Tom Sheedy knows the importance of pitching and defense is far more than just a baseball cliche.
As such, the Massapequa coach is optimistic early in the spring because his team is already halfway there.
Led by senior ace Tom Harding, pitching is the Chiefs' strength. The 6-foot-4 lefty is committed to St. John’s University and is coming off a dominant junior season in which he struck out 34 and had a 0.29 earned run average in 24 innings.
Harding, who has a fluid motion, touches 90 mph with his fastball and is learning the importance of his secondary pitches — a good change-up and breaking pitch — especially for the next level.
He struck out 15 and allowed just one hit in 5-2/3 innings in a season-opening 5-2 win over Plainview-JFK.
“With Tom Harding on the mound, we feel we can compete with anybody,” Sheedy said. “We have as good a pitcher as anybody in the county.”
Jackson Tucholski is the No. 2 pitcher and the complete opposite of the hard-throwing Harding. The 5--9 senior righty is the finesse guy who pitches to contact.
Sheedy has a junior triumvirate in the bullpen with James Alonso, who works quick and throws strikes, Jack Corrigan, who has a live arm, a nasty breaking pitch and throws strikes and Justin Graham, the St. Anthony’s transfer who has a good fastball and a “really snappy breaking pitch,” according to Sheedy.
The wildcard on the mound is 6-foot-3 freshman Jack Mulligan, who Sheedy thinks has a chance to be drafted in a few years.
“He is a man-child who throws 85-86 and he hasn’t really even learned how to pitch yet. He kind of looks like an old farm boy — big shoulders, back, muscles,” Sheedy said. “We think the potential is unlimited.”
Defensively, Massapequa is led by Vincenzo Della Porta, a senior who Sheedy said is the best second baseman in his program since James Zupo in 2018.
“It’s worth the price of admission to watch him turn a double play,” Sheedy said. “It’s just in and out of his glove. This kid is special at second base.”
Della Porta partners with junior shortstop John Neary in the middle infield, while senior first baseman/designated hitter Jason Romance is the leader at the plate — a line-drive power hitter who had five hits in Massapequa’s first two games.
But Sheedy isn’t concerned at the plate, or the mound.
“Our albatross right now is defense,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”
It’s what provided the adversity the Chiefs had to battle back from in a pair of wins over Plainview-JFK.
How Massapequa handled that Sheedy sees as a maturity his team has shown. “I like our perseverance,” Sheedy said. “They seem to have turned the corner as far as their focus goes.”
The defense gets cleaned up and Massapequa can again make a deep postseason run like last year when the Chiefs lost to Port Washington in the Class AAA semifinals.
“I’m very happy with where we’re at right now,” Sheedy said. “I think we can get better, but they’re at least making the effort and they’re getting the results because of it.”
