Final: Comsewogue 9, Hauppauge 3
Nick Zampieron fires a complete game and hits 2 HRs, drives in 5 runs as Comsewogue forces a winner-take-all on Sunday 12pm for the Suffolk AA Championship pic.twitter.com/7iYIRn7JsM
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
Following a 12-8 regular season, the Comsewogue Warriors went on a run in the playoffs, winning an additional six games before ultimately falling in the County Championship to Hauppauge. They nearly captured their first title since 1982. While the Warriors are still fresh off the heels of that magical run, they will be doing so without a number of key seniors that were critical to last year’s teams success.
Of those seniors, a large number of them are continuing their baseball careers at the college level. They include Nick Zampieron (Stony Brook), Kevin Schnupp Jr. (UMass), Matt Nowlan (Molloy), Carson McCaffrey (SUNY New Paltz), and CJ Cubano is playing at Farmingdale.
Are you kidding? Nick Zampieron crushes his second bomb of the game – this time a 3-R shot and Comsewogue holds a commanding 7-0 lead in the fourth pic.twitter.com/5IUr0BfnN6
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024
It was an extremely talented group – Schnupp tied for the Suffolk County lead with 8 HRs and won the Blue Chip Prospect Silver Slugger Award given to the top hitter in the county. Zampieron was not only the winning pitcher in the game that forced the winner-take-all County Finals, but he crushed two homers in that game. He batted .488 with 4 HRs, 24 RBIs, 36 runs scored and went 26-for-27 in steals. On the mound, he went 7-2 with 2 saves and 0.78 ERA. Nowlan batted .385 with 2 HRs, 25 RBIs, 20 runs scored and a .985 OPS. McCaffrey won 5 games with a 2.89 ERA and 69 Ks over 56 innings.
In terms of returners, the Warriors will be led by Albany-commit and 2024 All-Leaguer Joe Perri. He primarily served as the team’s third baseman last year because of the presence of Schnupp. His head coach, Joe Caltagirone, who is entering his ninth year as head coach of Comsewogue, had high praise for his fourth-year varsity star.
Catcher Joe Perri (Comsewogue 2025) commits to the University of Albany @TitansBsb pic.twitter.com/tr3RaiN1n9
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 11, 2024
“He’s been third base and backup catcher the last four years.” Caltagirone said. “He batted .328 with two home runs, 25 RBIs, 12 runs scored, 18 walks, and played really good third base. I believe he’s also one of the top catchers in the county. But having to play behind Kevin (Schnupp), he hasn’t been able to showcase that.”
Also a returning senior is Gavin Dandrea. He won a starting spot with the Warriors towards the end of last season, where he slotted in as the team’s DH and occasionally got opportunities at third base. Additionally, Dandrea is the only returning member of Comsewogue that appeared on the mound last season, having pitched five innings in various spots throughout the season. At the plate, Dandrea hit .260 with 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
“He had a big playoff for us.” Caltagirone said. “On the pitching side, he didn’t have many innings, he had five innings total here and there.”
When it comes to potential rising stars for the Warriors, a prime candidate is sophomore Ryan Autino. Autino will serve as the team’s backup catcher, but will primarily play the infield. Last season, he was a mid-season call-up, and Caltagirone is excited to see what Autino does with his first full year on varsity.
“We brought him up last year at the end of the year.” Caltagirone said. “He’s a lefty bat, probably going to lead off for us. He does everything well. He has a great arm, works the count and is line drive hitter.”
Continuing with the trend of JV call ups, a pair of junior pitchers. Josh Lubell, who is a lefty and Travis Amato, a righty, will both be making the jump after leading the JV team last season.
“They were the main two guys on JV last year.” Caltagirone said. “But because we had a lot of seniors last year, they didn’t have any varsity time. But this year, they’ll be counted on to be starters in the rotation.”
Caltagirone also mentioned Rowelvis Vasquez and Luis Reyes as players that will fill spots in the lineup, with Vasquez playing in the middle infield and Reyes playing the outfield. Caltagirone expects both to be middle of the order, impact bats for the Warriors this year.
When it comes to his team’s biggest strength, Caltagirone believes that it will be hitting, as well the drive to replicate the success that last season’s team enjoyed.
“The guys are eager to prove themselves and get back there.” Caltagirone said. “That competitive edge, and just wanting to prove themselves is a huge advantage to us. A lot of our guys had to sit behind the seniors and wait, and I think they’re eager to show off.”
The Comsewogue Warriors will open their season on April 1 against Half Hollow Hills West.
