Following scrimmage Friday vs TZee, baseball Rams will open season Monday
March 20, 2024 at 11:54 p.m.
March Madness is here—baseball variety, that is.
And despite the lingering chill in the air, it is time to play ball.
The pennant-hungry Port Chester Rams will get their first taste of what that feels like Friday (3-22) at 4:30 p.m. during what head coach Sean Burke calls "a quality scrimmage" away against a very good Tappan Zee team in Rockland County.
Tough first test
What makes it a "quality scrimmage" is the fact that TZee has some quality talent including two ultra-competitive Division 1 college athletic scholarship players.
"So playing against that kind of competitive talent will give us the opportunity to see where we are before our regular season starts," Burke said.
Where he hopes the Rams are is ready, set and raring to go in pursuit of an elusive league title.
The title quest begins
That title quest starts Monday at home against East Ramapo at 4:30 p.m.
But first comes the scrimmage against TZee.
"Our strategy will be simple—our 'Big 3' will go an inning each,” Burke explained.
He was referring to the Rams’ three pitching aces—junior Dominican Republic transfer Jordany German, sophomore sensation Bryan Sachs and hard-throwing senior Josh Virella.
Wheeling and dealing
After that troika tune-up, Burke will see whether the Rams have a full house of pitchers by rotating three of his position players in relief roles with 8th grader Adam Castaneda, junior Billy Villanova, senior Ryan Gagnon and "maybe a couple of others throwing off the mound," he said.
"Definitely looking forward to seeing how we pitch, hit and play defense," Burke enthused.
His starting lineup figures to be essentially the same Rams team that won its first ever Greater Hudson Valley Fall Baseball League title this past November.
The starting lineup
That means junior Scott Sullivan, a running back and receiver on the Rams varsity football team, will be the catcher who has been flashing what Burke calls potential college athletic scholarship form.
At first base when he isn't pitching will be Virella who has been one of Port Chester's best power hitters ever since his days in the Port Chester Youth Baseball League.
Castaneda will be the second baseman and has been playing lights out baseball as the first 8th grader Burke has ever called up to play varsity ball.
Sachs has been the Rams’ most consistent player since his freshman year and will move into the shortstop slot after starting at second base last year.
Hits ball, books hard
Slugger John (Tommy) Tomassetti, one of the few Rams to homer over the distant left centerfield fence and one of the smartest kids in the school, is the third baseman.
Roy Morris, one of the most recent PCYBL stars to be called up to the varsity, has the speed, range and arm to play right field with aficionados anxious to see how he will hit varsity pitching after tearing up the youth leagues on his way up.
Gagnon, another former PCYBL hotshot and one of the school's better athletes (basketball, football), will cover a lot of ground in centerfield.
And Villanova, fresh off the ice as one of the hard-checking scorers on the Rye Town-Harrison League Champion ice hockey team, will play left field.
The Rams’ starting lineup is virtually a former PCYBL All-Star team ready to come of age.
The excitement mounts
"We're excited to finally start playing somebody else after practicing so long and hard against each other," Burke said.
Burke couldn't hide the excitement in his voice. Because he knows his Rams have the pitching depth to make a title run. They won one a few seasons back—the first league baseball championship Port Chester has won in a quarter of a century. They now have a GHVFBL Championship to go with it—Port Chester's first ever.
Now the question is: do the Rams have the hitting and fielding capability to bring another title home?
They and their coach are about to find out.
Comments:
You must login to comment.