Pitching a Key to East Hampton's Success

He is one of the quieter contributors to East Hampton’s baseball program. He doesn't drive in runs with a lethal bat or take runs from opponents with spectacular defensive plays. No, you won’t find Gregg Johnson between the baselines.

Johnson is the pitching coach for the Bellringers. From helping a senior such as Al Iannone grow into the Shoreline Conference Pitcher of the Year to helping nurture a freshman with seemingly unlimited potential like Marvin Gorgas, Johnson’s impact on this season is unquestioned.

“He takes a lot of pride in what he does,” coach Scott Wosleger said Friday. “I can guarantee you there is no assistant coach and certainly no pitching coach that works harder than he does, in our conference or around, that I’ve seen.

As part of his role as pitching coach, Johnson also is calling pitches this season.

“Overall, I think I did it pretty good,” he said. “There’s always a couple pitches you second guess.”

With a 21-4 record, pretty good might be an understatement. One key factor in the positive results is that the pitchers have bought into it and on several occasions this season, made it a point to praise the way Johnson called the game.

The season's first order of business, however, was to assemble a pitching staff. There were question marks, but it didn't hurt to have as your ace Iannone, who Johnson helped mold from a freshman into a team leader and an All-Conference pitcher.

“An unbelievable year,” Johnson said of Iannone’s 11-0 record. “He’s such a battler when he gets out there. Even when he doesn’t have his good stuff he still seems to get through it. He’s a polished pitcher. He knows how to get the ball where he wants to. Even if he doesn’t have a good fastball that day he has a changeup, curveball, cutter, he’s able to get through it.

“I’m proud of him.”

Perhaps fittingly, it is Iannone who the Bellringers have tabbed as the starting pitcher for Saturday’s Class S championship game against East Catholic.

“We’re going to go with Al,” Wosleger said. “We feel like he’s rested enough and ready to go. We can go Adam [Michaud] in relief if we need to, but A.I. will be fine.

Iannone’s spot as the No. 1 starter might have been a given at the beginning of the season. The No. 2 starter, not as much. It wasn’t long, though, before Michaud claimed the role and hasn’t looked back. Michaud, who did not have a varsity win before this season, began the year with 13 consecutive scoreless innings.

“He’s hitting location this year,” Johnson said. “Last year I think he was a little nervous and tense. He was young, he was a sophomore, so he wasn’t ready. He played a lot of ball over the summer, Legion, I think maybe he played Jaycee Courant, too.”

With Michaud, it was about mechanics, too. Getting him to keep his glove down and reduce his toe drag is something the righthander had to work on.

You can see the work paid off. With continued commitment, he’s in a position to thrive next season as the No. 1.

“If he works out he can be dominant,” Johnson said. “He’s only going to get stronger. If he gets a little stronger and adds some velocity, he’s going to be pretty devastating.”

Said Michaud: “[Johnson has] helped me along the way. He’s helped me with every pitch, Helped me with the development of my curveball. He’s just always there giving me advice, telling me how to throw. Him calling the games this year, he’s been really good at calling them.”

And then there is the freshman. Gorgas quickly developed into a late-inning luxury every coach would love to have. Quickly meaning he picked up a four-out save at Lyman Memorial the first game of the season.

Just how good can he become down the road?

“He can play Division I,” Johnson said. “It’s the effort he puts into it. He can be as good as he wants to be.”

As for Gorgas’s role next year, Johnson wouldn’t say. Right now, the righthander has proven himself invaluable as a closer.

“We have to see what happens, said Johnson, a 1979 graduate of East Hampton. “We’d like to keep him out of [a starting] role because it’s nice to have him [as a closer], but we have to see what our options are next year.”

That’s next year, however. This season, the pitching, and the depth of the staff, is a key reason East Hampton has made it to the championship game. Besides Iannone, Michaud and Gorgas, seniors Ben Fortin and Austin Shumbo have turned in quality appearances as well, including both winning key starts at the end of the season to solidify the No. 2 seed in the Shoreline and Class S tournaments.

All season Wosleger has preached pitching and defense, and he’s the last one to underestimate what Johnson, who also is the first base coach, has brought to the pitching end of things.

“He puts a lot of time and effort into it,” Wosleger said. “He’s always trying to learn more about the game and he’s always talking to the pitchers. He’s built relationships with these guys for four years now. What he’s meant to us and what he’s meant to me, as a friend and a coach, it’s been tremendous. He’s 100 percent for our program, very protective of our program and very protective of the kids. He really takes a lot of pride and ownership in his pitchers. It’s been a huge help with him the past four years.”

As for East Catholic, Wosleger feels his team is ready.

“They seem loose,” Wosleger said after practice. “I feel like their ready. I feel like they’ll play a good game and hopefully that’s good enough.”