by Aaron Diaz
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.
Sayville 5, Mount Sinai 4 (9 innings)
WP: Cavan Mahler, 4.1 ip 0erRyan leniec hit the walkoff and had 2 RBIs
Ryan Hillery: 2-3
Kyle Messina: 2-4Sayville advances to face Miller Place on Monday pic.twitter.com/u9hhYURWue
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 19, 2023
Sayville finished the season with a 17-9 record in 2023. That propelled them into the final four of the Suffolk County Class A playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. They will be hoping to continue that level of success in 2024 as Sayville and head coach Joe Esposito prepare a young Golden Flashes team for the same dominance.
Sayville finished the 2023 season at the top of their league. Still, the loss of seniors Ryan Hillery, Justin Delaney, Mike Milo, Ethan Alcantara, Ryan Karman and Ryan Leniec will be big as they look to a younger group of guys to continue the reigns of their program’s success.
Sayville RHP Ryan Karman fired a no-hitter with 8 Ks over Harborfields in a 9-0 win pic.twitter.com/8LQUcYRZQY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 18, 2022
Alcantara dominated with a 2.36 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched, Delaney contributed 18.1 innings and two wins on the season.
All-County player, Leniec will play for SUNY Brockport in 2024 after compiling a .363 average and a .465 OBP. His glove also impressed many contributing all over the infield.
Milo and Hillery batted .267 and .349 respectively in 2023. They both contributed a big amount to the lineup which will now need to be filled in for the new season. Hillery will play at St. Thomas Aquinas in 2024.
Karman, a Coast Guard commit pitched 42.2 innings and compiled a 4.76 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 2023.
For the past two seasons, they were all huge contributors to the team,” Esposito said.
Now when looking at 2024, Esposito has some players in mind whom he believes will make a big impact for Sayville.
All though they have a small senior class, Esposito will look to two seniors to be big influences in the field. All League Tyler Sebor cracked the bat from the batter’s box with 30 hits and .341 while getting on the base paths with a .372 OBP.
Gavin Acker will also be relied on with the offense alongside Sebor. Acker had 19 hits all season and had a .288 average with 12 RBIs.
However, their Junior class will be the most intriguing part of how Sayville will try and continue its recent success. At the top of the list is All-county player Kyle Messina. Messina will round out the offense with a .420 average and .515 OBP creating movement around the bases. Also had 34 and 16 RBIs in 2023. His 2024 will be expected to be bright in Sayville.
The rest of their pitching will consist of Juniors like Andrew Law, Chris Spatenga and Tyler Brown. “They all gained a lot of varsity experience as sophomores,” Esposito said. We hope they can compete at a high level and give us a chance to win.”
Sophomore Tyler Brown hits walk-off HR for Sayville in 4-3 victory over Shoreham-Wading River pic.twitter.com/W5xpWn2nWH
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 14, 2023
Some other contributors will have a chance to crack the starting lineup according to Esposito, like junior Dylan Kent, Brody Tellier, Shane Meehan, Patrick Coan and James Robliotta. Sayville will rely heavily upon a junior-heavy team in 2024.
But even with a team consisting of juniors, Esposito keeps the goal of the season simple. “We want the team to come together and accept the roles they are given,” Esposito said When players do that, good things usually happen. We just want them to work to get better every day. Hoping to compete every game and have a chance to win.”
Sayville will start its season on March 25 against Hampton Bays.
