Baseball Player Magazine

Last year was a special year for the Titans. They finished in first place during the regular season and went on to win the NSCHSAA Championship.

Besides having seven players named to the All-League team, third baseman Anthony Brunetti was not only named the MVP of the Catholic league, but also in Nassau County by MSG Varsity. And the Titans coach Bob Malandro was not only the Catholic League Coach of the Year, but Malandro (Hondo) was also named the Nassau County Coach 
of the Year for 2010, the first Catholic League coach to receive such a prestigious honor.

This year brings big changes to Hondo and the Titans. Holy Trinity has to replace six starters from last year’s championship team, which will not be easy. But Coach Malandro believes he has enough returning players to help anchor one of the youngest teams he has ever had.

Returning are two All-League players, pitcher Alex Robinson, who was 6-2 as a sophomore, while winning two playoff games, and juniorsecond baseman Jack Parenty, who finished second in the league in hitting. Returning sophomore, RF/P Patrick Madigan finished second in the league in home runs as a freshman. Also returning will be the 2010 Championship Most Valuable Player, P/1B Ricky VanAllen, who was 6-0 as the Titans closer last year. VanAllen has accepted a baseball scholarship to Adelphi University. Also returning will be junior shortstop Joey Devito, who had a .455 on-base percentage last year.

Players competing for starting positions on this years team are outfielders T.J. Fama and Peter Scacco, catchers Andrew Mize and Chris Hardardt, third basemen Don Cryspin and Tyler Kapela. Vying for the pitching staff will be Ken Mongiardo and Nick Scribelli.

Coach Malandro will have only about six to eight seniors on this year’s roster, and he knows one of the hardest things will be to bring most of his young Titans along as the season progresses. “It’s one thing to have young players, but if you have young players that are also good, it can be an exciting time for a coach to watch them grow and play winning baseball,” Malandro said. “I’m sure we will have some growing pains being so young, but I have complete faith in my coaching staff to bring these kids along the right way. 

Assistant Coach Pat Walsh, shortstop on 2003 Championship Team, and Pitching Coach Brian Annello, member of 1998 Championship team share the responsibilities of achieving another baseball championship and growing as a team. But Malandro is not under any false pretenses about his team or the league. “I know just how hard it is to compete day in and day out in this league. I say the same thing every year, we are in a black and blue league where realistically one team can win the championship any given year.

Malandro also knows that winning back-to-back championships in this League is one of the hardest things to accomplish, since no one has done it in 12 years. He also remembers that the last Catholic League team to win back-to-back Championships were the 1997 and 1998 Holy Trinity Titans.

For the past 15 years, Kellenberg has been one of the top baseball programs on Long Island, winning CHSAA titles in 1996, 1999, 2004, and 2006. Kellenberg perennially graduates their students into collegiate programs, including a list of alumni in professional baseball. Coach Alfalla, entering his ninth season as head coach of the Firebirds, effectively breeds disciplined and fundamentally sound ball players into his program each year. 

The 2011 Firebirds are no different. Led by senior Tim Deegan at the top of the rotation, Kellenberg's pitching staff is strong and talented. Senior outfielders James Sullivan, Tim Weinclaw, and Steve McNoble combine speed and power for an overall balanced lineup. Senior infielder Chris Tricarico along with newcomer Doug Kraeger give the Firebirds a promising look on the infield. Coach Alfalla feels this years team will contend for the title due to a good mix of senior experience and an exceptional junior class.

Also returning for another year is junior Rich Patrizio. “Rich is above average defensively and athletically and will find himself a spot in the lineup,” Wilcox told BPM. “Rich leads by example and will be competing for a starting job at shortstop or possibly the outfield.” 

The St. Dominic Bayhawks return 14 seniors from last year’s roster. Many of them have started for Head Coach Rick Garrett for two years already and will be looking to build off their experience coming into 2011. In addition, many of the seniors were apart of the 2009 team that won the school’s first and only NSCHSAA championship. Coming off a disappointing 2010 season that saw them lose in the semi finals to St. John the Baptist, the Bayhawks are looking to come back and make a statement in 2011.

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School captured the Nassau-Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association championship in 2008, after the club defeated St. Dominic High School in a best of three series 2-1. For the Cougars, championships are the only goal for the ball club out of West Islip, NY, however 2008 was the last time the red and white held the title over their head. Led by head coach and former Major League pitcher John Hayban, St. John’s has reached the NSCHSAA finals for the past four seasons, but last captured the crown in ’08.

The St. Mary’s Gales head into the 2011 season with high expectations. They are returning two seniors who have been four-year starters in Joey Tracy and Alex Falconi. In total, the Gales will be returning four seniors that have varsity experience as well as a few underclassmen that have opened some eyes recently.