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2012 HERALD High School BASEBALL / SOFTBALL Preview
ELMONT
Schedule 2 3 7 10 11 12 18 19 20 23 24 26 30
Unfinished business awaits Spartans
L
ast spring, the Spar tans went into the final w eek of the baseball season needing to win just one of three games against Uniondale to assur e themselves of a spot in the inaugural Countywide conference championship game. That victory never came, leaving Elmont looking to exact a little r evenge on conference foes in 2012. Coach Robert Gates likes the makeup of his team. "We lost two big hitters, but we have our top f our pitchers and our entir e infield back," he said. “I'll tak e pitching and defense an y day. This year is a bout finishing. We were right there a year ago. We have Uniondale the last series a gain. Chances are that we'll need to tak e care of business late in the season." Ricardo Tross is one of the county's hardest throwers with a f astball that tops out in the mid 80s . Tross, who went 5-2 as a junior, has impr oved his secondary pitches. When he's not on the hill, T ross will play second base. He'll occupy a spot in the middle of the order. Junior Danny Aguilo, who gained national attention by striking out 21 ba tters in a no-hit, no-r un victory over Hempstead, has ter rific control and mix es up four different pitches. The three-year starter at shortstop handles the bat well. Seniors Alvaro Pimentel and Enrique Sanchez are battling for the thir d spot in the rotation. Pimentel will play right field, and Sanchez, a f our-year varsity player, will handle the hot corner. Sebastian Pimentel batted over .400 and blasted three homers as a junior . The first baseman should have the oppor tunity to knock in plenty of runs. Catcher Kevin Peguero, who hit .375 as a sophomor e, is working hard on his defense. Junior center fielder Mik e Braun, who will likely hit second, and senior left fielder Darius Guy join Alv aro Pimentel in the outfield. Senior J onathan Green-Groves will also see a lot of time in the outfield. Sophomore Malik Todd should g et plenty of opportunities at the plate.
Lady Spartans hope to compete for title
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oming off a solid third-place finish in 2011, Elmont is f aced with the c hallenge of replacing its entire outfield ld and a solid pitc her, but graduation was as tough on every team in the conference. The Lady Spartans should be in the he hunt for a title in a Confer ence AA-III II composed of Hempstead, Valley Stream m Central, Uniondale, Westbury, Great Neck ck South, and Herricks. Elmont coach John Squillace is optitimistic about is team's c hance of earning ng the league's sole playoff berth. "We should uld be very good defensi vely, which should uld enable us to be in e very game," Squillace ace said. "Our pitc hers are very capable, but they're relatively inexperienced. I lik e the way we're looking in the early going. If our pitchers throw strikes, I'm very confident ent that our defense will get the job done." Senior Elizabeth Redguard and sophohomore Shelby Escobar will handle the pitchching duties f or the Lad y Spartans. While hile both have some decent experience in the the circle, both are works in progress. Each h of the hurlers has good pop in their ba t and will hit in the middle of the Elmont batting ing order. Squillace is hoping f or big things fr om Jammy Ayala. The sophomore catcher her had a solid season on the junior v arsity ity in 2011, both a t the pla te and behind the the dish. Senior Alicia R edguard, an ex cellent defensive player, returns at shortstop top for Elmont. Junior Amba Jagnarine could uld emerge as the strongest hitter on the team. am. Jagnarine's ability to pla y second base ase,, third base, and e very outfield position, on, gives the Lady Spartans more flexibility. Seniors Rose Daniels and Bria Duhaney ney will play first base and thir d base, respecpectively. Both have been v ery pleasant surprises in the pr eseason. Senior center fielder Bria Fisher will lik ely hit at the top of the order and lead the outfield defense. The fleet-footed Fisher her should be an ef fective table setter. Junior ior Natalie Santiago will play left field. Santiatiago could bat in the second spot in the order.
4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m.
May 1 3 14 15 16
@ G.N. South G.N. South Uniondale @ Uniondale Uniondale
4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL March 28 @ Hempstead
4:30 p.m.
April 2 11 16 18 20 24 28
G.N. South V.S. Central Uniondale @ Westbury @ Herricks Hempstead @ G.N. South
4:15 p.m. 10:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m.
May 1 3 4 8
@ V.S. Central @ Uniondale Westbury Herricks
Sebastian .......................
PIMENTEL
Elizabeth ............................
REDGUARD
4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 4:15 p.m. 4:45 p.m.
FIRST BASE
ELMONT • SPARTANS
BY ANDREW McCLURE
@ Hempstead Hempstead @ Hempstead Westbury @ Westbury @ Westbury Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Sewanhaka @ Sewanhaka Sewanhaka G.N. South
PITCHER
Photos by Susan Grieco
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March 29, 2012 — Baseball/Softball Preview - Herald Community Newspapers
April
BASEBALL