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Inside Look At The Catholic League
01/01/2010, 10:24am (EDT)
By BPM
St. Dominic Ace Pitcher, Robert Galligan
Chaminade High School
The Chaminade Baseball team hopes to continue an amazing winning tradition in 2010. Chaminade's coaching staff returns Mike Pienkos (27th year), Jack Lyons (26th year), George Scheld (3rd year) and 1st year varsity coach Sean Manning. Chaminade hopes to regain the strength that has powered coach Mike Pienkos & Jack Lyons to over 20 championship games in their run with over 10 victories. The Chaminade coaching staff believes they have what it takes to compete for the division championship once again, after a disappointing .500 season in 2009.
To help lead the way, Coach Pienkos & his staff are relying on the left arm of BPM Starting Lineup selectee, Mike Martin to lead his pitching staff towards the playoffs and hopefully beyond. Mike Martin features an excellent fastball with a devastating change-up that held hitters off balance all season in 2009, leading the Chaminade staff with five wins. Mike was awarded All League honors last season. Another All League selectee was starting backstop Casey Cunningham. Casey will help lead the staff that includes Martin, Frank Soler (P/SS), and Mike Alas (P/3B) as a potential big three rotation.
With a tremendous reputation for intelligent coaching, Chaminade has a tremendous junior class, led by 2nd baseman Tom Roulis. Roulis is an athletic, leadoff type hitter who can steal a base and may be one of the top hitters in a very competitive Catholic League in 2010.
Holy Trinity High School
For the past 21 years Holy Trinity has been one of the top baseball programs in the Catholic League, winning three NSCHSAA Baseball Championships in 1997, 1998 and 2003.
Over 91 of Holy Trinity's players have received baseball scholarships. A true testament to the strength of this baseball program.
The common denominator in all this is Holy Trinity's baseball Coach Bob Malandro. Starting his 22nd year as Head Coach of the Titans
and two years since he won his 300th game. Malandro is an 'old' school coach whose teams have always shown discipline, respect and a strong fundamental knowledge of the game. His teams rarely beat themselves and always play tough.
Coach Malandro has a tremendous respect for ALL the coaches in the league. “Every coach puts in so much time and energy to get their teams ready for the season, and to coach against these guys is a privilege, I have the upmost respect for all of them. Our league has only seven teams, but it is a black and blue division in the fact that there really are no pushovers.
As far as this years team, the Titans have a strong pitching staff led by seniors Maximo Almonte and Sachim Kirtane. (Almonte has received a scholarship to Villanova University), In the middle of the lineup will be four year Varsity starter 3B Anthony Brunetti. Brunetti is one of the top players in the league. Outfielder Peter August will compliment Brunetti in the line-up. The middle of the infield will be young with Sophomores Joey Devito and Jack Parenty at SS and 2B respectively. Coach Malandro feels this years team will contend for the title. “We have a good mix of talent and I feel we could be one of the top teams this year”.
Kellenberg High School
Kellenberg Memorial is coming off a 12-6 season in 2009. This year has the look of a new ball club after graduating 15 seniors last year. A younger team waits to take the field this year, but these young men are ready to take on the challenge.
Speed and Defense are what hope to lead Kellenberg to the top of the Catholic League this coming season. Coach Alfalla feels confident that his team can quietly make a statement with the 2010 roster. Many people thrive on being the underdog, and this year Kellenberg may be just that.
Kellenberg will turn to one of its’ aces, Kevin McCarthy, as a team leader this year. McCarthy will focus on motivating the team. Last year Kevin came out of the bullpen and held his opponents with a 0.00 ERA. Also leading the Kellenberg squad are centerfielder Frank Antetomaso, shortstop, Tom Tolan and first baseman Mike Cotty. Cotty batted .359 last season with a .590 slugging percentage.
One of the key components to Kellenberg’s success this year will be senior leadership. The ballplayers are working hard this off season and getting ready for some tough match ups. The league this year is once again very competitive. It’s a new season, and anyone has the chance to take the Catholic League title. With hard work, discipline and smart decisions on the field, Kellenberg will be ready to compete for the Catholic League Championship.
St. Anthony's High School
With the start of the 2010 NSCHAA Baseball season within sight, the St. Anthony’s Friars are focused on bringing the pride back to their baseball program. The Friars are expecting to continue to contribute to the proud and rich traditions that St. Anthony’s High School has come to embody.
The 2010 Friars will rely heavily upon its six returning starters from 2009 and its very deep roster of veteran leadership. Returning All League Outfielders Christian Faust and Nick Flynn will hope to build off their success from last season, while seniors Michael Dolce, Kevin Hutzel, Tyler Rieth, Joe Ciullo, Ryan Cacchioli and Andrew Gorecki look to round out the Friar lineup.
Returning Ace Anthony Eichorn looks to anchor a very deep group of sophomore, junior and senior pitchers, who are working hard to arm the Friars with the pitching necessary to take them deep into the post season.
The Friars continue to work meticulously in the off season towards putting the best product on the field and preparing to compete against the extremely well coached and talented programs of the NSCHAA Baseball League. This upcoming season will give the St. Anthony’s Baseball Program another chance to put all that hard work, all that off season preparation, and all that individual investment to the test against the best the Catholic League has to offer, with the hopes of someday returning St. Anthony’s High School back to the top of the NSCHSAA Baseball.
St. Dominic High School
2009 CATHOLIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
The Saint Dominic Bayhawks have every reason to be proud of their Varsity Baseball team, claiming their first Catholic League Championship in 2009. Excitement is brewing for the 2010 season as players prepare for another victorious season.
