Mike Ciminiello
Smithtown East Looking To Break Down The Barrier
By Joseph Langan Over the past five seasons, there hasn’t been a team more successful during the regular season than Smithtown East. Unfortunately, they have been unable to get over-the-hump in the postseason and capture that elusive county championship. As they prepare to hit the field for their 2020 season, coach Ken Klee and his team “prepare to be successful every game.” Coming off a 17-5 season, Coach Klee is no stranger to regular season success, but when it comes to the playoffs, things haven’t gone as smooth. With Coach Klee well aware of his team’s talented roster and championship potential he “expects to win a championship” adding “there is no backup plan.” With that, he is also well aware of his teams past shortcomings, explaining that “the last two years we did not ...
Smithtown East With Unfinished Business in 2019
Heading into the postseason as the number one overall seed in 2018, Smithtown East seemed destined to become Class AA County Champions. After finishing the regular season with a League III regular season title and a record of 16-2, they went on to lose two of their three playoff games and were eliminated as a result. Obviously, they picked a bad time to play their worst baseball of the year, losing to Bay Shore and Connetquot. Returning 15 players from last year, however, Smithtown East expects to repeat their success from last season, while altering the ending with a County Championship. Given the talent they have, they know this is a very attainable goal and they have been knocking on the door for the past several seasons. The clear strength of Smithtown East is their returning pitchers....
