Hewlett on winning track

After being swept in a hard-fought series against conference frontrunner Wantagh, the Hewlett baseball team bounced back with a pair of promising wins over New Hyde Park last week. An elbow injury to the team’s senior ace Aaron Kadosh looked as if it could derail the Bulldogs season, but in his absence the team’s other starting pitchers have stepped up.

Hewlett picked up their first conference victory of the year April 12, defeating the Gladiators, 4-3. Andrew Genoveses earned the win, giving up just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings.

Two days later, the Bulldogs earned their first series win of the season, by beating New Hyde Park, 6-0. Fill-in starter James Silberger made a good case to be added to the regular rotation, by tossing seven shutout innings and striking out eight in the victory.

“We played arguably the best team in Nassau County, Wantagh, in our first series, and we hung with them in two out of the three games,” Hewlett head coach Andy DeBernado said. “Then we took two out of three from a very good New Hyde Park team. I like our results. Our record right now doesn’t show it, but we’re getting good hitting, great fielding, and solid pitching.”

The Bulldogs offense has showcased its power here in the early going, getting home runs from four different players. Josh Pincus and Mike Curiel have both swung the bat well so far this spring, and the team has also benefited from the emergence of second baseman Jesse Metz. 

“Jesse has really stepped up for us,” DeBernado said. “He struggled a bit last year as a sophomore, but this year he has become one of the best second baseman in our conference. Very good defensive player, smart base runner, and he’s hitting really well. He’s probably been the biggest surprise”

Hewlett will need its offense to continue to produce, especially with Kadosh’s return date to the mound unknown. But, DeBernado believes his pitching staff of Genoveses, Silberger, and JJ Lantigua will be able to keep his team more than competitive the rest of the year. 

“We have gotten very good pitching performances from all three of our starters,” he said. “If we continue to get quality starts of five innings or more out of our starters, and our defense continues to be solid, we’re going to be in every series.”

Up next for the Bulldogs are three-game sets against Roslyn and Plainedge. Hewlett’s results from the past few weeks have DeBernado confident his team will be able to make a big playoff push over the final month of the season.

“In a seven-team conference, only the top four make the postseason,” DeBernado said. “I still believe we’re going to be in the top four. Us taking two out of three from New Hyde Park is something I didn’t expect. I would say we’re a little ahead of where I thought we would be at this point.”