The baseball team enjoyed an unparalleled level of success in 2010, winning the state championship and making it look easy with a 15-2 drubbing of Guilderland High School in the Class AA finals.
But with a significant number of high-profile players lost to graduation, including Jimmy Briggs — the 2010 Carl Yastrzemski Award winner as the most outstanding player in Suffolk County — head coach Mike Canobbio and the Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them if they are to defend their state crown.
In addition to Briggs, Lindenhurst also graduated a trio of hurlers who dominated Suffolk County last year: Tom Bammann, Joe Lozizio and Dan DiBlasi.
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"We have to replace our pitchers, that’s our major concern," Canobbio said. "We graduated three pitchers who never lost a game."
And don't forget about first baseman John McGibbon, who was drafted in the 26th round by the Seattle Mariners and is playing at Clemson University, currently the fifth-ranked team in the country.
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The good news? They didn't lose everybody. Steven Skon, the team's starting shortstop is back. Though he'll play football at Georgetown next fall, he returns as an all-county shortstop and a big part of the Bulldogs offense.
Mike Roehrig, a 2010 Gold Glove winner in center field and Stony Brook commit, is also coming back and should solidify the middle of the Bulldogs lineup.
They also return second team all-Long Island pitcher Rich Barana, who was 9-0 last season. Though these players will be asked to step up and fill voids left by last year's graduates, coach Canobbio isn't worried.
"We have as much talent as anyone," he said. "Truthfully, what it comes down to is the seniors wanting to win as much as the kids wanted to win last year."
Record last year: 26-1
Head coach: Mike Canobbio
Top players:
- Steven Skon, SS
- Mike Roehrig, CF
- Rich Barana, SP
- Ryan Manning, 3B
- Alex Ganao, C
Key Losses: Losing McGibbon and Briggs leaves enough of a void to make any coach want to tear up his lineup card. Briggs finished 2010 with an out-of-this-world .683 on-base percentage. The Bulldogs are significantly lighter on the mound this year as well after losing their trio of starters.
Expectations: Canobbio is looking to see if this team can rise to a level where they can compete with anyone on Long Island, but he's not getting ahead of himself either.
"Our first goal is always to make the playoffs," he said. "Every year we go into the season the same way: make the playoffs, and see what happens from there."
With talent like Skon, Manning and Ganao bolstering his lineup though, look for the Bulldogs to make a deep run again this year.
Big games: The Bulldogs will start the season with a three-game series with Connetquot, the only team to defeat them in 2010, on April 4, 5 and 7. Lindenhurst beat them two more times in the regular season, and then once more in the playoffs last season.
Eleven days later, they'll meet Sachem North in a three-game series on April 18, 20 and 23. North went 16-7 last season, and will return a number of starters this season.
According to Canobbio, Connetquot, Sachem North and Northport are the three biggest threats to Lindenhurst's chances of a repeat.
"Our first series is Connetquot, they are a perennial powerhouse," he said. "Sachem North is loaded with experienced players. Northport, too. Those are the three best teams. They’re experienced, they’re talented, they’re well-coached and they’re going to be tough."
