Christ the King looks to continue upswing
Last year was a season of renewed confidence in Middle Village. Christ the King, under new manager Allen Watson, reached the playoffs for the first time since 2002, becoming respectable after several years of losing. This spring, however, they won’t be able to sneak up on the opposition.
“Teams are watching out for us now,” Watson said. “The whole league is a lot stronger. There’s not a weak team. Anybody can beat anybody.”
With ace left-hander Bobby Tesseyman, power-hitting right fielder Byron White, and smooth shortstop Chris Valerio back in the fold among others, the Royals may be in for another solid season. “We had a young team last year and we have everybody returning,” Watson said. “We look pretty strong.”
St. Francis Prep appears ready for next step
Based upon past performance and potential, St. Francis Prep could be in for a successful year. Starters Danny Forman, Rob O’Neill, AJ Boardman and closer John Matzelle all return, as does star outfielder Paul Karmas, speedy centerfielder John Miele and the slick middle infield of Lucas Romeo and Mike Canfarotta.
“We have a good team on paper, we just have to prove it on the field,” St. Francis Prep Manager Robert Kent said. “We have so many guys, and the few guys we are plugging in, have good potential. We have to transfer it from the paper to the field, because there are a lot of good teams in the league.”
The graduation of staff ace Robert Casal will swing the burden to Forman, a Manhattan College recruit. Still, Kent said, he is excited about all four of his primary pitchers who are each different in their approach - Forman and Boardman are the hard throwers while O’Neill and Matzelle rely on guile and a variety of pitches.
Kent is also high on the newcomers - junior Sebastian Grazziani, a third baseman, and senior backstop Robert Larusso, who after missing last year due to an arm injury, is expected to provide protection out of the cleanup spot for Karmas.
Pitching and defense to carry Crusaders
The age-old adage in baseball has always been pitching and defense wins games. McClancy sure hopes so. They return staff ace Nick Condos, fellow starter Dan Lelay and closer John Jenkins. Juniors Joe Hermann and Steven Cotov are expected to add depth, too.
With the graduation of several starters, namely three-year starting shortstop Dan Lopez, now at Pittsburgh, in addition to two outfielders and the starting second baseman, offense is the greatest uncertainty.
Returning third baseman Ryan Blanco will lead the attack, joined by catcher Joe Liberta and St. Francis Prep transfer Christian Pinto. Manager Nick Melito is hoping senior Bob Villante, McClancy’s top pinch-hitter a season ago, will add pop. Junior Blake Barbreto, the jayvee shortstop the last two years, will be in Lopez’s spot.
But any success for McClancy will depend on the strong arms in their rotation and the ability to catch the ball behind them. “Most of our returning pitchers are back, and we should be able to pitch pretty well and play some defense,” Melito said.
Holy Cross is counting on seniors to lead the way
Holy Cross was the chic pick last year based on their abundance of talent to make a run at a title. Instead, another Queens team, Molloy, made it all the way to the city title game. A year later, the Knights are just as talented, if not more so, having lost only catcher George Carroll and shortstop Effrey Valdez.
The Leisenheimer brothers, Justin and Ian, will anchor the middle of the order. Justin Leisenheimer, who led the club in homers and runs batted in, will spend time at first base while Ian, due to an arm injury, will start out at second base instead of the hot corner.
The key to the lineup, Manager Doug Manfredonia said, is the speed at the top of the lineup of left fielder Travis Swiatocha. Senior second baseman Andy Romero will move over from second to shortstop to fill the void left by Valdez.
Anthony Zupnick will be in right field and John McManus will be behind the plate. While he may not be quite as prolific throwing runners out as Carroll, he will offer more offensively.
“We’re a senior-heavy team, and these guys know what to do when they get out there,” the coach said. “There are going to be times we start seven or eight seniors probably.”
The strength of the club is returning hurlers Roger Pfeffer, Kevin Kilpatrick, Jon Costa and Tom Matera - the quartet earned 90 percent of the Knights’ victories a season ago. Manfredonia said Kilpatrick and Pfeffer ware the co-aces, but Costa, who came on late last spring, along with Kilpatrick, are just as important.
“That’s probably the backbone of our team,” Manfredonia said. “We (can) turn to every guy.”
Molloy looks to build upon championship appearance
Like the other borough’s top clubs, Molloy hasn’t lost much off last year’s group. Southpaw Sandy Sussman and shortstop Joe Sylvestri are the key losses off the club that won six times when facing elimination in last season’s postseason. But in each case, the void isn’t a great one.
Seniors James Hounsell, Dennis O’Grady and Jarod Macchiarole, who missed last season due to rotator cuff surgery, and junior left-hander Thomas Mcelhatten, are all expected to see time on the hill, with Hounsell, who won three playoff games last spring, and O’Grady, the primary starters.
“O’Grady pitched a lot of key games last year and pitched the city championship game; he and Hounsell are the two guys we’re relying on the most,” said Molloy Manager Jack Curran, in his 50th year at the helm.
In the field, Pat Sheehan and Kevin Roberts will fill in for Sylvestri, now at Georgetown, and junior Matt Sauli has impressed so far at third. Offensively, the Stanners are also counting on O’Grady and Hounsell, who will bat third and fourth, respectively. Center fielder Mike McCann will serve as the table-setter, batting second, and catcher Frank DeMaria has impressed, too, in his first season in a starting role.
“I think they’re pretty good,” Curran said. “We haven’t had as many practice games as we’d like because of weather and the field being wet, but we’re happy with the way they’ve played in those three games.”
