Syosset High Baseball Preview

Syosset High Baseball

Head coach: Pat Fitzgerald (2nd season)

Last year: 9-8 (lost to Baldwin in first round of playoffs)

Key newcomers: Jr. P-OF Dan Ventricelli, Jr. C Bobby Albanese, Jr. P Nick Bilianis

Key returnees: Sr. SS Mitch Hollander, Sr. P-2B Alex Pappas, Sr. CF James Cohan, Sr. P Brandon Varolian, Sr. OF Mike Girardi

Key losses: P-2B Zach Badanes, 1B Michael Cunningham

Outlook: When you make a program your own you find that double-downs can be as pressing a task as double plays. Helping set up a casino night for the booster club is just one thing on Fitzgerald's to-do list, but the 41-year-old doesn't mind after patiently waiting for a high school head-coaching gig. Now with a year under his belt, he's solidifying a coaching philosophy that spans grades 7-12, and wants to start a summer league team so the players can both save money and not lose continuity by going in umpteen different directions....As far as immediate concerns, he loves his up-the-middle defense with guys like Hollander and Cohan. The mound is the question mark, with 11 pitchers on the roster but limited experience. Ability grouping puts Syosset in Conference AA-II, with 11 teams fighting for only two playoff spots....This is Fitzgerald's first year teaching at the school (social studies), and he says it'll help to be able to see his team during the day....Fitzgerald can relate to players, as he still swings a bat in the Men's Senior Baseball League.

Quote: "When you're older sometimes you use a phrase or quote a movie, and they have no idea what you're talking about. That's why I like the mix."--Fitzgerald on the benefits of having 24-year-old Tom Morritt as an assistant coach. Morritt was a senior on the team when Fitzgerald started as an assistant under Larry Levane.