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Let’s start off with an easy one: How do you like playing for Coach [Tom Sheedy]?

It’s great. He always has a get-after-it attitude. He always looks to make us better, but he tries to find the holes in what we have so we can improve on that.

Another easy question: Favorite major leaguer?

Bryce Harper; I liked him when he first started and made his debut. Just his energy and the way he plays, I always liked following him.

Massapequa has three Division I players on the roster right now. But who are some of the younger players that you’re excited to see?

Bobby Stang is one of them. He was with us last year. He didn’t get a lot of time because of Nick Schwartz, but the kid can rake and he’s definitely going to be a big part of the team. Also Danny Sohn. He played left field for us last year as a sophomore and he hits. The kid hits and he’s a really good fielder. So, to see where he ends up after most of the seniors leave will be interesting.

Let’s talk about the Massapequa International Little League. What’s it like playing there with the amount of talent coming out of there?

I was with Massapequa Coast Williamsport Little League and it was the other side. But for both, there’s so many kids. In Little League, you have fun. The travel teams are the travel teams. Everyone knows who’s on those teams. But you all just play with your friends and you have fun. But the main thing is that’s there’s so many numbers. You just played and all the kids made each other better.

How did you like the home run call on your walk-off home run against Farmingdale?

That’s always a funny one because that’s one of my best friends that called it. So, we always bust his chops over that. But it was great. Just being able to produce for the team, against Farmingdale especially, it’s always great.

Who’s the most influential person(s) in your playing career?

Well, my dad is number one. He’d be the first one I could say off the top of my head because he taught me, he brought me up. He was actually my coach, too, until I was 12-13. So, he’s really the one that taught me a lot of what I know.

How did your commitment to [Coastal Carolina University] come about? Was there anybody that helped you along the way?

I wanted to go down south. A couple of years ago, I went down there with Joe Reda and we went into a showcase and toured the school and I fell in love with it. Last year, I was lucky enough to play a tournament on their campus and I did really well and was able to talk to the coach.

Any advice on how to standout to coaches at tournaments and showcases?

Just play, honestly. They all look for the measurables. But just be a good teammate and just play. If you do good, it’ll stand out on its own.

Speaking of measurables, how have you gone about improving your speed?

Honestly, I don’t really practice that. I like to maintain my speed and my agility just because I like to go run around in the outfield and stuff. But over the summer you go through so many of these workouts that you just get into a rhythm with it. You got to get comfortable with yourself and just go.

What did you do this offseason to improve?

I’ve done the same thing forever. I did speed and agility. I did a lot more of the strength training this year, but I always like to keep the agility part just to be able to stay agile and be able to move if needed. 

Who are some of the top pitchers that you’ve faced in your high school career?

Justin Rosner is definitely the top. He’s able to throw the fastball in the mid to upper 80s and then he can place his curveball and slider perfectly.

What’s it like playing alongside the “handsome” Travis Honeyman?

Playing with him, it always makes me better. Especially last year, my hitting group was him, Nick Schwartz, and myself. And I feel like I don’t hit the ball at all compared to the two of them last year. So just watching how the ball comes off his bat, even Johnny Castagnozzi’s bat, it makes me want to work harder to get to their level.

Let’s talk about Johnny Castagnozzi. You guys are the same age. When did you realize that this was going to be a special group?

We were told in middle school. Our coach sat us down and said, “This group will win a state championship.” Now, I don’t know if he meant our senior year or when some of us were up as sophomores, but coming up through middle school, they started to get an idea that we would be a good group. We just needed to not let it get to our head. They told us, “You got to keep working and you have to come together as a team more.” But it ended up working out.

In 2018, you guys were 5-6 at one point. What clicked after that moment?

We had a talk one practice. Coach [Tom Sheedy] and Coach Rob Cafiero took us behind the center field wall and basically ripped us. Just brutally honest. Basically, everyone said that we had to get our heads straight. And then we went on a run. We won 8 of 9. We don’t know what it was, but everyone started getting hot at the same time.

Coach [Tom Sheedy] likes to put emphasis on the senior leadership. Is that something that you would agree with?

Yeah, there’s no one set captain. Every senior has a role whether it’s the senior committee, who’s picking the uniforms, or even just being there. It’s just the experience – passing it down to the younger guys and knowing what it takes to win. That’s what they emphasize on.

Do you feel some responsibility now that you’re a senior and you have all these freshmen coming in?

Yeah, I’m the example in the outfield. When you get to be a senior, you’ve been through it. You start to know what they look for and know what they expect from their players. So, that’s what you try to pass on to people.

Class A in Nassau County changed to no series. Everyone plays each other once. If Class AA were to do that, is that something that you would be in favor of?

Not at all. I like how they have the two conferences. I think that’s great. Even this year, they were going to have us do crossover games. But there’s no need for that just because of the travel distance for some of them. But it’s nice because you get to know who you’re playing against. It’s fun.

Massapequa is great at every sport it seems. Is there sort of a civil rivalry within the school or do you all root for one another?

We have kids in our school that are multi-sport athletes. It’s always just a “you’re up, it’s your season”. That’s kind of what it is. We all root for each other, we’re all friends in the school. Everyone’s pulling for each other.

What’s been the hardest part of this so far? Being a senior, you might not have your senior year.

Yeah, there’s still a chance that we may not have a season. That’s the hardest part. Early on, it was “I hope we don’t lose Florida,” and then it’s “I hope we don’t lose this or that,” and then when it starts getting to the point where coach is telling us that this might be the last time on the field as a group together, that’s when I start to realize I may not have a senior day and senior year. Especially after losing last year, you want one last chance at redemption.