A loaded offense powered the Molloy Lions to a record of 31-21 in 2018, including an incredible 15-0 start in conference play, and it took an outstanding effort by Tyler Patane of St. Thomas Aquinas to put an end to their run in the ECC postseason.
Nevertheless, it was another winning season for Head Coach Joe Fucarino, entering his 14th year, who will have the challenge this season of replacing some incredibly talented players and pillars of the program.
The biggest loss is that of Angelo Navetta. Without question, he will be difficult to replace–and in the words of Fucarino, “impossible to replace.”
The Staten Island native won our Most Valuable Player Award in 2016, and had an even better season in 2018 in which he batted .384, with a robust .478 OBP, .616 SLG, 45 runs and 49 RBI all while playing outstanding defense at first base.
“He led by example,” said Fucarino. “He led by his personality and his demeanor. Replacing his talent is something you’ll never be able to do. It’s crazy to even try to do that. We just move forward,” he added.
They will move forward with 22 returning players and 13 freshman, that should translate to an appearance at the ECC tournament at NYIT in May.
Leading the offensive attack will be the reigning ECC Rookie of the Year, Matt Overton, and junior Sean Hogan. Both had huge offensive seasons. Overton batted .342 with .439 OBP while playing a strong defensive outfield and Hogan batted .374 with a .453 OBP. He will be making the switch from catcher to second base to accommodate Mike Wall and newcomer Thomas Brady.
Sean Hogan hit .374 with a .453 OBP and will shift to second base this season pic.twitter.com/BMnifMF80z
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 9, 2018
The latter of which was a huge addition to the team from NJIT. In 2017, you may remember hearing or reading about his name several times in this space. He was a huge reason that Shoreham-Wading River plowed their way through Suffolk Class A into the Long Island Championship. He drove in over 30 runs and was a huge deterrent to the running game. He is a redshirt freshman that comes in ready to contribute immediately. During practice today, his pop times were all sub 2.0 including one as low as 1.77. If he doesn’t start behind the plate, he may see time at first base.
Rounding out the diamond will be sophomore Jacob McCarthy at third, junior James Messina, Hogan at second and either Brady or freshman Patrick Hoffman (East Meadow) at first.
The outfield will be a strength of the team with three returners in Overton, Jake Saltzman (.284 AVG) and Nick Marino. They are expecting a bounce back season from Marino, who was named to our All-Long Island team in 2016 after batting .502 with Nassau CC.
A couple potential impact freshmen are Pat Willix (Wantagh), Justin Renner (Kellenberg), Chris Peralta (Valley Stream South), Robby Keane (Farmingdale), Vinny Pechora (Seaford) and Nick Demicco (Plainedge).
“The biggest thing is getting them involved and getting them to understand it’s a new set up and a new challenge,” he said in regards to getting the big class acclimated to the college game.
It was a very strong class of freshmen. Fucarino credited his coaching staff for targeting players that were considered to be Division-I talent.
“I can’t say enough about the staff–it helps to have extra bodies out there at games,” he added.
The pitching staff will have to replace last year’s ace Kevin Hiss, who became a true ace and led the team in innings (86.1), wins (8) and ERA (2.91). They also lost their all-time saves leader in Shawn Klotsche(2.32 ERA), who often was counted on to get the high-leverage outs late in the game.
They will be leaning on junior RHP Anthony Vano (7-2, 4.50 ERA, 64.0 IP) to continue his progression into a frontline starter, as well as junior RHP Tim Panetta (5-2, 3.20 ERA, 50.2 IP). Billy Wildeman, known for his ability to stop Wantagh’s vaunted lineup in high school, will have a chance to secure a rotation spot as well. Also in the mix is freshman southpaw Chris Wiercinski(Mineola), an All-County pitcher last season.
The X-Factor could be senior LHP Anthony Auletta. The 6’4 southpaw transferred from Valdosta State University, where his team won back-to-back conference titles. I have not seen him yet, but they spoke glowingly of what he has shown in the fall so far.
There is no doubt that Molloy has become a perennial contender. They have made it to the conference championship in back-to-back years, making them a preferred spot for local talent. Their 2019 recruits include some top-tier talent such as Charlie Cucchiara (East Meadow) andA.J. Verga (William Floyd).
