Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
Coming off a season with a very young team, head coach Rob Fisher, who is entering his 21st year in charge of the Bethpage Golden Eagles, is excited to follow up a growing season in 2024 with a year that will hopefully feature more on field success.
“Last year we struggled, but we were very young.” Fisher said. “We started three freshmen and three sophomores and a bunch of other lower classmen got playing time. We struggled a little bit. We weren’t consistent on the mound. While we did have some good showings, we just didn’t have the consistency to be able to compete day in and day out.”
Although much of the Golden Eagles core players last season weren’t seniors, there were a number of key senior standouts who graduated in 2024. At the top of the list is “team MVP” Ziggy Cohen. Cohen is continuing his baseball career at Molloy.
The best part about having young players is they come back next season, and Bethpage has a plethora of returners from the 2024 team. Senior Michael Macholz was able to take advantage of his pitching opportunities as a junior, and Fisher is hopeful that his senior pitcher can kick his production into another gear in his final season with the school.
“We’re hopeful that he’ll be consistent.” Fisher said. “Either as one of our starters or as one of our prime relievers out of the bullpen.”
As a sophomore last year, Fisher is excited to see how Will Lynn begins the second half of his high school career. Lynn was the second man in the Bethpage rotation last season, and with a full year of experience under his belt, Lynn is tasked to put together more quality innings for Bethpage.”
“He had some great games last season.” Fisher said. “He struggled from time to time but he’s 6 ‘3” and is throwing the ball harder and harder this winter. We’re really excited not only for him to pitch, but to hit as well.”
Also a junior, Charlie Ferrante will pick up where he left off on the mound last year, as he was one of the top pitchers for the Golden Eagles. In the middle of the diamond is junior Max D’Orazio and sophomore Liam Walters. Both D’Orazio and Walters featured heavily last year despite being underclassmen.
For the Golden Eagles, their leader at the plate in 2024 was a freshman. Now a sophomore, Fisher is eager to see how Antonio Porcelli follows up what was a very strong 2024. Porcelli hit over .300 in a season where he played primarily left field. However, Porecelli could see time at third base in his sophomore campaign.
While they didn’t get a ton of playing time last year. There are a number of breakout candidates that could take advantage of new opportunities for Bethpage. Both Timmy Conlon and Ikey Cohen suffered injuries early last season, and Fisher is excited to see them back healthy in 2025. Another breakout candidate is Jordan Martin. Martin found playing time in the outfield last year and will likely find more playing time this season.
Jack Lapertosa, the team’s starting catcher, will be key to the success of the Golden Eagles this year. After the normal struggles that come with being a younger catcher, Lapertosa began to show improvement.
Catcher Jack Lapertosa (Bethpage 2026) with a max exit velo of 93.2 pic.twitter.com/PDMbyGlcPJ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 20, 2025
“He struggled like a sophomore would behind the plate.” Fisher said. “But he did a solid job hitting the ball. And as the year went on, he started throwing more guys out, and started to block the ball better. As a young catcher, the most important thing to learn is how to command the older pitchers, so getting that time last year was huge for him.”
For any team, defense is key, and despite their youth, Fisher believes that defense is a big strength for his team.
“I like how we’re coming along defensively.” Fisher said. “All of our young guys who got time last year started to come along at the end of the year really well. The question will be how well do we hit. There’s a big difference between a kid who’s just about to turn 18 and a kid who’s 16. So how fast those guys are able to step to the plate and consistently drive the ball is going to be the key for us.”
The Bethpage Golden Eagles will open their season on April 1 against Hicksville.
