by Mike Merolle
Oceanside 10, Port Washington 2
WP: Patrick Pallentino (6ip 1ER 4 Ks)Luke Villella: 3 for 5 3 singles 3 RBIs
Jake Lunenfeld: 3 for 4, 2B and 2 singles 2 RBIs
Justin Alvarez: HR, 2 RBI’s
Sean Varon: 2 for 3 pic.twitter.com/tFPbm2Oaor— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 17, 2023
After having their season cut short by Massapequa in 2023, Oceanside plans to bounce back this upcoming spring. Though the result did not favor Oceanside, there was a positive in their Nassau County Class AA playoff experience. The Sailors developed a young, inexperienced 2022 core into a 2024 college-bound group.
Head coach Mike Postilio highly praises his two junior leaders, Luke Villella (‘25) and Kyle Scheurer (‘25). “When I watched them as freshmen, you wouldn’t tell they were freshmen. They fit in with seniors and juniors,” Postilio said. “The production was there from both of them.”
Villella was an All-County player as a sophomore and Scheurer was an All-Conference player as a freshman and sophomore. The two immediately made an impact since starting as freshmen. This season, they will lead a team that lost six players to graduation.
Four of the six players were pitchers which is concerning to Postilio. Two of them were All-County pitchers who were key to the rotation. Jack Schulz (‘23) now pitches for Molloy University. Mike Furst (‘23) joined the College of Staten Island.
Oceanside 10, Syosset 2
WP – J. Schulz (4.2 innings, 5 Ks, 1ER)
Sean Varon: 3-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs
Peter Davies: 3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 1 run pic.twitter.com/QweSAQJQqK— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 5, 2023
“We’re replacing two-thirds of the starting rotation. If the guys we have lined up to take the spots of the guys that graduated out work out well, then we’re going to be a team that’s in the mix to challenge,” he said. “I’m confident in terms of our defense and our offense, we just have to replace those pitchers that have graduated.”
Postilio expects a big jump from last season’s underclassmen. Dylan Beirne (‘25) will be relied on to fill the hole in the pitching staff. Ryan Piccola (‘25) and Jack Regan (‘26) will supplement the infield. Ryan Pender (‘26) will see action behind the plate catching for the Sailors.
Dylan Beirne (Oceanside ‘25) showing off his range with a nice backhand sliding play in the hole. pic.twitter.com/LvH6Bin44Y
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 24, 2021
“Those guys, I kind of lump them into the [Scheurer] and [Villella] category in the sense of their youth. They will help us be good now and in the future. Supplementing those guys with some of our senior leadership is going to be big,” said Postilio.
The senior leadership will come from many key pieces to the Oceanside core. Michael Regan (‘24) is a SUNY New Paltz-commit and will be a key member of the pitching staff. Patrick Pallentino (‘24) is a left-handed pitcher and a 2023 All-Conference player who will lead the rotation. Jake Lunenfeld (‘24) was also a 2023 All-Conference player and will help the Sailors on the mound and in the field.
Jacob Landry (‘24) is an Eastern University-commit and a pitcher who will most likely rotate his play at first base and designated hitter this season. Justin Alvarez (‘24) is expected to have a good year on the corner infield. Sebastian Santiago (‘24) will get his chance in the outfield.
The main strength of the team can be seen in the scorecards. However, Postilio finds that the team’s biggest strength lies elsewhere.
“We spend a lot of time together. Building culture, what’s expected, and how we operate. When you have young guys that are leaders in that, it helps it run itself to a point. What I would say the strength of our team is our togetherness. It’s our ability to defend, to hit, to play. The only question mark, which I view as an opportunity, is our pitching staff replacing the guys that left.”
Oceanside’s overall record last season was 15-7. Postilio made sure to circle the Farmingdale and Massapequa series on this season’s schedule. “Those are the series that we measure how we’re looking and how we’re doing. Two great programs there.” The Sailors open their league schedule at home versus Valley Stream Central on March 25.
