Season to Build Upon
Year of streaks end with five straight losses, missed playoffs. Tigers look to next year
Story and Photos by Steven Zaitz
There might not be any crying in baseball, but there is still a hell of a lot of emotion in it.
The Northport Tiger ballclub ran the gamut this year; from gut-wrenching blown leads to season-saving two-hit masterpieces, this campaign was anything but dull. The boys were in the thick of the playoff hunt until the last out was made in their finale against the mighty Commack Cougars. They bounced back from a four-game losing streak early in the year by winning five in a row in the middle that put the young Tigers one win away from what was once thought to be an unfathomable playoff berth.
That was the apex. With five games to go and needing just a single win, they couldn’t close the deal.
Bad calls and blown leads in the late innings were contributing factors in a few of those losses, but if evaluating the year as a complete body of work, the eye test tells us the Tigers, comprised mostly of underclassman and first year varsity players, simply weren’t ready. The result was eight wins and ten losses, one victory shy of a playoff berth.
From a fundamental and hustle point of view, the Tigers were always prepared. From those cold and wet practices in March, when the diamond grass was still the color of steel-cut oatmeal, Coaches Sean Lynch, Jim DeRosa and John DeMartini drilled them hard, working on cut-offs, pickoffs, rundowns and communication. The staff knew that gaining an edge in these aspects just might enable them to snap up a game or two that they had no business winning. The Tigers played sound, fundamental baseball all year for as much as a high school baseball team could be expected to.
From February on, everyone associated with the team said all the right things: “We can win, we have good, smart young talent and we like our guys, and of course – We Are Northport.”
All true, but the deck was heavily stacked against these neophytes even before a pitch was thrown.
- Commack, a perennial baseball power, Sachem North and Ward Melville joined the league. Northport would play these teams nine times, or half their schedule. These teams finished the year 44-15 and have rosters bristling with all-Suffolk County talent and Division I college commits.
- The Tigers graduated 17 seniors from their 2021 roster, including their entire starting rotation and outfield. Three quarters of their starting infield also left for college and shortstop Ray Moreno, who remained, was asked to pitch this year, leaving yet another position to be filled with youth.
- Owen Johansen, a dominating and dynamic athlete and a key offensive piece in 2021, decided to take his talents to the Tiger Lacrosse team this year.
Lynch, and his team, never once played the ‘Whoa is Me’ card.
“Between the talent that we were up against and the guys that we lost, I knew this year would be a challenge and one of the toughest jobs, we as a coaching staff, would ever have,” said Lynch. “Our guys battled and never quit and that was the great part about what happened this year. I told them after that last game that the fight that they showed goes further that just baseball. To a man, they all had that mentality to never give up. It’s part of who they are. And even though we didn’t make the playoffs, I’m proud of them.”
Captain, switch-hitting catcher and a leader of these men with character was Richie Kershow. He was a rock behind the plate and always seemed to get a big hit in the late innings. He feels the season could only be measured as a success – despite not qualifying for the post-season.
“The underclassmen stepped up and were able to get a good taste of varsity baseball,” said the Hood College commit. “We lost some good arms in the rotation, but this year’s pitchers surely pitched well.”
Kershow caught guys like Liam Fodor, Liam Darrigo, Jason Schwartz and Joe Gonzales last year. Fodor was all Suffolk County in 2021, Darrigo all-conference and Schwartz and Gonzales were very effective out of the bullpen. All of them played on college campuses this year.
Lynch and his staff had to fill these pitching roles and the names were still TBD up until a day or two before the season started. Junior Aiden Bisson was one of those names. He got the Opening Day nod and did not disappoint.
After a 5-0 season at the Junior Varsity level in 2021, Bisson pitched a complete game shutout against Whitman to start this season and all was right in Tiger world as they took two out of three to start 2022. More importantly, they gave themselves a booster shot of confidence and temporarily drowned out all the naysayer talk – maybe this team could make some noise after all.
“Bisson pitched well as a frontline starter,” said DeRosa. “I think he will take a big step forward next year as a senior.”
Bisson finished the year with a record of 5-2. He threw a three-hit win vs. Lindenhurst on the road, which was the Tigers 8th and final victory of the year, but he lost to the Bulldogs in his final start, which was the team’s fourth straight loss and was the last, best chance the Tigers had of making the playoffs.
“It was a must-win and it didn’t go our way,” said the lanky right-hander. “I think we still had a good year even though we didn’t make the playoffs. I think next year will be fun and I’m looking forward to it.”
Junior 1B John Dwyer will be part of that fun in 2023. He led the Tigers in OPS at .939, had eight stolen bases, and played gold glove caliber first base. Dwyer, along with Kershow and Bisson, were selected as All Conference Players.
“Going into the season, we knew that we had a tough road ahead of us, said the junior Dwyer who also excels at volleyball. “We knew that we would be playing a lot of good teams and our team didn’t have a ton of varsity experience. But we believed in our ability to be successful. We lost a few close games that could have gone either way and ultimately came up short of the playoffs, but we grew a lot over the course of the year and through our coaches, we established an identity for ourselves as a team that refused to quit. It was great to be a part of something like that.”
A thoughtful answer from a thoughtful student-athlete. Dwyer’s work ethic is legendary around the ballfield – a quality that Lynch loves, and hopes infiltrates to future editions of the team.
“John is a coach’s dream,” said Lynch. “He’s a great student and is always looking to get better. He and Richie are the first to arrive to the field and last to leave and both were so valuable to this team.”
As Kershow moves to the next level, Dwyer, a natural catcher, will make a bid to take over behind the plate next year. This will create an opportunity to fill first base.
“We have some guys coming up from J.V. for next year that I’m excited about,” said Lynch. “Dylan Soffarelli is in 10th grade and almost made varsity this year. He had a very good J.V. season and will be playing summer ball to improve his game.”
Soffarelli has played both corner infield positions and will compete at that first base spot if Dwyer does in fact move to catcher.
“I believe I have the potential to contribute to the team on and off the field next year and I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” said the sophomore Soffarelli. “I’m more than ready to compete with the big boys.”
Soffarelli’s confidence should serve as a metaphor for Northport Baseball, as 2023 will not have the type of obstacles that the 2022 team faced. The Tigers will be in a position to have a chunk of returning seniors who will have presumably grown as players and young men.
Slick-fielding shortstop Thomas Hardick will have a year of varsity experience and will hope to blossom as more of an offensive player. Pat Scarangella’s versatility will be counted upon at 2nd base and on the pitchers mound. He led the team with a .390 batting average and had flashes of success in several relief appearances. Jayden Paranandi, Michael Lombardo and Tyler Mulligan, all juniors this year, will compete for spots in the starting rotation as will freshman Max Donecea. 3B Ty D’Amico and OF Dominic Tetta will look to bulk up their offensive numbers. Infielder Max Brewer, who had a nice year with the bat, hitting .294, will look to get to the next level, as will OF Stephen Blazevich, who mixed in 2 stolen bases in limited plate appearances. The Tigers, who hit exactly 0 home runs and had team OPS of .618, which is bordering on anemic, will look to beef up their offense in 2023 as they were all too often playing station-to-station and starving for runs when the opponent wasn’t wearing a Bay Shore uniform.
“We need to spend significant time getting physically stronger and playing high-level summer and fall baseball,” said Lynch. “I want these young guys to realize all the hard work it takes, all year round, to be where we want to be as a team (in 2023).”
Never once did anyone associated with the program complain about the tight spot the team was put in this year and never once was the ‘E’ word ever verbalized – excuses. Next year, verbal or otherwise – there won’t be any.
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