2011 Season Preview
2011 Season Preview: The
Shenendehowa varsity baseball team looks to once again to establish itself as a
powerful opponent in the Suburban Council North division, the Plainsmen hope to contend for the league title and a berth into the Section II
playoffs. The 2011 version of the Plainsmen will rely on some
experienced seniors but they will need contributions from some very talented
underclassmen. This year’s team has the potential to compete
for a league and sectional title by the end of May, if the seniors play up to
their potential and the younger players develop and get better as the season
goes on.
Entering his 21st season
at the helm of the program, Head Coach James E. Carrese (317-152 .676), has
returned 8 players from last year’s roster. Among the returning
players are three starters and five members of the pitching staff. Included in
those returning players are four players who garnered post-season awards from
the Suburban Council. The team will also rely heavily on 10
newcomers to the varsity level, including six juniors, three sophomores, and
one freshman.
The 2010 Plainsmen finished
the season 17-4 overall and finished first in the Suburban Council North
division at 14-2. They then advanced to the sectional playoffs
earning a first round bye, in the second round the Plainsmen hosted their arch
rival Saratoga and lost a heartbreaker 6-4 ending what was otherwise a
spectacular season for an outstanding team. The team’s offense
finished with a .374 batting average, scoring 9.95 runs per game while the
pitching staff posted an era of 2.98 allowing 4.0 runs per game.
Letter winners Lost (11): Eleven players have graduated from last year’s team ending the run of
arguably one Shenendehowa's best senior classes in years. Gone are
startingCenterfielder and 1st team all league selection Scott
Buniak, 2nd team all league First baseman David Wixted, Honorable
Mention all league Second Baseman Dan Lenney, 2nd team all league
selection Third Baseman and Captain Andrew Kalish. Also graduating
were starting catcher and 2nd team all league Brandon Galluppi, #3
starter Andrew Sisson, outfielder Mike Williams, outfielder Zach Makerewicz and relief pitchers Ross
Halpern and Sean Doner. Pitcher Chris
Bradt transferred to Suburban Council rival Ballston Spa for his senior season. Five of the departing players are continuing their playing
careers at the collegiate level, all are either starting or playing significant
minutes this spring.
Letter winners Returning (7): The Plainsmen returning
for this season are led by 4 year starter and Virginia bound senior captain Branden
Cogswell who is a three time 1st team all league selection. Cogswell hit .424 with 27 RBI’s and 3 HR’s as a
junior and .494 as a sophomore. Also returning are 2nd team all
league selections and last year’s #1 and #2 starters, John Prendergast and Matt
Dempsey. Prendergast was 4-1 record with an era of 2.75, while
Dempsey posted a record of 3-0 with an era of 1.81. Returning as well is 1st team all-league DH John Craig who will see some
time at first base this season, Craig hit .447 with 25 RBI’s and 3 HR’s in
2010. Adam Kalish, who posted a 1-0 record with an era of 2.83
as one our primary relievers out of the bullpen last year, looks to continue his
success on the mound. Tyler Clifford, who worked primarily
out of the bullpen last year, returns this season and is looking to make a big
splash by stepping into the starting rotation. Looking to bounce
back after spending significant time injured last season is Chris Cox who will help the team primarily out of the
bullpen. The lone junior on the team with significant varsity
playing time last year, Colin Grande is making the move from starting right
fielder to starting center fielder. Grande hit .229 as a sophomore while
playing in 20 games.
Newcomers (9): Six
juniors, three sophomores and one freshman look to make an immediate impact
this season for the Plainsmen. Stepping into the starting catching
position will be junior Mike Cuttita who spent the last two
years as the starting catcher for the JV team. Looking to join Cuttita in the
starting lineup this season is junior infielder Sam Halpern who
is should see significant time in the infield as well as on the
mound. Sam was the starting SS on last year’s JV team as well as one
of the team’s top pitchers. Junior Mike Englert will
be working primarily out of the bullpen this season for the Plainsmen after
spending last season as one of the JV teams top starting pitchers. Looking to
make the jump from JV catcher and outfielder to varsity pitchers is Miles
Kelly; Kelly should see a good number of innings out of the bullpen this
year. Joining Kelly in the bullpen will be junior pitchers Steve
Travis and Robert Debortoli who both had successful
campaigns last year out of the bullpen for the JV team. Sophomore
infielder/DH Nick Guinta and sophomore outfielder Chris
Miller are looking to break into the starting lineup after having
outstanding seasons as freshman on the JV team in 2011. Sophomore 3rd
baseman and pitcher Matt Buckley looks to make an immediate impact on
the mound and in the field. Freshman
infielder Justin Yurchak will be making the jump directly from
the freshman level to the varsity lineup after making outstanding
gains since last season.
Schedule: The Plainsmen will be playing the full twenty games allowed by NY
State this season including a sixteen game league schedule in the very
difficult Suburban Council and four non-league games highlighted by visits from
perennial New York state power North Rockland and Foothills Council power
Queensbury as well as trips to play Big Ten power CBA and Albany high
school. The team will start the year by traveling south in March for
a series of pre-season scrimmages, first against national power Arundel high
school and Southern high school in Maryland, then the following weekend the
Plainsmen will head to NJ to play the reigning NJ state champs Gloucester
Catholic high school, the winningest team in NJ state history, they will finish
the preseason out by playing Gloucester high school in a double
header. The regular season will kick off with a home game against
Suburban Council rival Ballston Spa on April 8th.
Summary: The 2011 Plainsmen are a blend of experienced leadership and
youthfulness that will be looking to defend their Suburban Council Blue
division title as well as make a run at the Section II crown. There
is without a doubt enough talent on this team to make a deep run into the
Sectional playoffs. The key to their success will be their ability
to pitch, play defense, and manufacture some timely runs, overall the team is
poised to continue the tradition of winning baseball that is
Shenendehowa.
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