By Mitch Abramson and Erin Bruel
He is relying on senior catcher Freddy Parra, who has been looked at by major league scouts, Jesse Cardenas, a junior pitcher, and senior third basemen Gabriel Acosta to lead the team deep into the playoffs.After winning the Queens East A division last year, Cardozo coach Peter Douglas, in his 15th season, is hopeful for another stellar year. The team is young, with sophomores filling out at catcher, first base, second base and shortstop, but Douglas says his team has a lot of heart. He is relying on three senior captains to sheppard them to another Queens East 'A' title.Pitcher Russell Furey, outfielder and pitcher, Adam Yagr and Kevin Principato, the third basemen will try and make up for the loss of last year's stars, Mike Errigo (Stony Brook) and Glenn Smith (Queensborough Community College), who led Cardozo into the playoffs where they lost a heartbreaker to Port Richmond in extra innings.Christopher Esposito was the star pitcher and emotional leader of Richmond Hill last year. He was an All-City First Team Honorable Mention selection and earned a scholarship to Queens College. Without him this year, pitching is Coach Greg Reo's biggest concern.However, they do still have senior shortstop/pitcher Ted Riofrio, whom Reo describes as a 'coach's dream' with his 94 average to go with being one of the top players in the city. Last year he hit .519 and had a 3.64 ERA in 25 innings. Reo will rely heavily on Riofrio as well as outfielder Armando Wellington and third baseman Robert Lenahan.Newtown coach Neil Rosenblatt lost most of his pitching from last season, but he expects a number of players to have breakout seasons this year to soften the blow. Rosenblatt is counting on junior Andres Caceres to be the No. 1 pitcher. Caceres is 6-foot-2, 175 pounds and can throw 83 mph. Junior catcher Delvy Fernandez is expected to be one of the stars of the team, and junior Abel Taveras, the only returning starting pitcher from last season, is slotted as the No. 2 starter.Francis Lewis had to win five of its last six games to qualify for the playoffs last year. Coach Randy James hopes to build on that experience, and pitching will be a key determining factor. James lost his No. 1 starter to grades, but he has several other pitchers who should fill in nicely and allow freshman Ethan Liederman to develop at his own pace. Sophomore Alex Mercardo, senior Josh Payero and sophomore John Petry, the No. 2 starter last year should provide a strong nucleus of pitching.After being knocked out of the playoffs in the first round the last two years, Long Island City has hopes of finally advancing this year with four top hitters and one of their top pitchers returning.Coach Harley Watstein retained senior second baseman/centerfielder Wilson Villada, senior shortstop Luis Herrera and junior power hitter Oscar Virella as well as pitcher Omar Velazquez, who will fill out the top four spots in the lineup. Villada hit a team high .432 last year with Herrera close behind with a .429 average. Velazquez will be the number one starter this year after posting a 3.31 ERA in just over 29 innings last year as well as batting .417.Forest Hills finished 16-12 overall last season and qualified for the 'A' playoffs for the first time. Sean Goldmark, last year's third baseman who led the team in RBIs and slammed a walk-off homer in the seventh inning of Forest Hills' league tiebreaker game last year, returns to play first base for the Rangers.Catcher Adam Spilke and shortstop Alex Demers will return to the lineup, as well as Steve Sarmiento, a hard-hitting senior who was ineligible last season but whom Finkelstein hopes will add some punch to the offense. Demers and Goldmark will also pitch for the Rangers.The team's season could revolve around its ace, Seth Auerbach, who ranked third in the Queens A East last season with 44 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched.Grover Cleveland went 7-9 last season in Queens West A and missed the playoffs. However, coach Jack Ciano is optimistic about reaching the postseason this year because of the team comradery he has seen this season.”We're a better all-around team this year,” he said. “We leaned on individuals a lot the last few years but the kids really seem to enjoy each other's company and it's a good chemistry that gets me excited about our chances.”Ciano will look to senior centerfielder David Tasakovic to be a leader and role model for younger players as well as provide a spark at the top of the lineup for the Tigers. Also key this season is junior shortstop Jose Castillo, the JV MVP last year who hits for power and can also pitch. He replaces two-year starter Ray Fruggiero who graduated last year along with first baseman Matt Bittner.Joining LIC and Cleveland in Queens West A this year are the Bryant Owls, who after three successful seasons in the 'B' league were granted a bump up to the A division this year.Second-year coach Rocco Rotondi requested the move after his team went 11-5 in Queens South B last year and reached the second round of the playoffs.He is looking to his senior captain Elvin Jorge to take the leadership role this year. Rotondi has sophomores starting at shortstop, third base and both corner outfield positions but believes his team has the potential to be competitive in the 'A' league, possibly right away.”I believe we can be playoff caliber next year, maybe this year,” he said. “We have the potential to be a .500 team or we could go 3-13. But if we stay away from the mental mistakes, we should be all right.”It's been three seasons since Bayside made the playoffs. The Commodores ended the 2004 season tied with Forest Hills in the standings at 8-8 and lost 7-6 in a one-game playoff.But coach Pat Torney thinks this year holds a lot of promise.”We have 11 guys returning from last year most of whom were freshman,” Torney said. “We are a young team with a lot of talent.”The team lost three crucial players; George Espinal (Queens College) led the Commodores in five major offensive categories. Torney refers to him as an “irreplaceable” player. The Commodores not only have to fill the void of losing an offensive slugger like Espinal, they also lost their top two pitchers. Daniel Kapica posted a 1.74 era, and Todd Greene had 4 wins.- Evan Enden and Christine Sampson contributed to this story
