Ram baseball practices underway at PCHS
February 28, 2024 at 11:45 p.m.
Major League Baseball pre-season games are underway in warmer clime training camps stretching from Arizona to Florida. And while the Port Chester baseball Rams play in a very different kind of league, unofficial practices are also underway in the old and new high school gym, albeit in a much colder climate zone warmed by the intensity of what's at stake—a league championship—even without a game being played.
"Workouts are non-mandated but highly encouraged before the first official practice starts Mar. 11," according to Rams head coach Sean Burke, the deceptively humorous baseball mentor who is all business when it comes to winning.
Built to win now
Make no mistake about it, this is a Ram team built to win now, coming off their first ever Fall Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League Championship with their weather eye on a league championship during the upcoming season.
Burke makes sure they keep their collective eye on the prize during Monday and Wednesday after school weight room sessions at the high school followed by batting practice in the old gym.
Tuesdays and Thursdays feature the baseball Rams assisting with the instruction during Port Chester Youth Baseball League (PCYBL) pre-season clinics followed by practices starting immediately afterward at 7:30 p.m. The PCYBL calls those clinics Baseball Drills and Skills with the emphasis on fielding, hitting for contact and power, running the bases and throwing, all essentials for the upcoming PCYBL season at Lyon Park with registration currently underway for the Major and Minor, Rookie and T-Ball age group leagues (details at portchesterbaseball.com).
"Those clinics rank right up there with my personal favorites because it is a chance to start working with our future Ram varsity players at an early formulative stage," according to Burke.
Former PCYBL stars
Most of the Rams potential varsity starting lineup is made up of former PCYBL All-Stars including junior catcher Scott Sullivan, senior pitcher/first baseman Josh Virella, second baseman Adam Castaneda (the first eighth-grader ever to be called up to the varsity by Burke), senior third baseman John Tomassetti (the team's best hitter over the past three years), seasoned sophomore pitcher/shortstop Bryan Sachs, senior centerfielder Ryan Gagnon, senior left fielder George Pagnotta (recovering from a shoulder injury) and junior right fielder Billy Villanova, late in reporting because he has been playing with the Rye Town/Harrison Titans ice hockey team.
All those players have come up through the PCYBL ranks.
Except for one—junior Dominican Republic import Jordany German, potentially the Rams’ pitching ace, ranked 24th in his graduating class as a pitcher in New York State.
"I like to keep it pretty simple when it comes to talking about Jordany," Burke said. "If he's on, we have the potential to win any game we play. He's an intriguing prospect who ranks right up there with the best in Westchester. I believe there are top tiers of pitchers that we face such as Tyler Renz from Fox Lane, or Andrew Rogovic from Blind Brook. Those are the top guys in Section 1. Jordany is in a tier right below them. But if Jordany has his stuff and is on, I like our chances with anybody. A lot of our success this year in league games and big games will lie on his shoulders. He needs to take a step forward and be the big time pitcher we need."
'Three-headed monster'
But the Rams’ true pitching strength comes from having what Burke calls "a three-headed monster" that can eat up the innings during the long, grueling season to come because he slots Sachs and Virella as the 2-3-punch that makes Port Chester special.
"Sachs is right there with German," according to Burke. "Entering the season as a sophomore leader, Bryan will pitch in some big games this year and we are going to have to rely on him to add up some wins as well. Bryan has exceptional command of the strike zone, and he's already a big game player. I'm really excited about him getting us big innings on the mound."
Sachs has the edge over German as a hitter and will switch from shortstop to the mound on his pitching days. And the heavy-hitting Virella will do likewise, moving over from first base on the days when he is scheduled to be in the pitching rotation.
"Virella gives us another big arm in the rotation," according to Burke. "Josh is known for his work as a hitter, but he can help us big time on the mound this year. We're expecting big innings for him and hoping he can come through in some big time games for us as well."
But as good as the Rams pitching figures to be, the team will only go as far as their big bats will take them—and Tomassetti swings the biggest bat of them all. He homered over the left centerfield fence to give the Rams an upset win over White Plains last year and is one of the few Port Chester batters to ever hit one that far.
The hitting machine
"I'm really excited to see what John does in his final year after three years on varsity," Burke said. "He is one of my best leaders since I've arrived. We consider him our hitting machine, and we look forward to seeing what he and Josh will do in the 3/4 holes of the batting lineup."
Tomassetti, aka Tommy, is also one of the school's best students academically and looms as a potential athletic scholarship candidate.
Sullivan, also an ex-Ram football running back/wide receiver, is what Burke calls "our potential scholarship dark horse."
"He has made an amazing leap from his sophomore year to now, and a potentially big year from him could bring potential scholarship offers because good, headsy catchers who can call a smart game are hard to find," Burke said.
The lineup question marks include Pagnotta and Castaneda.
"Pagnotta is coming off of a shoulder injury, and we're hoping we can get him rehabbed and back to normal by the start of the season," Burke said. "He is a good contact hitter and has solidified himself as our #2 hitter in the lineup."
The latest wunderkind
As for Castaneda, he is the latest of a bumper crop of Middle School wunderkinds to move up to the varsity, others including McKayla McLoughlin (basketball), Julianna Luzzi (volleyball), Layla Builes (wrestling) and Morgan Mollica (cheerleading). And making that transition isn't easy.
"I think how Castaneda will perform on the varsity is a question that our coaches are thinking about," Burke said. "Adam shows us flashes of brilliance daily. However, AAA Section 1 baseball will be tough for him. He can run with the big dogs, but he will be tested by a lot of adversity. The coaching staff thinks Adam has what it takes to hang with the big dogs. And being under the wing of Scott Sullivan and Bryan Sachs (both guys that played important roles at a young age) is going to help. We think we can keep Adam grounded. And he is going to help us."
The baseball Rams need all the help they can get because they are looking for a league title to go along with the one Burke won a few seasons back—the first league baseball championship Port Chester has won in a quarter century. That's a long time between championships. And Burke wants to make up for lost time. This time he thinks his Rams have the pitching and power bats to make a run for the title. That's why the pre-season practices are optional but recommended.
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