The injury bug has bitten the CHSAA.
Star players are hurt on three different contending teams in the league. Fordham Prep co-ace Jack Becker is out for the season (Tommy John surgery), Archbishop Molloy pitcher/third baseman Jonathan Ramon will miss the new two weeks or so (pinched nerve, back) and Xaverian ace Blaise Scerbo is expected back Wednesday in relief (sore arm).
The biggest blow, of course, is to Fordham. Becker and Sean McNamara were expected to lead one of the city’s top rotations. Now, it’ll be McNamara getting the ball in the big games. Coach Pat Deane said Pat O’Shea, Steve Fondu, Andrew Pucillo and A.J. Pinto will all see important innings. Becker pinch ran in a win over Iona Prep on Tuesday and Deane hopes to get him some at bats this year, too.
“The kids are rallying around Becker,” the coach said.
The Xaverian rotation – with Frank Kaplan, John Pena, Brian Rosa and Tommy Anselmo – has been formidable even without Scerbo. While coach Lou Piccola would have loved to have Scerbo last week in the Monroe Tournament, the real tournament he wants him in is the CHSAA Class AA intersectional playoffs.
“You gotta overcome things like this, you gotta fight through everything,” Piccola said. “Guys have to step up. That’s the bottom line.”
Curran expects Ramon, who is headed to Evansville, back in about two weeks. Not only does he impact the pitching staff, he’s also one of the best hitters in the city.
“Me and him back to back, it’s usually solid,” Molloy center fielder and No. 2 hitter Frank Peperone said.
Beacon moving on without ace: Beacon began the year without one of its top pitchers when senior Kai Glick underwent Tommy John surgery in the offseason. The Blue Demons are now down their other ace.
Juan Adorno is out for the year, coach Tom Covotsos said as the senior is having surgery to repair torn labrums in each thigh. Adorno, who went 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA last year, began feeling discomfort during the preseason and the pain only intensified.
Beacon, however, hasn’t missed a beat without Adorno, off to a 5-0 start in Manhattan A West after Monday’s 5-3 win over Environmental Studies. In his absence, Omar Longi has emerged as the new staff ace. The senior doesn’t throw quite as hard as Adorno, but mixes his pitches well and locates to each side of the plate.
He will get the ball in Beacon’s biggest game of the year, a showdown with national powerhouse George Washington on Friday.
“He’s excited about moving into the No. 1 spot and he’s excited about facing George Washington,” Beacon coach Tom Covotsos said of Longi. “What I like about Omar is he’s a competitor. He’s a control pitcher. He’s going to spot the ball and he’s going to get you to hit the ball on the ground. He’s durable, he doesn’t get rattled. He’s a fighter, he goes right after batters.”
Covotsos was pleased with Monday’s win over Environmental. Matt Aronowitz, one of the pitchers looking to fill the void left by Adorno and Glick, went 5-1/3 for the win. It was Beacon’s first game in 11 days; unlike many of the PSAL’s top teams, the Blue Demons didn’t partake in any holiday tournaments. Half of the starting lineup was going away for vacation and Covotsos opted to hold practices instead of entering a showcase.
“In retrospect, we could’ve played without 50 percent of our team and had gone through the trial and error of competition,” he said. “We did work out well and when we opened up on Monday, I thought we were in midseason form.”
Sea transfer McCormack making difference for New Dorp: Nobody was happier after New Dorp’s 5-4 victory over Curtis than Matt McCormack. After getting very few at-bats for Catholic power St. Joseph by the Sea, the power-hitting first baseman is not the only the focal point for New Dorp – he’s led the Central Cougars to first place in PSAL Staten Island A.
“I love it,” said McCormack, who will likely play at Division III Mount St. Vincent next year. “This is the best team I’ve ever played on, the most fun. The chemistry is great.”
Following last year, McCormack opted to leave Sea to make the most out of his senior season and found the perfect spot at New Dorp. The Central Cougars have been a perennial contender in Staten Island A, but have lacked that big bat in the middle of their lineup in recent years. That’s exactly what the powerful McCormack brings. In seven league contests, he’s batting .375, has driven in six runs and scored seven times.
“He’s a tremendous asset to our program,” New Dorp coach Ray Smith said. “He’s a power guy, he makes good contact, plays a good first base. He’s on the minds of opposing coaches – you have to be careful with him. He’s our big gun.”
Monroe Tournament forfeits on me, coach says: Morris coach Rich Corbo said his team’s three forfeits in the Monroe Tournament were his fault. The coach, who used ineligible players Darlin Veloz and Jairo Padilla in three wins, originally said athletic director Chris Omara gave him the go-ahead to play them, but said he was never in fact told to do so.
“I was wrong in playing those players,” he said after Morris fell to 1-4 in Bronx A East on Tuesday following an 11-3 loss to Monroe. “I shouldn’t have played them. I don’t want him implicated. It’s not his fault. I had something personal going on, my head wasn’t clear. It’s not a good reason to do something like that.”
He added: “I’ve tried to run a clean program. Whatever took place, I take full responsibility.”
Corbo said part of his motivation was giving his players confidence and with Veloz and Padilla, talented infielders/pitcher, in the lineup, the Tigers did go 3-0, beating playoff contenders Norman Thomas and Bryant.
“I was motivated by wanting to shake up my team, by giving them a taste of what we could do,” he said. “It wasn’t a PSAL game. I felt a need to show what we could do.”