Final: Sachem North 4, Commack 1
WP: Ryan Palm (CG, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 Ks)Lucas Singleton: 3-4, 2 R
Rob Kienzle: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBIWinner-take-all Sunday 4pm at Middle Country Complex for Suffolk AAA Championship pic.twitter.com/7EuLjx4Wpz
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
In his 21st season as head coach of the Sachem North baseball Team, Tom Gambino led his team to a 19-7 record, ultimately falling just short of its goal, losing in the finals of the Class AAA Suffolk County championship to Commack in a pair of highly-competitive games. Despite not finishing the year on top, Gambino believed that his team went above and beyond last season.
“I think we exceeded expectations.” Gambino said. “It was disappointing to lose in the finals, obviously, but we definitely reached our potential.” They have three Suffolk County Championships in program history (1979, 1987 and 2011), and were on the doorstep of adding another but Commack outlasted them in Game 3 at Middle Country Park. The match up was their fifth meeting against each other last season.
Nine seniors graduated following the conclusion of last season. Of those players, a number of them are continuing their baseball careers at the college level. Among them are Tommy Ford, who’s playing at Drew University, James Horodyski is at John Jay while Rob Kinsley and John Ferrante are playing at Suffolk. While not playing baseball, Anthony Vino is playing football at SUNY Brockport in upstate New York. Many of them played important roles last year, including Ford who led the team in RBIs (25) and OPS (.940).
In terms of returning players, Sachem North does have some key pieces coming back, including experienced starters who will provide leadership and stability for the team. Ryan Palm, a senior All-County pitcher, is committed to play at The College of Staten Island. Palm was outstanding last season, going 8-0 with 3 saves over 51.2 innings and 1.21 ERA. He fired a gem in Game 2 of the County Championship to force the winner-take-all game.
Sachem North RHP Ryan Palm continued his undefeated season with a CG victory against the 3-time reigning Suffolk County champs to force a winner-take-all on Sunday against Commack pic.twitter.com/UsJVGqgRP6
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024
Jack Pitman, who was an All-County, is committed to Bentley University of the NE-10 Conference. He had an outstanding season, batting .391 during the regular season. Overall, he played in 26 games, compiled 29 hits and scored 21 runs.
Matt Podesta, a three-year starter, will continue his baseball career at St. Thomas Aquinas. Travis Szober is committed to play at Manhattanville and Zach DeMilt is committed to play at Adelphi University. DeMilt is entering his second season as the Sachem North starting shortstop. He batted an even .300 last season over 90 at bats.
Final (8 innings): Sachem North 6, Commack 3
WP: Ryan PalmZach DeMilt: 4-for-5
Go-ahead run scored on a bases loaded walk pic.twitter.com/qWM86YcLg4
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 24, 2024
Sachem North also has a few players committed to play other sports in college, including Samuel Morreale. While baseball isn’t his first sport, Morraele primarily pitched in relief last year, but will be transitioning into a starter for the 2025 season. Morreale is committed to play volleyball in college. Lucas Singleton, who was an All-League player in baseball last year, is committed to play football at Army.
When it comes to his team, Gambino believes that the strength of his team will be the experience of the returning players.
Sachem North will open their season against district rival Sachem East on April 1.
