Junior pitcher Jordan Issackedes warming up before the season. Issackedes will likely be the ace of the Indians rotation this year, and will start the home opener.
Spring Sports Preview: Baseball
Head coach: Will Lynch (10th Season)
Last year’s record: 15-11 (8-2 in league play)
Key returnees: Matt Novakowski (Sr. C/DH), Jack Devanna (Sr. C), Carson Weis (Sr. 1B), Riley Weis (Sr., P/3B), Frankie Cascio (Sr., RF/DH), Alex DeRosa (Sr., CF/P), Ricky Lutz (Jr. LF), Justin Martin (So., SS), Nick Verost (Sr., P), Jordan Issackedes (Jr., P), Jake Klag (Jr., P),
Key losses: Mike Pimpinella (2B),
Key newcomers: Austin Piorkowski (Jr., 3B), Alex Criscuolo (Sr., 2B)
Strengths of team: Experience on both sides of the diamond. There will potentially be 7 seniors starting this year, the largest amount in a a few years, according to Lynch. While this experience will likely help them on defense, the offense of this team is something all teams coming up against them should be wary of. According to Lynch, the whole Indian lineup is very strong and he knows he’ll certainly get other team’s best pitchers because if they don’t his whole lineup will hit well.
Areas that need improvement: Lack of pitching experience. The Indians will have a lot of youth on the mound this year, which means a lack of varsity experience, and may not translate to immediate success. However, Lynch acknowledged the innate talent of all of the pitchers and thinks that that may balance out some of the inexperience.
Outlook: The Indians are looking to win their 4th league title in a row, something that has never been done before. Lynch has a strong and experienced group with him to help try and reach this accomplishment. With the expectations for this team being so high, the Indians will also most likely be competing against the best of each team they face this year. On top of that, the Indians have a challenging schedule, including games against parochial powerhouse St. Joseph’s Regional and reigning Group 3 champions Northern Highlands. With an equally tough schedule last year, PV advanced to the third round of the Bergen County Tournament, so the Indians have proven to be up to any challenge. Even with a tough schedule again this year, this veteran group of varsity players, many of them three year varsity contributors, will definitely look to make waves this year.
Coach’s comment: “Our objective is not to win every game, our objective is to be competitive every day, and if we do that, I think we’re going to be good,” Lynch said. “You need to be the best player every day. You need to be the best team every day.”