John Carlesi is still getting accustomed to life without his seniors. For four years, Nolan Becker, Nick Rozar, Nick Wheatley-Schaller and Zach Karson were always there.
“Those kids were like my adopted sons,” the Stuyvesant baseball coach said.
On the field, Becker will be missed the most. Now at Yale, he was the team’s ace, a fire-balling left-hander, and cleanup hitter. “We have to overcome that,” Carlesi said. “That’s what we told the kids: ‘Nolan’s not here, now you got push yourself and rely on each other.”
What the Hitmen may lack in star power on the mound, they can make up for in depth. Senior captain and southpaw Nick Gallo and sophomores Evan Lubin and Kyle Yee will all see significant time on the mound. Gallo is a crafty lefty and Yee, a slick shortstop when not on the mound, threw well in the fall.
Carlesi is particularly high on Lubin, a 6-foot-1 underclassman who throws in the high 70’s and has a curveball he mixes in on occasion. He compared him favorably to Becker when he was that age.
“Hopefully, with some work, he can develop into a really good pitcher,” Carlesi said.
The pitching staff will be handled by junior catchers Jake Moran and Clay Gibson. The two aren’t as polished as Wheatley-Schaller was defensively, but are more than capable offensively and are blessed with solid throwing arms. Third baseman Scott Chiusano, whose older brother starred for Stuyvesant a few years ago and is now playing at Harvard, will be Becker’s replacement in the 3-hole.
“I like the chemistry, there is great camaraderie with one another picking each other up,” Carlesi said. “There is not one superstar that stands out. Everybody knows they have a job to do. “They know we’re not gonna have any power hitters, we have to work on bunting, hit-and-runs, our defense is probably as good as it was last eyar.”
Known for its academic prowess, Stuyvesant has developed a solid baseball program. The Hitmen have made the playoffs 14 years in a row and shared the Manhattan A West crown with Beacon last year.
“It’s gonna be tough, I don’t know what’s out there. Other teams had some really good players last year,” Carlesi said. “Our philosophy is to make the playfofs, no matter if we’re 8-8 or 15-1. That’s what we shoot for. Once you do that, anything can happen.”