After an impressive 19-6 regular season record by the 2015-16 John Jay Varsity Baseball Team, the 2016-17 team will be pursuing an equally productive season this year. Last year’s baseball team was led by Seniors Justin Drpich, Chase Borowitz, Jared Kersh, and Alex Rajovic, who were some of the strongest batters and pitchers on the team. Now that 6 of the starting 9 players from last year are gone, many oare wondering if this years team can surmount such an impressive season.

The 2016-17 Varsity Team will be lead by Seniors: Alex Kohlhagen, Matt Hegarty, and Cameron Falino (2 of the 3 continuing to play baseball in college). Juniors Greg Patti, Stephen Fisher, Cole Borowitz, Max Maslow, Jonathan Preddice, Ryan Bryggman, and Brendan Carberry will also be major contributors to the team’s productivity. Along with them, Sophomores Brett Paulson and Joe Biancone will assume the middle infield positions.

The players for this upcoming season are excited to start at their positions this season. Junior catcher Stephen Fisher states “I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things with the rest of the team. I know we have the talent to reach the level of success we did last year, it’s just a matter of how determined we are.” Already in the offseason, the baseball team is working out together in the weight room to improve their strength and conditioning. Junior Jonathan Preddice, a talented middle infielder, believes “if we as a team work together, we can be successful. Along with that, it is important that we have good relationships and can trust each other because that is the basis of a strong team.”

I believe that this year’s Varsity baseball team will continue to improve off of last year’s season. We will have great pitchers such as Ryan Bryggman and Brendan Carberry and strong batters like Alex Kohlhagen, Matt Hegarty, Brett Paulson, and Cole Borowitz. Coaches Geoff Curtis and Joe Gaudio will be working with a young starting squad this year, but I believe the team can build upon last year’s success.