by Mike Merolle
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.
RHP Daniel McDonnell (Southampton 2025) @christianmcc23 throws a 4-seam, Sinker, Slider, changeup. FB sits between 81-83, top 85. Holds a 92 grade average. A player to watch. @axcessbaseball @TopTierBaseball @SethKenny @TopTier_HQ #TierBoys pic.twitter.com/61emfzbxRL
— Top Tier Aviators LI NY (@TopTierAviators) February 13, 2024
It was an up-and-down season for Southampton as they finished 2023 with a 6-14 record. However, the season did end on a high note with a 2-0 victory over Center Moriches. In his fifth season, head coach Zach Epley is confident in his team’s competitiveness and believes they’re a threat this season.
“We are playing in a competitive league this year but I think we will compete in all the series. We are young but we have plenty of arms and experience. I think we are a dangerous team to play for some of these bigger schools,” Epley said in an interview with Axcess Baseball.
Southampton is rostering a young squad again this season. This is the third consecutive season where only two seniors are on Epley’s squad. Senior Liam Blackmore is entering his fifth varsity season and will play a role in the outfield corners and the batting order. Senior Declan Barbour will play in the infield and is a vocal leader in the dugout.
Three returning juniors had a major impact at the plate in their sophomore seasons. Daniel McDonnell, who Epley describes as a top-five player in the league this season, batted .328 in 2023, leading Southampton. McDonnell is entering his fourth varsity season and is Southampton’s ace on the mound. His FB sits in the low to mid 80s. McDonnell also possesses a great curveball. He led the team in several pitching categories including wins against Mattituck and shutting out Center Moriches in the final game of the season as mentioned before. “I think every time he is on the mound, the game will be close,” said Epley about McDonnell.
Jackson Romanow and Elijah Abella hit over .300 and carried an OBP over .500. Romanow carries a big bat at the plate and throws hard on the mound. Epley believes he will be Southampton’s closer this season. Besides making a difference offensively, Abella is also the number two pitcher in the rotation. The lefty is throwing 80-81 MPH and is described as “very accurate” by Epley.
Sophomore James Dudley plays catcher and Epley thinks he’s one of the best hitters in the league. Dudley batted .288 as a freshman and led Southampton in RBIs. Epley believes he has the potential to hit a home run every time he’s up at bat.
Sophomore Bailey Brown is entering her third varsity season. Brown was second in innings pitched last season and posted a 3.88 ERA. She also makes an impact at third base. Epley says she will receive many innings this year. Sophomore Thomas Crawford can potentially take the third spot in the starting rotation. His heater is in the low 80s.
Epley’s main area of concern is fielding. He mentioned that many games were lost last season due to errors in routine plays. He wants the defense cleaned up so it saves some pitches thrown for their pitchers. Epley also said the errors could have been due to nerves given the youthful roster.
The Mariners’ strength comes from the pitching staff. McDonnell, Abella, Crawford, Brown, Romanow, and Blackmore all have experience now.
Southampton will open their 2024 league schedule at home against Center Moriches on March 25. Epley believes that series might be their biggest of the year. He also isn’t a fan of this season’s new classifications. Both Southampton and Center Moriches have been moved up to A-level. “We are the smallest school in A by far which isn’t fair. I think we should both be B schools and this new classification stinks,” said Epley.
Nonetheless, he is still confident in this roster’s resilience and he shared his early-season gameplan. “We need to get off to a good start and win some early series. It’s good for morale,” he said.
