MacArthur eyes conference crown

A season removed from an early playoff exit, the MacArthur baseball team is determined to have a far deeper postseason run this spring.
MacArthur went unbeaten in its first nine conference games last year before encountering a gauntlet of tough teams on the back-end of the schedule and ultimately getting bounced in the first round of the Class A playoffs by Wantagh. 
The Generals lost many key seniors from last year’s 13-9-1 team, but have once again started the season strong with four wins in five games. They’re eyeing a league title in Conference AA-II that would earn them one of the top seeds in the looming postseason and a first round bye. A new Nassau County classification based on school  enrollment has moved MacArthur from Class A to Class AA without many longstanding rivals like Wantagh, Plainedge and Clarke. 
“We want to compete for the conference,” said longtime MacArthur coach Steve Costello, whose team entered the week at 3-0 in league play. “Our goal is to win the league championship and get a bye.”
Senior Tyler Bonsignore once again leads the pitching staff and is shining on the mound in his final season in a MacArthur uniform. The lefty Adelphi commit struck 16 and surrendered just two hits in an 8-1 win against Great Neck South on April 8.

Junior pitcher Alex Darzano has also proved dominating at times on the mound this season, recording 13 strikeouts in six scoreless innings in a 7-0 non-league win versus Lynbrook on April 5. He also had nine strikeouts while throwing a three-hitter in MacArthur’s 11-1 win against Great Neck South last Saturday. 
The third starting pitcher spot remains up in the air early on between Chris Lonergan, Mike Joyce and Dom Calone. The trio combined to guide MacArthur to a 12-3 victory at Great Neck South on April 9.
“For the third game of a series we have a bunch of different arms and can see who looks the best that day,” Costello said. 
The offense has been anchored by juniors Chase Palma and Dylan Tripi, who both started as sophomores and were hitting above .500 through the first five games of the season. Palma registered three hits in MacArthur’s 8-1 win against Great Neck South on April 8. Trip smacked a grand slam in the Generals’ blowout win Saturday as part of five RBI day. 
Senior Dan Reynolds has emerged as the Generals’ leadoff hitter this year in his first season as a full-time starter. Reynolds hit two RBIs in the Lynbrook win and entered the week batting around .500.
MacArthur is tacking on Herricks in a three-game series this week that concludes Thursday with a road game at 5 p.m. before the Generals host Plainview JFK Saturday at noon.
Costello said he expects Mepham and Long Beach to be the biggest competitors for winning  Conference AA-II. In the 12-team county playoffs that will commence next month, Costello projects Calhoun, Division and Garden City to be county title contenders in the Class AA playoffs.