Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
For the first time since 2010, Centereach has captured the League 3 Title. They clinched a share, pending the results of Smithtown East-Hills East game pic.twitter.com/hEjY5eNbBz
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2024
Eight years into his tenure as the head coach of the Centereach Cougars, head coach Pete Cammarata is prepared to lead his team into a year in which he believes his squad will shock people. This comes after a year in which Cammarata took a number of positives from.
“Last year was one of the better years we’ve had in the last few seasons.” Cammarata said. “We were co-league champions with Smithtown East, and it was nice to finish on top. In the playoffs, I had to shut down Logan Norman, he won the MVP of the league and pitched us through some very difficult games. Not having him definitely hurt us. We won the first game against West Babylon and ultimately lost to West Islip.”
Integral to the teams success last season was a number of seniors who graduated and are now playing baseball at the college level. Among them are Logan Norman, who is at Hudson Valley Community College, Rocco Panaro who is now at Western Connecticut and Josh Ortiz, who is at St. Thomas Aquinas and Sal Gangi who is playing at Suffolk Community College.
Centereach 5, Northport 3
WP: James KraussedJosh Ortiz, Logan Norman, Sal Gangi with back to back to back doubles to tie the game. Anthony Gagliardi took the lead with a single pic.twitter.com/mPVvThImZH
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 28, 2024
When it comes to the returners, Anthony Gagliardi, a senior Farmingdale commit, plays shortstop and pitches for the Cougars. With the holes in the team left by the seniors who graduated, Cammarata believes that Gagliardi can be a solution both on the mound and in the lineup.
“I think he’s going to have a very good season.” Cammarata said. “I think he can be one of the better players in the league. He has a great glove, anything hit to him I feel very confident about. On the pitching end, he’s tough to hit. He hides the ball very well. Very effective, good offspeed, I think he’s going to fill one of the voids.”
An Elmira commit, Parker Nathanson is a pitcher only and will be thrusted into big spots for the Cougars in 2025.
“I think Parker is going to help this team a lot.” Cammarta said. “He is so funky on the mound, he is very hard to hit. It’s tough to pick up the ball on him, he’s going to be a very big help for us.”
Although baseball isn’t his first sport, T.J. Doyle will occupy right field for the Cougars in 2025. The starting quarterback for the school’s football team. Despite baseball being his second sport, Cammarta believes that if Doyle plays to his best, that he can shine bright on the diamond as well.
A current junior, Jagger Rocco will play center field for the Cougars this season. Lauded by his coach for his speed, Rocco is another player that could break out for Centereach this year.
“He’s fast as lightning.” Cammarata said. “He puts the bat on the ball and he’s a great outfielder. I think he’s going to help us.”
Jagger Rocco (Centereach 2026) pic.twitter.com/yMTHFQJdGM
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 20, 2025
Additional players that Cammarata mentioned that are expected to be key players for his team are Nick Scraper. Scraper is a senior pitcher/second baseman that has a strong baseball IQ, as well as Mike Buonagura, who is a junior pitcher/first baseman who is expected to be an effective pitcher and provide strong defense at first.
In terms of newcomers, Cammarata has a number of sophomores and freshman that Cammarta believes that, like much of his team, will fly under the radar of much of the league. Among them is Donovan Gilmartin, an outfielder, third baseman and pitcher will likely feature all over the diamond. And behind the plate is freshman Kamryn Garcia. Despite only being in ninth grade, Cammarata believes that he will be successful right from the jump.
With the help of the Cougars strong defense, Cammarata believes that due to the large number of seniors that graduated last year, Centereach could be a team that surprises a lot of people.
“We’re going to be solid defensively.” Cammarata said. “All around the field, the kids that we play are going to be solid. We’re not going to make many errors, we have kids that can play. No one is expecting anything from us because we graduated so many seniors last year. I think we’re going to be that under the radar team where we gain some wins and then people will say ‘hey, they’re pretty good.’”
The Cougars will open their season against Smithtown West.
