by Max Edelman
Special thanks for Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.
Plainview JFK punches their ticket to the Nassau Class AA Finals against Massapequa with a thrilling 6-5 win over Farmingdale ! pic.twitter.com/cwDKpQ4dHb
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2023
Following a season with a heartbreaking ending is always difficult. But head coach John Givargidze’s team, they are facing that challenge head-on. Givargidze, who is entering his 11th season as the head coach of the Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK Hawks, looks to rebound after a strong season that didn’t end the way anyone imagined.
“We finished 20-8. We lost in the county finals on a walk-off grand slam with two outs. So we really couldn’t have gotten any closer to our goal than we did last year. The kids all fought, and battled and worked their tails off. Unfortunately it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.”
End of 1: Andrew Lenski crushes a 3-R shot to send this crowd into a frenzy and give Plainview JFK a quick 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/f9W2kPGYds
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2023
Last season, the Hawks had two players who graduated and are now playing college baseball. Andrew Lenski, who was the team’s catcher in the three prior seasons and was All-County last year, will be starting at Iona in 2025. Also pitching at college is Nate Sica, who is now at Drew University in New Jersey.
Including Lenski and Sica, 12 other seniors graduated from Plainview last spring. This leaves plenty of opportunity for the returning players to make an impact on the Hawks in 2024. Sebastian Lippman, a senior Georgia Tech commit, was an All-League player a year ago. Lippman shined for the Hawks last year. At the plate, Lippman hit .284 with four doubles, a triple, and a home run to go along with 12 RBIs. On the mound, Lippman started nine games and had a 4-1 record. Across 32 innings, Lippman struck out 66 with a 2.62 ERA.
Sebastian Lippman (Plainview JFK 2024) commits to Georgia Tech. Fastball up to 91 MPH pic.twitter.com/RlQC2u7uai
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 26, 2022
Also an All-League player last year is Hofstra commit Michael D’Ambrosio. D’Ambrosio was dominant both on the mound and at the plate. D’Ambrosio hit a stellar .543, with five home runs and 35 RBIs. On the mound, D’Ambrosio was 8-1 in nine starts, with 83 strikeouts across 52.2 innings for a 1.59 ERA.
The kid is looking sharp sharp! @HofstraBaseball commit Mike D’Ambrosio is getting himself ready for the 2024 MLB Draft @axcessbaseball pic.twitter.com/eteDa3VYXR
— John Mincone (@JMincone) February 7, 2024
The Hawks’s final All-League returner is Queens College commit Peter Bounougias, who in 28 games hit .431 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.
While not All-League, Plainview is returning several other impact players. Anthony Powers plays shortstop and is a relief pitcher for the Hawks. Powers drew high praise from his coach.
“He has great hands.” Givargidze said. “He gets every ball and he’s very athletic. He was a big reason as to why we were where we were last year is because his defense at shortstop is very, very good.”
Philip Pirozzi is returning for his junior season. Pirozzi mainly played third base for Plainview but also featured occasionally at first base. On the mound, junior Jacob Kouba, featured out of the pen last year, impressed in his first varsity campaign. In 28.1 innings pitched, Kouba went 3-1 with 35 strikeouts and a 2.96 ERA. Also returning is Matthew Maier, who will likely slot into the middle of the lineup this year. Givargidze also mentioned Logan McGrath, a Bridgeport commit, as someone who could see time in the outfield and on the mound. As well as Western Connecticut commit Justin Reo, who will compete for time at second base.
Givargidze is also looking forward to the contributions that the newcomers to his team will make. Junior Josh Kim, who was called up for the playoffs last year, will move into a full-time role with varsity this year primarily as a pitcher.
“He’s got a very lively arm.” Givargidze said. “He throws in the mid 80’s, so he’ll see some action on the mound.”
Junior Sawyer Bogaty was also called up last year for the playoffs, primarily playing in the outfield. Ryan Curry, also an outfielder, drew praise from his coach for his time in the outfield. Ryan Buckhardt, also a junior, could find time behind the plate for Planview.
“We definitely have some guys that are here to help.” Givargidze said. “We had some sophomores last year that helped us out, so those four guys can definitely chip in for us this year.”
Givargidze believes that the strength of his team is the depth of their rotation, as all three pitchers in his rotation a season ago are all returning to the team this year.
“I think we’re deep with pitching.” Givargidze “We have three great starters who are all returning. We have some arms from last year that are returning as well as some arms from JV that I believe can help us as well.”
Givargidze also praised his team’s athleticism.
“I think we’re very athletic.” Givargidze said. “Especially in the outfield we have some guys that can go get the baseball. And our defense too. Three out of our four starting infielders last year are returning as well. Our outfield is going to be a little bit new, with a couple new starters.”
The Hawks will open their season in March. 25 at Freeport.
