by Max Edelman
No stranger to high school baseball, Mepham Pirates’ head coach Eric Passman is entering his 25th season as varsity coach and 7th with Mepham. They had a great season last year that ended in unbelievably heartbreaking fashion. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, a grand slam sent the Pirates home.
Are you kidding !!
Trailing 5-2 and down to their final out, Joey Goodman crushes a walk-off grand slam to send Calhoun into the Nassau Class A Finals against Division!
Calhoun 6, Mepham 5 pic.twitter.com/zSdoxrlY4S
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2023
“Last season was unbelievably good, with an unbelievably heartbreaking ending.” Passman said. “We had two outs in the last inning. We were up by three runs, and they hit a grand slam. So you can imagine the heartbreak.” For 13 seniors, it was their final high school game.
Although the season ended in one of the most brutal ways imaginable, there is one major positive for the Pirates in the form of superstar senior Kieran Kehoe. The Saint Joseph’s commit, is a 6’7” 220 pound senior who won the 2023 Diamond Award and his stats speak for themselves. Last year, Kehoe hit an incredible .714 with 48 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 42 RBIs, 28 runs scored and 12 walks. He also was named the recipient of Axcess Baseball’s Silver Slugger Award.
Kieran Kehoe and Mepham overcame a early 4-1 deficit and ultimately defeated MacArthur 8-7 to improve to 12-0 on the season. Kehoe went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs including the game-tying hit in the sixth @GCsports pic.twitter.com/eLhQTz8zK2
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 25, 2023
“He’s a big kid who crushes the ball all the time.” Passman said. “He never has bad back-to-back at-bats.”
Off the field, Kehoe is an even better person.
“He’s helping a kid who lost his dad who was a big baseball guy.” Passman said. “Kieran is such a good guy that he’s helping him, working out with him, wanting him to be involved with the high school team, that’s the kind of kid he is.”
Outside of Kehoe, there are several returners that Passman will rely on to give the team strong production. Conor Mylett, who will now be the team’s catcher, will be tasked to step up into a big role for the Pirates.
“He was the backup catcher last year,” Passman said. “But he’s developed into a pretty strong catcher as well as a pretty strong hitter.
RHP Kiran Paingankar (Mepham 2024) commits to SUNY New Paltz pic.twitter.com/gYUqBXimLB
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 12, 2023
Another player who will play big roles for the Pirates is Kiran Paingankar, a SUNY New Paltz-commit, who is being tasked to lead the rotation for Mepham this year. Bridgeport-commit Justin Hayes is a left-handed pitcher that will provide valuable innings.
Steven Mulqueen, a Molloy-commit and five-tool player, will be a key leader on-and-off the field for the Pirates. Infielders Michael Mollica and Salvatore Visone will both look to step into increased roles for the Pirates in 2024.
A young player they have that is very impressive is sophomore Jaiden Zoller who was featured as part of our “Up Next” series last year. He will compete for a spot in the rotation and lineup.
Jaiden Zoller (‘26 NY) does a good job reading the spin & turns on it for a triple into RF. Drove in 2 on the hit. #13uEast @PGMidAtlantic pic.twitter.com/ozLOFpEBI7
— Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) July 18, 2022
In terms of newcomers, Passman has high hopes for freshman Teagan Cardona. Despite only being a freshman, Passman believes that Cardona could have an instant impact on varsity, and could find playing time immediately.
“He looks really good, really really good.” Passman said. “I think he’s going to be in the starting lineup. He’s a big, strong kid, the ball goes flying off of his bat in BP. He’s doing something that very few people are doing.”
Passman expects his team to make a playoff run, and hopefully go deep.
“Last year we went to the final game, final inning, final out.” Passman said. “But our expectations are to win the games that we should win and compete to compete against the good teams.”
They will open up league play at Long Beach on April 8
