Veteran Wolf Pac hopes to end 29-year title drought

When All-State senior pitcher Nick Masciarelli toes the rubber, Mahopac knows its chances of victory are on the rise, given the gaudy numbers he put up in a junior season that yielded a sub-1.00 ERA and an astounding 95 strikeouts in just 59 innings pitched. As the ace of the Wolf Pac staff, Masciarelli also ranks among the top high school pitchers in New York.

But with five days of rest between most starts, he can’t do it alone. Fortunately, the Wolf Pac flamethrower (5-1, 0.826 ERA in 2025) doesn’t think he’ll have to bring the heat all by himself in 2026.

“I like where we are at with our pitching staff,” said Masciarelli, who plays third base when he’s not on the mound. “Every arm we had last year has been working really hard, and we also have some more young arms that are following the same path. I believe that our pitching staff is deep and should be very good this year.”

With the Wagner College-bound Masciarelli leading what looks to be a solid pitching staff, expectations are high that Mahopac — after going 18-8 last season — may make 2026 the year it finally returns to section championship glory for the first time since going back-to-back in 1997, the last of former legendary coach (and current interim superintendent) Frank Miele’s five sectional titles.

“My expectations for the team this year is to win the section,” said Masciarelli, whose fastball tops out in the mid-80s. “After getting to the finals last year and losing to a very good Fox Lane team, we return most of our guys. But as a team we can’t get too ahead of ourselves and we have to focus on winning game one and keep going game by game after that.”

Fourth-year Mahopac coach Anthony Nappi can also rely upon arms like Jeremy O’Keefe (1.23 ERA, .129 batting average against) and RJ Grabeklis (4-0, 3.14 ERA) for a formidable rotation. Ryan Marino, Louis Girau and Jack McKenna round out the staff.

Many familiar faces return, and Nappi expects this unit to make a strong run, just as it did in 2025 before losing to the aforementioned Foxes in the sectional finals. Fox Lane went on to the state finals before losing to Section IV champion Horseheads.

All-Section senior catcher Drew Lichtenberger (.405 BA, 5 HRs, 25 RBI) brings plenty of clout to the Mahopac lineup while providing a top-flight backstop. His moxie on the diamond is evident — and necessary as the vocal leader of the team.

“We’ve got a lot of guys back and everyone has been putting in a ton of work this offseason,” said Lichtenberger, among the finest signal callers in the state. “At the end of the day, baseball is baseball. It usually comes down to execution and who throws strikes and plays clean that day. Our focus right now is just keeping things simple, competing and getting a little better every day. The pitching staff has been working really hard and building depth, and the goal is to have multiple guys ready to step up whenever their number is called.

“Expectations are always to compete and put ourselves in a good spot at the end of the season. If we stay focused, play for each other, and take things one game at a time, we’ll give ourselves a chance to be right there when it matters.”

The infield is loaded with experience and utility players. In addition to Masciarelli at 3B on non-pitching days, there’s steady shortstop Vince Cataldo (.316 BA, 24 steals, 23 runs) and second baseman Grabeklis. Hunter Eckstein and Matt Bentivenga will both get time at first base/DH, while Jake Walpole and Jacob Mendez fill utility roles that give the Wolf Pac plenty of flexibility in both the infield and outfield.

Two starters return in the outfield, including speedsters Nate Mascoll (.308 BA, 10 RBI, 17 steals) and LF Lorenzo Enchandy. Mascoll brings an All-Section skill set and defensive prowess.

“Our team goal is to keep it simple, one game at a time,” said Nappi, who guided Somers to a sectional title in 2022 before taking over the Mahopac program in 2023. “It starts with our league, obviously other games are important for seeding too, but we haven’t won the league in a while. It would be nice to get the league title back. Ultimately the main objective is to get back to where we were last year and finish the job we started.”

Class AA baseball – with 20 contenders in all – is fully loaded. The Wolf Pac will have a lot to contend with beginning in its own division, League C, which also features defending champion Yorktown, plus Brewster, Horace Greeley, Lakeland and local rival Carmel.

“We have a strong group coming back,” Nappi said. “We have our work cut out for ourselves. Rye and Clarkstown North have some serious talent, not to mention there are most definitely teams out there that will surprise people like we did last year. We’re going to keep our heads down, work hard and stick to playing team baseball. If we can do that and have each other’s back day in and day out it’ll lead us to where we want to be.”

Correction: due to an editorial error, a previous version had incorrect information about the season opener.