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Sports

2011 Preview: Kings Park Baseball

In his first year as head coach, Mike Luzim leads Kingsmen in defense of county title.

Coming off a Suffolk County championship, naturally the Kings Park baseball team’s aspirations are high. However, part of the challenge facing first-year head coach Mike Luzim, an assistant on last year’s squad, is keeping the Kingsmen’s short-term goals in focus. One inning at a time, one game at a time – that’s the mode in which he’d like to have his squad as they begin the season Tuesday against Riverhead.

The fact remains, though, that this KP group has the kind of talent capable of duplicating last year’s postseason performance. First, it has to get there, and that’s no guarantee considering the challenges they’ll face in a treacherous League V schedule.

Coach: Mike Luzim (1st year)

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Last Year’s Record: 17-8, 13-5 League V

2010 Playoffs: Won Suffolk County championship (beat Sayville 9-2, Islip 3-0, Mount Sinai 5-2, Hauppauge 4-3; lost to Wantagh 9-2 in Long Island championship)

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Key Losses:

  • Brandon Haney, All-County P/1B, playing at Flagler College (Fla.)
  • Chris Kalousdian, All-League SS, playing at Manhattan College
  • Chris Pyz, P/CF, playoff MVP, playing at SUNY-New Paltz

Pitching: Senior Nick Venier comes in as the team’s ace. He went 2-0 last year and led the team in strikeouts. Venier’s fastball has been clocked as high as 89 miles per hour, and he features a curveball and changeup along with a developing split-finger fastball.

Sophomore Joe Guercio came up from the junior varsity level and notched his first varsity win in the 2010 season finale against Harborfields. He isn’t overpowering, but he throws three pitches for strikes. Guercio also exhibits mound presence beyond his years.

Junior Kevin Gurlides “shows flashes of really good stuff,” said Luzim, and has a chance to be a reliable arm for Kings Park. The righthander has shown a good curveball and decent changeup to go with a fastball that arrives quickly due to his 6-foot-5 frame.

Luzim expects juniors Matt Capobianco and Brad Bisca to be formidable pitchers out of the bullpen.

Catching: Senior Joe Auliano caught every inning of every game as a junior and is one of the best backstops in all of League V. A .300 hitter last spring, he’ll not only hit in the middle of the Kingsman order but also is an excellent receiver and thrower from behind the dish.

Infield: The Kingsmen’s corner infielders are the anchors to the team. In addition to being the team’s ace on the mound this year, Venier was an All-League led the team in most offensive categories, including home runs. He’s committed to play at The College of Saint Rose (N.Y.) next spring. First baseman Henry Baker will serve as the team’s captain. He split time with Haney in 2010, but in addition to providing a solid glove, he’ll hit fourth or fifth in the KP order after topping .300 as a junior. Baker delivered a two-out, seventh-inning single in last year’s Suffolk title game against Hauppauge that provided the winning margin.

Shane O’Leary slides over from second base, where he started every game, to become the Kingsmen’s everyday shortstop. O’Leary is a plus defender, and with his speed and pop – he led the team in doubles a year ago – he’s slated to hit at or near the top of the order. Capobianco shifts from third base to second. After a strong season on JV, he was promoted to varsity for the title run. He brings a good left-handed bat with speed as well as solid defense.

Outfield: Senior center fielder Nick Borkowski was a top performer for two years on JV before taking last year off. He’ll be a vital part of this year’s squad. His athleticism is a major plus – he was both the football team’s starting quarterback and the basketball team’s starting point guard. Borkowski exhibits tremendous speed and showed no ill effects of time off, homering against Smithtown West ace Anthony Gatto in KP’s first scrimmage. He’s the Kingsmen’s likely leadoff hitter this spring.

Mike Zucker returns for his senior season after making the start in left field in roughly three-quarters of last year’s games. His best asset is his defensive play. In right, Bisca brings a solid bat and strong throwing arm. He was the Most Valuable Player of last year’s JV team.

Expectations: “I’m trying to get the kids to forget about last year,” Luzim said. “Last year was an unbelievable year. No one expected anything. This year, teams are going to know that we’re a decent program. We want to focus one out at a time, one game at a time. We’re not thinking about anything but our next game. In my opinion, I think we should make the playoffs, and then, if you get hot at the right time, you never know what could happen. We have the potential to go back to the Suffolk County championship.

“I see our team as being very similar to what we had last year, but the leadership I don’t see yet,” Luzim added. “Haney, Kalousdian, Pyz, they were true leaders. We have similar talent, but things have to fall into place. We can do it.”

Schedule:

  • March 29: vs. Riverhead (non-league)
  • April 4-7: Huntington
  • April 11-14: Deer Park
  • April 18-23: Eastport-South Manor
  • April 25-28: Islip
  • May 3: at Ward Melville (non-league)
  • May 9-12: Harborfields
  • May 16-18: Hauppauge

News & Notes: Luzim replaces Mike Prisco, who stepped down to spend more time with his family. Prisco will serve as an assistant coach at Sachem East. … Luzim played baseball at and graduated from Kings Park in 2000. He went on to play collegiate ball at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, and then pitched briefly for the New Haven County Cutters of the independent Can-Am League in 2005. A teacher at KPHS, Luzim coached three years on JV before being appointed an assistant on last year’s county title team. … Haney’s brother, Bobby, starred at Kings Park and then the University of South Carolina before being selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 22nd round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

It’s the first year that Kings Park will put together a yearbook. To place an ad, contact head coach Mike Luzim at luzimm@kpcsd.org.

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