By Joseph Staszewski
Steve Piorkowski has been kept close by his Bayside softball players during their first season without him.
Piorkowski, who was the Commodores coach for 23 years, lost his three-year battle with cancer in March at the age of 54. The team’s current players wear a patch with a P and Piorkowski’s No. 8 on their right sleeve, as well as carrying the prayer card from his wake in their softball bags. Junior first baseman Katherine Hanson does it one better by keeping the card in her pocket during games.
“I know he’s there with me,” she said. “Whenever I’m up, I just think I have to do it for him.”
The team has exceeded expectations, keeping Piorkowski’s memory in their hearts and employing the skills he taught them on the field. This season, Bayside lost nine seniors from a team that reached the PSAL Class A semifinals last year before losing to eventual champion Tottenville. Among those who graduated were ace Heidi Gomez and second baseman Tara Bernstein, who now plays at Pace. The current team knew the rest of the city expected Bayside to take a big step back. They had no plans on buying into that belief themselves.
“They thought we were going to probably lose every game,” junior pitcher Victoria Perez said.
They couldn’t have been more wrong. The Commodores 5-4 victory over Francis Lewis keeps them in the running for a Queens A softball crown. At 11-3, Bayside is a game behind first-place Construction. The Commodores lost to the Red Hawks 8-5 in the first meeting and will face them again on May 8 at Bayside in a potential first-place showdown.
Despite the major turnover, the Commodores still have a formidable lineup, anchored by Hanson, Perez, catcher Gabriella Conelli, Gina Sabella and Cheyenne Guevara. The deep offensive attack was on display against Francis Lewis. First-year Andrew Cogliati tipped his cap to his predecessor for that.
“We are very versatile,” he said. “Hats off to coach Piorkowski. As much as these girls didn’t play last year, they have stepped in and they have gotten the job done.”
Cogliati was the school’s junior varsity baseball coach for 10 years before taking over. It’s been an adjustment for him. He said the transition wasn’t easy, but he and his players have settled in nicely.
They have all been driven by a common theme: Play of P.
“He was really special to us,” Victoria Perez said. “When he passed away it was really tough for us.”
And in the process, it toughened them.
