2017 was not supposed to end that way.
Entering the season as the reigning Skyline Conference champs and led by a veteran pitching staff with two Axcess Baseball All-Long Island pitchers in Josh Outsen and Brandon Lubrano as well as two experienced arms in Nick Clemente and P.J. Martino, the Golden Eagles were understandably confident entering the season.
After breezing through much of the season, including a double header sweep of the eventual champs from SUNY Maritime, they suffered an unexpected hiccup in not one, but two postseason games on their home turf. They were shellacked 21-8 by Maritime and eliminated by Mount St. Mary’s by the score of 8-5, before having to watch the Privateers celebrate on their mound.
“I send that picture of them celebrating in our group chat almost every day,” said fifth-year Head Coach Rick Garrett who guided the Golden Eagles to a record of 25-14 last season and an overall record of 87-64 since he took over in 2014.
This year’s team features an insane amount of depth across the diamond and they are hungry.
The first thing I noticed today at their practice was LHP Nick Clemente. The senior from Pat-Med was on the mound against Maritime in the semifinals and he endured a poor outing. It was the type of outing that makes a player go one of two ways; whine or climb. It was clear that he chose the ladder.
“He took that game and he put it some place else,” said Garrett. “He has worked with all the pitchers and he came back stronger this year. The expectation is that he will have a big year and he will be one of our top starters,” he said. Clemente was throwing visibly harder, mixing in an assortment of leg kicks and alternate timings as well as his patented pickoff move–which is the best move outside of Andy Pettitte.
Entering the fall, it was expected that he would be the de-facto ace, but with the addition of Suffolk-transfer Joseph Murphy a friendly competition for the No. 1 role seemed imminent. Murphy landed on our All-Long Island team thanks in large part to a 6-1 record with a nation-leading 1.21 ERA. He is a fierce competitor known for talking to himself a la Mark Fidrych, according to, Paul Parsolano, his pitching coach. He also throws a knuckle-ball that is potent enough to be a primary pitch, but he only uses it sparingly.
That competition added another member with the unexpected addition of 2015 Diamond Award winner and two-time All-State RHP Anthony Papa from Coastal Carolina. Now, the staff is back to having four pitchers that the coaching staff is confident in facing any opponent.
Papa led Division to the Class A Long Island Championship over Bayport-Blue Point with a six-hit shutout. He attended LIU Post, but suffered Tommy John surgery which forced him to sit out the 2016 season before transferring to Coastal Carolina, where he did not play in 2017. Despite being two years removed from playing in a game, he was sharp in his outing this afternoon in the intrasquad game. He works in the upper 80s and has a knuckle-drop, as many of the Division HS pitchers have. The question is not his stuff, but whether he has the stamina that he did in high school. That remains to be seen.
The staff will also be counting on sophomore Justin Fitzpatrick, who allowed only one run over 9 appearances last year and Michael Catanzaro who missed last season but saved three games in 2016.
On the offensive side of the ball, the team is returning every key piece aside from program all-time hit leader Anthony Bonilla.
The focal point of the offense is Lou Doria. The sweet-swinging lefty smashed 9 HR last year and was named to our All-Long Island team. He has a chance to become the first player in program history to be selected in the MLB Draft.
In the intrasquad he just missed a HR to the deepest part of the park in right-center despite the wind blowing in. Regardless of the pitcher, ballpark, weather or wind, Doria has yet to find a field that can contain his power.
Joining him is a slew of capable sluggers including Paul Britt, Dan Campanelli, Tyler Sanderson, Anthony Raucci, Matthew Burnett, Tyler Crafa, Tyler Sanderson, Dylan Piscitelli, Gehrig Montoro, Tyler Costa and Louis Fontinha. They compiled a team AVG of .319 last year, led by Crafa’s .431 AVG, which landed him on the All-Region team.
Not to be forgotten is Joseph Murphy‘s ability with the bat. He finished fifth in the nation in AVG last year at .486 while at Suffolk CC.
Garrett is extremely pleased with his situation at the catcher position. Although Campanelli is his starter that started 27 game last year, Britt is not simply a backup. He compiled a slash line of ..377/.469/..574 last year over 122 at bats. His bat forced its way into the lineup and he is a key cog in their offense.
They have reason to be confident once again this year, but they are hungry to avenge last season’s tumultuous ending. I think they are the team to beat this year.
They will open up against Ithaca on March 3 in the first of a three-game set.
