, we’re pretty talented,” said coach Migliozzi. “We have the arm strength, we have the speed ,and we have some power at the plate. So we just have to transfer our reputation into numbers and results. Our goals are not so much ‘Baseball goals’ but focus goals.”
The Half Hollow Hills West Colts open up the 2023 season at home against John Glenn. “We have the talent to play with anybody”, said Migliozzi, “and we just have to work on staying mentally focused from March 13 to the end of the season”.
