John Jay baseball looks to push for a championship

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - Last spring, John Jay reached the semi-finals of the sectionals and ran into a behemoth. 

Aidan Kempf pitched a two-hit shutout for Nanuet and scored both runs on doubles. 

“It was our first talk this season as a unit,” said Ted Lawrence. But the Wolves are just going to get back to business, and success starts on the mound.

“Throw strikes, that’s what you need,” said the third year manager, and he feels pretty confident in his two big horses.

First up is the return of Mitch Hammer after Tommy John Surgery. “He looks like himself,” said Lawrence.

That means a good fastball, good command and being effective with the off speed, and the same goes for Jacob Storch. In his third year on varsity, boasted Lawrence, “He looks great.”

No rest on off days, the junior returns to shortstop. But with Nick Fassert gone, John Jay needs a replacement when Storch is on the mound. “That’s a void we have to fill,” the manager revealed, and he is currently looking at Luke Fish and Sean O’Meara.

Otherwise, the Wolves have plenty of experience returning on defense. Nolan Rhodes will be at first, Will Civetta at third and Ryan Valdes will lock down second. As for the outfield, Jackson Moreo will patrol center, and Elliot Arbogast returns in right.

There is new blood, though. Henrik Zhai or Matt Denker are making a run at left, and Steve Carozo will fill the catching duties. “He didn’t have much action last year but certainly worked hard this off season and looks very good,” said Lawrence.

At the plate, they’ll be familiarity at the top and the obvious change. “”We’ll have Jacob, CIvetta, Nolan Rhodes and Elliot Arbogast and then go from there,” he said.

Hopefully, the bases will be cluttered as a result, and the idea is for the Wolves to always put their best foot forward.  “Smart, aggressive is what we call it,” clarified Lawrence.

So on their toes, the goal is threefold. “We want a winning record, which hopefully lets us win the league, and the third goal is to push past the semi and the finals to win this thing,” he concluded.