The 2008 Bayhawks had an outstanding regular season, dominating the competition from the very first game. Unfortunately, their hard work was dashed by a confident, young, St. John the Baptist baseball team who defeated the regular season champs in an intense playoff series.
While the players were disappointed, they returned to the 2009 preseason practice with the new motto, “Something to Prove,” and went full force from day one. The team included seniors: Kyle Hanson, John Yohe, Joe Lamacchia, Steve Nassani, and Arman Kouyoudian.
The 2009 regular season had tough loses and injuries that cost the Bayhawks the regular season title. This time, St. John the Baptist took first place and the Bayhawks prepared to face St. John the Baptist in what would be another tense showdown. With their battle cry of “Something to Prove,” the St. Dominic Bayhawks took the title after three fantastic games. For the first time in St. Dominic Baseball history, the team had won the Catholic League Championship.
The 2010 Bayhawks are ready to repeat last year's victorious season. With young, battle tested players such as catcher Lou Lambros, centerfielder Steven Goldstein, and All-League second baseman, Tom Grillo, the Bayhawks have the defensive skills necessary to win another title. The Bayhawks' strong field presence combined with the hitting skills of seniors Derrick Hirsch, who went 3-for-4 in the 2009 Championship game with two RBIs, and with the leadership of senior shortstop Captain Brandon Stahl will make the Bayhawks a difficult team to beat.
The 2010 Bayhawks certainly don’t lack in the pitching department. With juniors Robert Galligan and Nick Batas the team has two experienced pitchers ready to repeat last season's victory.
This success does not seem to have an ending, as the strong Freshmen and Junior Varsity clubs show that Rick Garrett, should be able to maintain this level of success for many years to come.
St. John the Baptist H.S.
2009 CATHOLIC LEAGUE RUNNER UP
Coming into 2009, St. John the Baptist was the heavy favorite in the very competitive Catholic League. In 2008, John Habyan & his staff had led his team to the Catholic League Championship. Baptist beat St. Dominic in the rubber match of a three games series in 2008. Little did they know at the time, that St. Dominic would return with something to prove in 2009. St. Dominic responded by winning another three game series at New York Institute of Technology. The two teams have built a great rivalry, while the other teams in the division continually improve.
St. John the Baptist is ready to compete in the what many feel is the most competitive division on Long Island.
John Habyan, former big leaguer, has been running workouts all winter, preparing his team for a long, grinding season. Habyan is once again loaded with talent as he returns Catholic League MVP, Kevin Courtney. Courtney, a hulking left handed pitcher, with an outstanding fastball, will anchor the rotation and play 1B. Courtney will also hit in the middle of the order in the hopes of supplying protection for Tom O'Neill, Brian Hunter, and Vincent Iacono.
O'Neill, a big right handed pitcher (6'4", 180 lbs), features an overpowering fastball (84-87 mph), and a sharp breaking ball. The blend of natural talent and his assortment of pitchers should keep hitters off balance all season long.
Add another power pitcher to the mix with Brian Hunter and St. John the Baptist may be the favorite to feature the best starting rotation in the Catholic League. Hunter, another tall right handed pitcher, adds a heavy fastball to the mix. He also features a big bat and will play multiple positions for St. John's. “Brian is a very talented athlete who can really swing the bat,” Coach Calcaterra noted. “His offensive ability and athleticism allow him to play multiple positions, which will make it hard to keep him out of the lineup. - (University of Hartford Website)
Last but not least, Vinny Iacono, a hard nosed catcher will lead the pitching staff. Vinny, featuring a stocky build, runs as well as any catcher in the league. He is exceptionally quick behind the dish and has the ability to shut down the running game. Vinny will also supply a big bat for St. John's and Coach Habyan expects him to be a team leader.
St. John the Baptist, is a favorite to win the Catholic League division in 2010, but John Habyan and his staff know the challenges they face ahead.
St. Mary’s High School
St. Mary’s High School hopes to be in the mixes comes play off time this year in the Long Island Catholic league. They have a new head coach, Jack Joyce, who is determined to turn the program around. The Gaels lost there last game in the playoffs last year to the league champs St. Dominic 1-0 with the outstanding righty Kyle Hansen on the mound for St. Doms. St. Mary’s is a young team with some highly regarded underclassman. The Gaels will be returning seven of their starters from last year. Jr. catcher Alex Falconi is regarded as one of the top catchers on Long Island and was the Gaels clean up hitter last year. Sophomore Vinny Maietta was a defensive standout playing varsity shortstop for St. Mary’s last year. Few freshmen have ever played as well defensively in the catholic school league. Junior Joey Tracy who missed most of last season due to injury is a leader on and off the field. Tracy is expected to be a league MVP type player for the Gaels. Senior James Wipperman will lead the Gaels pitching staff, he must come up big for the Gaels to have a good year. Fellow seniors Jack Joyce and Steven Graff round out what should be an outstanding defensive team. The Gaels may be as good of a defensive team as any in the league. But lack of over all depth and unproven pitching will mean the Gaels have to avoid injuries.
Comments
Tag(s): 2010 Winter Home Headline All News Teams
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FAN · 20 days ago
WHAT HAPPENED TO ST. ANTHONYS??? SINCE 2008 THEY ARE 23-38????? THEY WERE A TOP LONG ISLAND TEAM ONLY A FEW YEARS AGO!!
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