by Andy Smith
Updates numbers on John Glenn’s senior Michael Zeis after 2 homers today
18-for-24 (.750 AVG), 6 HRs, 17 runs scored, 9 stolen bases pic.twitter.com/7WnTHHYzmC
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 12, 2022
John Glenn got off to a strong start in 2022. The Knights started off 5-1, but injuries began to creep in and they struggled in the final half of the season. Still, they remained in playoff contention until the final week. Entering his seventh season as head coach, Matt Rocchio explained his optimism going into 2023. “Already in the first few weeks of workouts you can see the difference in their body language and overall confidence. I think that will be vital to the upcoming year to start the year with confidence.”
Rocchio also spotlighted the value of his assistant coach, Billy Riedel, who is a graduate from John Glenn and played baseball at SUNY Oneonta.
John Glenn will be entering 2023 without three key contributors. Starting catcher Mike Zeis continued a history of notable John Glenn catchers. This consisted of Jack Ryan, who played at Adelphi and Chris Carnavale. Zeis, an All-County catcher who hit .545 with 7 home runs, 25 runs, and swiped ten bags in his senior year, is now playing at St. Thomas Aquinas College. Rocchio explained about the importance of the catching position in the program. “Since I’ve taken over as coach, catching has always been a strong point at Glenn. Having Billy as my assistant who was also a catcher at Glenn helps immensely.”
Cole Lindquist loaded the bases with nobody out and proceeded to struck out the next three batters to avoid any damage
End of 1: Center Moriches 0, John Glenn 0 pic.twitter.com/CyC78ugrcy
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2021
Cole Lindquist, who had injury troubles last season, will also join Zeis at S.T.A.C. Another player who graduated was Ronnie Mullman, who tallied fifteen RBIs with a .366 average.
Another major loss is pitcher AJ Schieble. He is one of the only pieces of the pitching staff that will not be returning. In addition to his pitching, was a dynamic first baseman. The All-Leaguer is now playing at DeSales University, and posted a .361 AVG with fifteen RBIs last season. Rocchio elaborated, “That’s probably our biggest question mark right now is who is going to step up and play first. We’ve been trying some people there and we have a few weeks to iron that position out.”
“Our inexperience was a weakness last year, however, this year it should be an asset. We had 9 new juniors to the team last year and they are all returning this year.”
Andrew Conover is next in line to carry the John Glenn catching torch. “We spoke to him last year and he really took to our conversation by working really hard all off season in Seven Tool Catching clinics run by Charles Galiano. He came in the first winter workout and turned heads. I’m fully confident our strong catching tradition will continue here with Andrew.”
All-League outfielder Will Drucker will look to build off a strong junior campaign in which he posted a .350 AVG and 18 RBIs with ten of them coming with two outs. Drucker will be joined by Alex Solis in the outfield.
The shortstop position will be held down by John O’Hara. The switch hitter registered an OBP of .377 and “really evolved as the year went on to become a very consistent shortstop.”
Both Drucker and O’Hara will also see time on the bump.
Another name to note is Colin Moran. He is returning from injury and “hasn’t missed a beat in our workouts and practices.”
Rocchio continued, “He has been a big part of our pitching staff since he was a sophomore but will not be able to pitch most of the season.”
Mike Competiello will be featured in a utility role. “We can put him anywhere in the field and he can adapt and play it well. He batted .295 last year and is expected to play both the infield and outfield this year. He’s a grinder, he puts the ball in play and always makes things happen.”
Connor Zisel is a returning senior and will be a feature in the rotation. “He burst on the scene last year to pitch 6.2 innings and get the win against Babylon. He also closed his season by shutting out eventual Long Island Champion Center Moriches 2-0 by only allowing 3 hits.”
Rocchio continued, “After Zisel, the pitching staff is wide open. Brett Kleczka is an 11th grader up for his first year. We also have 2 young arms in ninth grade that have impressed early on – Andrew Dunn and Luke Brilliant. We have 7 guys that can go out there and throw. We just have to see who is going to step up and eat the innings we need to be successful.”
Finally, freshman Dillon DeRiggi is a name to note. He has looked solid in the infield and has shown potential in his bat.
John Glenn will be in a league with Kings Park, Harborfields, and Islip. There will also be crossovers with East Islip, Hills West, West Babylon, Hauppauge, and Deer Park. Rocchio reflected on the state of his schedule. “These are all high-caliber programs that have had success over the years. We are looking forward to the challenge and excited to see us succeed out there. While I don’t miss the travel, over the years we’ve built good rivalries with our old league opponents. I’m most looking forward to playing West Babylon as I graduated from there a very long time ago.”
