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William Floyd Hungry to Make Noise in League I

by Aaron Diaz

Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.

William Floyd struggled in their campaign during the 2023 season finishing with a 8-10 record. However, with some key returners, they are poised to make a push for the playoffs in the 2024 season. 

“We ended the season at 8-10, we won our last three games of the year and we were in the mix for that playoff spot but unfortunately we didn’t do enough good things to get there,” said head coach Keith Kobasiuk.

William Floyd made the playoffs in 2022, where they even pulled off an upset against Sachem East. They will look to recapture that this season. They did lose eight seniors – which was most of their starting lineup. Juniors will make up for most of this year’s team, bringing a young team to the league. 

Three of those seniors will be playing college baseball this season. All-County player Jayden Zayas will be playing for the College of Staten Island. Zayas saw both sides of the field with a .381 average, 24 RBIs and seven home runs. Off the mound, Zaya compiled a 3-1 record and a 3.10 ERA in his starts. 

“He led Suffolk County in home runs and he was one of our starting pitchers so he’s going to be tough to replace,” Kobasiuk said. 

All League outfielder Joe LoMonaco made an impressive statement with William Floyd slashing a .322 average and 24 runs scored in 2023. His All-league performances throughout his high school career, LoMonaco brought his talents to Suffolk Community College for the 2024 season. 

“He was a four year starter for us as an outfielder, so he’s going to be tough to replace as well,” Kobasiuk said. 

Aiden Mehmel will also be taking his talents to the next level at Farmingdale after helping William Floyd batting .301 in 2023. 

“He played wherever we needed him to and he was a catalyst for us along with others as well but those three come to mind with last year’s season and they’re going to be hard to replace,” Kobasiuk said. 

With those guys missing from the roster, Kobasiuk will put out a lineup full of juniors with only two seniors. After sending a full team of seniors on the field last year. 

“We’re going to be a junior-heavy team,” Kobasiuk said. “We’re gonna have some sophomores in the mix as well, so we’re going to be a young inexperienced team.”  

Both seniors, All-League infielder Angelo Velez and starting pitcher Jake Sambriski will be the leaders of the team in 2024. Velez will play the shortstop position after moving from third base last season. He hit .280 with 17 runs scored. Sambriski has been a starter since his sophomore year and he compiled a 4.83 era on the mound last season. 

Junior Jack Molini will make waves this year after shining through his sophomore season. Molini both played the infield but made his case as a starting pitcher for the Colonials. He compiled a 3.95 era and 30 strikeouts in 8 appearances on the mound. He started every game as a sophomore in 2023. He also slugged his way to a .240 average from the plate. 

Outfielder junior Jon Bowden will be a defensive reliance in the outfield in 2024. Bowden started every game in the outfield as a sophomore last season and hit .270 with 20 runs scored. 

“They were good for use last year,” Kobasiuk said, talking about Molini and Bowden. “But I expect them to be better this year.” 

Austin Panettieri will round out the pitching staff in the bullpen as a senior. In 2023, he compiled a 3.20 era in eight appearances out of the bullpen including two wins and two saves on the season. 

Some JV players who will also make their way up to varsity this season include P/OF Paul Cucuzzo, OF AJ Cannet, IF Ryan Pletman and IF Caden Hetman. These four players will add more young depth to an already youth filled roster. 

Now looking at the defensive side of the field, Kobasiuk believes that will be one of the better aspects of their game in 2024. “I think the defense is going to be our strong suit this year,” Kobasiuk said. “We have some good young gloves coming up.” 

The Colonials goal for the season stems from being prepared as a team and being ready for the season. “So far we workout twice a week, we started back in January and we’ve had pretty dedicated kids.” Kobasiuk explained. They’ve been working their tails off and hopefully we can get better in all aspects and push for a playoff spot this year.” 

William Floyd will play their first game of the season against Riverhead on March 26.

 

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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