MOOSIC – The way Pittston Area baseball coach Paul Zaffuto sees it, he lost one special group to graduation, but he has another on the way to try to shape into another championship contender.
The Patriots went 12-2 in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 and 17-4 overall last season with the help of seniors Jeremy Cawley, Troy Davis, Drew Menendez, Anthony Ranieli, Nick Cerasaro and Anthony Cencetti, who all finished their career by starting in the District 2-4 Class 5A Subregional championship game at PNC Field.
“We lost a great corps of kids that I trained from the time they were nine years old, so they understood how I wanted to play the game,” Zaffuto said. “We lost a lot of talent, a lot of speed, but this young corps of guys I have coming up in the next 3-4 years is probably the most talented group I’ve had in the last 25 years.”
The next step is getting the most out of that talent.
“If they can get that mentality of the kids that we graduated and lost already – to get that understanding of the way we want to play and how we buy into playing as a team, I think that we can be really good in the next couple years, especially led by Elijah Barr on the mound,” Zaffuto said.
Barr posted a 1.15 ERA and was unbeaten on he mound, striking out five times as many batters as he walked, until working all the way into extra innings of the subregional final. He also led the team in triples while ranking second in doubles and third in RBI as a freshman.
Center fielder Drew DeLucca, catcher Jake Aftewicz and Barr all hit better than .350 a year ago when DeLucca was second on the team in hits, runs and stolen bases.
Aftewicz split time behind the plate as a freshman and took over the position full-time as a sophomore.
“I always say he’s a guy who would catch without the gear on,” Zaffuto said.
Aftewicz is also a guy who works with the pitchers throughout the offseason when they want to throw and has spent time in the batting cages with Silvio Giardina as he works his way back from injury.
“We’re trying to get back here and finish it off this year,” Aftewicz said when he joined Zaffuto and three of his teammates for Bill Howerton Baseball and Softball Media Day at PNC Field March 3.
DeLucca was anxious for the start of official practice, which began the next day.
“We’re looking forward to getting everybody on the field all at once,” DeLucca said. “We’ve had some guys in the basketball playoffs and wrestling at regionals, so getting everybody back to work as a whole unit, is something we’re looking forward to.”
Barr is likely to be at first base when not pitching, but is capable of playing elsewhere in the infield.
Giardina was set at second base last season before an early-season injury a year ago. He also could join Barr at the top of the pitching staff.
Beau Widdick also started in the middle infield last year as a freshman.
Freshman Nick Innamorati is another good defensive option in the infield along with Rich Tonte.
Brady Baldrica, who gained some experience as a left-handed pitcher, can also play first base.
DeLucca could be flanked in the outfield by Dominic Innamorati, another player who started last year as a freshman, and Elijah Mead, who got some work on the mound last season.