Baseball: Yorktown Finishes Summer League with a Strong Season

Yorktown had a great season in the 18-and-under division of the Westchester Putnam Baseball Association as the team finished in third place and qualified for the playoffs.

In the playoffs Yorktown lost 8-4 in the opening round to a visiting Cortlandt A team that wound up playing in the finals, where it fell short to Shrub Oak 4-3.

"We were kind of short on pitching all summer long, but our guys came and competed every game and had a pretty good year," Yorktown coach Sean Kennedy said.

Kennedy's roster was filled with athletes who played on this season's Yorktown High School varsity team, which he also coaches.

"A lot of the roster is filled out with seniors who have just graduated and it gives me one more opportunity to try to do some good things with them and try to win a championship," he said.

Anthony Bambach, Michael D'Onghia, Ben Fine, Joe Frederick, Cesar Gonzalez, Tyler Lipperman, Darren McAuliffe, Sean Rooney and Scott Spiridigliozzi were the Huskers who just graduated in June and played in the summer league.

"It's important to them to play in the summer with each other," Kennedy said. "For a lot of them, it's the last time they are really playing with their classmates. They recognize that is a special thing."

Playing in the summer was also a special opportunity for Chris Mosca and Matt Seger, who just completed their junior years this spring. Kennedy said they got a valuable experience while playing this summer.

"It's really important for the juniors to get more experience before their senior year but it's also important for me as well," Kennedy said. "It gives me an opportunity to get a feel for them in game situations. It gives me a much better insight in evaluating what they can't and can do."

Playing in the summer is a necessity for players that want to compete at the highest level. Kennedy explained there were differences between playing now and during the high-school season.

"Traditionally, the high-school coaches, at least at the top programs, are pretty skilled guys and there are certain things you can and can't do against those guys," Kennedy said. "In the summer league, you have a great ability to influence the game. I don't think the intensity is the same. You want to win but you will get guys who will miss a game or two during the summer and that just doesn't happen during the varsity season."

The fact that coaches have to be ready for the potential of lineup changes in the summer can be a challenge.

"Your lineup could be significantly different in the summer while in high school, once you get to a certain point in the season, except for an injury, your lineup is pretty standard," Kennedy said. "It's a challenge game in and game out. When you select a team, you have to try to bring guys on the team that have a lot of flexibility knowing that they might have to play multiple positions."