It’s a youth movement for South Side baseball with juniors starting for the first time and sophomores — even a freshman — on varsity.
And while there’s inexperience on his roster, coach Tom Smith isn’t necessarily tempering expectations.
“I want to make sure we make that playoffs, that we can get that experience for these younger players and win a couple of games, see how far we can take it into the playoffs,” Smith said. “The most important part for us is to continue to develop these young players so that they can have an even bigger run, even more success down the line.”
In ace Stellan Zangari, the Cyclones have both youth and experience as the sophomore started on the mound a year ago as a freshman.
“Stellan is a very tenacious young man. He pitches with a lot of emotion,” Smith said of Zangari, who has 13 strikeouts in nine innings this season. “He’s got a strong fastball, a knuckle drop, a great slider, and this year we’re really working on further developing his changeup.”
In a misty rain at Roslyn, Zangari struck out seven and allowed three hits, with no walks, in six innings of a 7-0 victory on April 7.
“I told him at the end of the game, this is the best game I've seen you pitch so far in your varsity career,” Smith said.
Senior southpaw Scott Bernabeu is the Cyclones No. 2 pitcher a year after operating out of the bullpen where he’d strike out batters but also had a high number of walks.
“He’s working hard on being consistent with his delivery and so far he's done a really good job,” Smith said of Bernabeu, who has 19 strikeouts in 15 innings, with opposing batters hitting just .224.
The No. 3 starter is who Smith calls his “wild card.” It’s junior shortstop John Pericolosi, a Stony Brook commit who didn’t pitch much last year.
“He doesn’t try to throw every pitch the same. He doesn't try to throw every fastball at the same speed,” Smith said. “He mixes up his speeds well. He attacks the strike zone, he’s a tall Greg Maddux out there.”
In a 15-2 win over Roslyn, Pericolosi allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts, while adding a double, a triple, two runs scored and three RBIs as the leadoff hitter.
Pericolosi has a hit in all six South Side games this year.
Gavin Donoghue is a three-year starter at first base, the left-handed cleanup hitter already has a pair of doubles in five hits while batting .385 with five RBIs.
Two key newcomers hitting at the top of the orders are juniors Connor McNulty, an outfielder and speedster on the bases, and second baseman Jack Boyens.
Sophomore outfielder AJ Magaraci is just working his way back from a torn labrum suffered while making a tackle in the first South Side football game in the fall. He’s joined in the outfield by sophomore Aaron Amberpet, while freshman Ethan Johnson and sophomore Derek Fessler will split time at catcher for a team 4-2 out of the gate.
