Player Profiles: Seaford Baseball Seniors

The Seaford baseball team has a senior-laden roster in 2011 with high hopes of ending their high school careers in championship style.

Seaford (2-0) is off to a good start in its quest to capture a Nassau County Conference A-V title after posting wins over Floral Park and Mepham to open the season. Seaford’s seven seniors recently met with Wantagh-Seaford Patch’s Jason Pollak about their goals for 2011 and beyond.

David Hraska-catcher

Patch
How has it been playing at Seaford over the last four years?
Hraska
It has been good. When I was a freshman, I was in the outfield. I was converted into a catcher in 10th grade. The last couple of years we made the playoffs. We were eliminated, but we’re working on it. We got some good kids on our team this year.
Patch
Who do you think will play a big role in your team's success this year?
Hraska
We have all made a lot of progress over the last couple years. Mike Kalista and Bobby Ryan have been working on their pitching game a lot. I think we have some solid players who have only gotten better. It will be a fun season.
Patch
How did you prepare for the season? What did you do during the off-season?
Hraska
I played on a travel team over the summer. During the winter I did strength training. I have been doing that since November up until the pre-season started. I also did some running and other conditioning drills every other day.
Patch
What is your baseball background? How did you come to love the sport so much?
Hraska
I got brought into baseball by my neighbor. He was always playing and eventually I joined him. We always played outside, had a catch or hit ground balls to each other. Unfortunately his mom, Mary-Anne Muller, recently passed away this January. She was a big part of my life, especially his. She will be greatly missed.

Patch
How are you approaching your senior year? Is this season dedicated to her?
Hraska
Yea I just want to give it my all in my last year on this team. We have all been practicing and training hard for our final year. We will all definitely keep in mind the memory of Mary-Anne. She was such a big part of my life and my early childhood. I just want to play well for her.

Mike Kalista- left fielder/pitcher

Patch
What is your background in baseball?
Kalista
When I was younger my dad always encouraged me to play baseball. Since then baseball has been my life, my dad raised me that way. I was always a leader on my teams. I played summer baseball every year. I played on junior varsity in 9th and 10th grade. I have been playing on varsity since 11th grade.

Patch
How did you adjust to the varsity level?
Kalista
Last year I felt was kind of my break out year. I felt I played some of my best baseball. A few people also went down with injuries, so I stepped up when my team needed me.

Patch
How do you handle playing left field and pitching?
Kalista
I mostly start in left field. When they need me to pitch, I’m always there. We have a solid staff this year, so I’m third in the rotation.

Patch
What would you like to accomplish in your last year at Seaford?
Kalista
We would like to win the county championship. That is always our goal. Not that we want to stop there, but that’s where we definitely want to get to.

Bobby Ryan-starting pitcher/outfield

Patch
How did you prepare for season?
Ryan
I worked out all winter at Performance Factory in Farmingdale.

Patch
What did you work on?
Ryan
I worked on my curve ball. It has become my go to pitch. I throw mid 80’s, so hopefully it is a nice complement to that. It is something to keep hitters off balance.

Patch
What is your background in baseball?
Ryan
I have been playing baseball since I was 5. It was my favorite sport. I am also a big Yankee fan. Alex Rodriguez is my favorite player. He takes a lot of heat, but he is a good player.

Patch
How would you like to finish your senior year?
Ryan
I would like to win a county championship. I want to step up my game from last year. I would like to add some more wins.

Patch
Anything after high school?
Ryan
I am looking at a couple schools such as Adelphi and Molloy.

Mike Lescher- outfield/pitcher

Patch
What led you to start pitching?
Lescher
My summer team needed pitching, so I tried it out. I found out I was actually kind of good at it. I was able to throw strikes and I liked pitching. My coaches helped me improve, so we will see how this year goes.
Patch
What are your aspirations for this season?
Lescher
We would like to win a county championship. We have all grown up playing together. I think we will be a tough team to beat. We are not scared of anyone, I think we can do some damage this year.
Patch
What are your plans for after high school?
Lescher

I am playing hockey at Hofstra. I play on offense. I play some wing and center.

Sean Walsh- first base/relief pitcher

Patch
How did you prepare for this season?
Walsh
I couldn’t play too much unfortunately over the summer, I got a job. However, I did throw the ball around whenever I got the chance. I’m glad the season is finally here.

Patch
What is your background in baseball?
Walsh
My older brother got me into it. He knows a lot about the game. There was never really a rivalry between us, we both just fed off of each other.

Patch

What are your goals for your senior year?
Walsh
I want to win a county championship. I think we have some strong pitching and good bats. Our fielding is really good. I think we have a good shot at it.

Anthony Migliore- outfielder/relief pitcher

Patch
How do you feel you are going to contribute to the team this year?
Migliore
I feel as though I will contribute well as a pitcher. I’ll be ready to go whenever my coach needs me. I also play left field, but I can play some right field and center field too. We have a great team this year. I think I bring a lot of life to our team. We have all been playing with each other for a number of years. We are just a fun group of guys.

Patch
How long have you guys been playing together?
Migliore
I have known these guys since middle school. We go back a pretty long time. These are the guys I hang out with on the weekend. We are all pretty close.

Patch
Do you think that closeness is important for a team to succeed?
Migliore
Yea, I think team chemistry is extremely important. If we aren’t all together, things can fall apart. We have to back each other up out there.

Patch
What is your background in baseball?
Migliore
My dad introduced me to the game when I was young. I also watched it on television. My dad also took me to a bunch of games as a kid. The Yankees are my favorite team, so I followed them.

Patch
What are your aspirations for this season?
Migliore
We of course want to win the county championship. That has been a goal for all of us since we got here. I just want to pitch well when I’m needed and contribute to my team however I can.

Keith George- utility player

Patch
What position do you play?
George
I play every position. I’m more of a utility player. I basically just play everywhere.

Patch
How do you prepare yourself to play infield and outfield?
George
I start out practice in the infield. I stay there for most of the practice. Eventually I’ll move out to the outfield and take some fly balls.

Patch
How did you prepare for the season?
George
I played for the Queens Cardinals. I played mostly second base for them. I also played right field. Playing for them really got me ready. There are a lot of talented players from the New York area. Playing against all of them, I think has made me better.

Patch
How did you develop the diversity to play everywhere?
George
As a kid I kind of played everywhere. When I got to middle school I was mostly an infielder. When I got to varsity I started to play in other positions. I just adapted to whatever situation I was in.

Patch
What are your goals for this season? 

George

I would really just like to win a county championship. We have all been working extremely hard for it. It would be nice to end my career here that way.