By Matthew Kipnis
On Wed., May 8, the top two baseball teams in the Nassau County Conference will compete in the championship game at SUNY Farmingdale College. With nine wins and two losses, South’s varsity baseball team will look to win their third consecutive county title this year as they square off against the first place Sewanhaka Indians.
“After winning the division the last two seasons in a row, winning the division again is expected,” senior Steven Farkas said.
Sewanhaka defeated the Rebels twice this season, 8-6 and 7-3, but this does not worry the Rebels. “We are not worried because we feel our talent is better than Sewanhaka’s. Both games were close heart-breakers; however, we feel we can still win,” said senior Jeremy T.
“I tell my players to execute the routine plays properly and make sure to have good at bats. I want to do the simple things right; I am not looking for ESPN highlights, just routine plays,” head varsity baseball coach Ciro Ambrosio said.
Senior starter Farkas agreed that in order to achieve the “three-peat,” they must continue to play with offensive and defensive consistency, making the simple plays properly. The Rebels have done just that, winning nine of their 11 games. The Indians have not had a strong team in previous years; however, pitchers Nick Dempsey and Brain Murphy have been strong for their team, totaling a combined nine wins and one loss for the team.
The Rebels’ pitching has been a large part of their success this season as well. All pitchers, senior Teddy Z., junior Thomas K., sophomore Mitchell Cohen and sophomore Daniel H., have been reliable for the team, racking up a combined seven wins for the team.
The team graduated 10 seniors from the previous season, making this Rebels team an extremely young team. Although the starting lineup features three underclassman and several juniors, the Rebels have achieved success on the field and look to continue that success in the future. Farkas explained, “The seniors on the team view it as our responsibility to prepare and teach our younger teammates for their future seasons at South. The experience that these younger players obtain will, hopefully, allow the Great Neck South baseball to perform in the future at a higher level.”
But for now, their focus is on this season and winning their third consecutive county title.