by Aaron Diaz
(Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.)
🚨 Upset Alert 🚨
Final: Pat-Med 3, Connetquot 2
WP: Jack Costello (CG, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks)Rob Melo: RBI single
Jack Costello: sac fly
Bryan Frascogna: RBI singlePat-Med will play the winner of Ward Melville-Longwood on Saturday pic.twitter.com/T6NLwIJdH6
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 17, 2023
Patchogue-Medford finished with an 18-8 record and is always in the conversation when playing playoff baseball in May. Last year’s County Finals appearance was no different. They ran into an exceptional Commack team, however, that halted their championship aspirations.
“We got pretty far last year and made it to the County Finals,” said Patchogue-Medford head coach Anthony Frascogna. “We ran into a pretty good team, who beat the crap out of us. I would like to improve on that and win the County Finals. We’re just trying to put out a consistent effort and compete every day.”
Now with the 2024 season almost here, Patchogue-Medford lost six players who are now playing baseball at the collegiate level. Most notable of the six is pitcher Josh Knoth, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers (33rd overall) and is now in their minor league system. Knoth put together one of the most successful high school careers in Long Island history as he won back-to-back Carl Yastrzemski Awards and was virtually unhittable on the mound. He broke many of Marcus Stroman’s school single-season records. He compiled an unblemished record of 7-0 with a 0.17 ERA. He allowed only 5 hits (all singles) over 41.2 innings.
Pat-Med 2, Sachem East 0
WP: Josh Knoth (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 15 Ks)
S: Jack CostelloJayden Kennedy: RBI double, bases loaded walk
Pat-Med will face No. 1 Connetquot tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ORo94RMhrG
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2023
“Josh was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft of the Brewers organization,” Frascogna said. “He’s doing pretty well, he’s down in Arizona right now putting some pre-spring training work in. I’m looking forward to seeing what level he gets placed at when spring training hits.”
Hudson Valley Community College took three players from the Pat-Med third baseman Jayden Kennedy, pitcher Jayson Savatterre and infielder Mike Lazaridis. These three players contributed in many forms for Pat-Med in 2023.
Catcher/outfielder Zach Papanikolotus will be playing at SUNY Cobleskill in 2024 and left-handed pitcher Jack Costello will be playing at SUNY New Paltz. “We got a lot of guys kicking it around in college right now,” Frascogna said.
Despite the six players who left the roster this offseason, Coach Frascogna and his staff have the team ready to go in 2024.
Army-commit Robbie Melo (Pat-Med 2024) showing his plus power. He hit 11 home runs this summer for the East Coast Lumberjacks pic.twitter.com/HFB7NlBcyY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 16, 2024
Senior Army-signee Rob Melo will be the main guy the team will look to in the 2024 season. Melo is a dual-threat at the plate and on the mound, compiling a .333 average with 5 home runs last season at first and outfield position, plus went 5-3 on the mound.
“He’s a bonafide, top-tier kid in the county as far as hitters go and I think he has a shot at winning the Silver Slugger award,” Frascogna said. “He’s a real powerful left-handed hitter, compact swing and hits for power and to all fields. He had a great junior year and summer season. On the mound, he won some big playoff games and he pitched in the County Finals games against Commack. He’s bigger and stronger this year and will be our main guy.
Senior St Joseph’s-commit Bryan Frascogna will return for the team as an impact player at catcher and pitcher in 2024. Frascogna hit .260 with an OBP of .389. “He was our guy behind the plate,” Frascogna said. “We need Bryan to pick up some offensive slack for us this year.”
David Granucci will be another impactful player for Pat-Med as a jack of all trades this year. Granucci is committed to SUNY Maritime. In 2023, Granucci had an OBP of .324 and compiled a .262 average. “He swung the bat pretty well for us as a junior and will be in our starting rotation and lineup,” Frascogna said.
Junior infielder Frank Kentoffio has been on the team since his freshman year and will eat up playing time as another key contributor Pat-Med. “He played every game at second for us and I would like him to get more consistent at the plate. We know he has the potential to be a powerful offensive player. He will also get a chance on the mound.” Kentoffio batted .257 but had a .457 OBP, which will be good for putting men in scoring position.
Frank Kentoffio’s 2-R blast gave Pat-Med a 4-0 lead. It was his first homer of the season. Game 2 will be Tuesday at Longwood pic.twitter.com/t6ElEQXKFn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 9, 2023
As a freshman last year, Connor Lockwood impressed the team with how reliable a pitcher he is on the mound. This year, he will get more opportunities as a sophomore in high-leverage situations. “We certainly have to give him a chance to win a spot as one of our top starters. I’m pretty confident that he’ll throw strikes and give us a chance to be in some ball games,” Frascogna said.
With many significant players in the lineup and on the mound, Pat-Med wants to keep their goal simple coming out of the offseason and into 2024.
“We were just looking for some offensive production for some of those guys,” Frascogna said. “We made some progress with putting the ball in play which is important in spring high school baseball with the weather. Major league combinations are home runs and strikeouts but in High school baseball, it’s putting the ball in play and making the other team make mistakes.
Patchogue-Medford will play their first game against Central Islip on March 26 at 4 p.m.
