It’s only fitting that Luke Filippi handles it himself to end the game and win the Class C Long Island Championship for Port Jefferson pic.twitter.com/lmcrT5AE96
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 3, 2022
Port Jefferson captured their first Long Island Championship since 2008 this past season with a victory over Carle Place at St. Joseph’s University. The game ended in very appropriate fashion as their ace RHP Luke Filippi caught a line drive back to the mound to secure the final out.
Filippi, who is now a freshman at Albany, led the Royals in every possible way. He batted an insane .750 for the season, with an .803 OBP. He also drove in 41 runs, scored 31 runs and stole 42 bases. On the mound, he did not give up an earned run over 40 innings and was the winning pitcher in the Long Island Championship.
He was awarded League MVP, he captured the Blue Chip Slugger Silver Slugger Award and Axcess Baseball’s Silver Slugger Award Powered by Baseball Lifestyle.
Port Jefferson head coach Jesse Rosen following the Long Island Championship victory pic.twitter.com/Gyx6HVGAMW
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 3, 2022
“Luke was the cornerstone of the program,” said Head Coach Jesse Rosen who has been at the helm since 2010. “From an athletic and leadership standpoint he was at the forefront of the team. I believe his leadership and work ethic rubbed off on the younger guys. It’s one thing to hear it from the coaches but it’s another thing when it comes from a player,” he added.
Filippi’s impact will be impossible to replace, but they are fortunate that they were able to capitalize and get a Long Island Championship during his career.
They also graduated another special player and that was Abigail Rolfe. She made history by becoming the first female in Suffolk County history to be named All-County. She batted .438 with a .571 OBP, 1.093 OPS, she drove in 29 runs, scored 15 runs and stole 4 bases. Just an incredible individual performance. She is now attending Ohio University.
Coach Rosen spoke of her in the highest regard.
“The first think that stands out about her is how she went about her business. The respect that they had for her- you can call it motherly, sisterly, peer – the respect is unparalleled. She carries herself with unbelievable poise. Her brother was our first baseman in 2019 and will be helping out out this year coaching. Abby played softball in 7th grade on varsity, but our school now doesn’t have softball so she switched to baseball and played on varsity her junior and senior years.”
Coach added that they have a particularly strong junior class.
Headlining that group is Natti Mullen, who had a great sophomore season in which he batted .414 with a .614 OBP and on the mound he compiled a 1.87 ERA with 47 strikeouts. He has UCL repair surgery following the season and he’s working his way back to full health on the mound.
They also have Ruairi Rago who batted .360 with a healthy .535 OBP and drove in 20 runs. He took his game to another level in the postseason and helped carry the team’s offense. “He batted behind Luke all season, now someone will have to protect him in the lineup.”
The third junior he mentioned was Kyle Erickson, an infielder and pitcher. He batted .381 with a .485 OBP and an immaculate 1.25 ERA on the mound.
Port Jeff also returns their entire outfield – all seniors. They are Frankie Andriani, Daniel Owens and Ciaran Laffey.
Coach added that they have sophomore Joey Aronica, who despite only being in 10th grade has been their starting second baseman for the past two seasons.
“We might be in for some slugfests, we will have to grind our way through it,” coach added.
They will open up the season with Town of Brookhaven’s Cancer Bash tournament against Centereach. Their first mandatory non-league game will be against Center Moriches on March 29 and first league game will be April 12th against Bridgehampton.
