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Baseball in the Lower Hudson Valley

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Podcast: Athlete of the season

June
30

Every high school season the good folks at The Journal News make a tough decision. We decide who wins the coveted athlete of the season award in Westchester/Putnam and in Rockland.Alex Myers and I sat down and discussed the candidates on both sides of the river this spring. It’s always a hotly debated subject, so tune in and find out how it’s determined.Download:

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 12:00 am by Josh Thomson.
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About this blog
Josh Thomson and Jake Thomases tell you who's safe and who's out as they follow baseball in the Lower Hudson Valley.

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About the authors
Jay GallagherJosh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
Jake Thomases Jake Thomases has covered baseball, hockey, girls basketball, and girls soccer for the Journal News since arriving in 2003. He previously interned at The Poughkeepsie Journal while attending Vassar College. He is socking money away under his mattress to buy the Knicks, at which time he will trade Jerome James to Cleveland for a ham sandwich.

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Dan Diaz, Nanuet, infielder: Eyes turned to the junior shortstop/pitcher after his 17-strikeout virtuoso on May 2. His next start was a no-hitter, followed by a two-hit shutout. Using a biting slider and upper 80s fastball, he went 7-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. Over the last month he batted .550 to raise his season average to .446. His 1.258 OPS was No. 3 in the county; his ERA was No. 4. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Steve Putnick, Pearl River, utility: The graduations of Sean Giblin, Ian Reese, and Jeff Allison left Putnick, a pitcher/third baseman, as Pearl River’s one returning star. The Pirates were 6-3 in his starts; 6-9 otherwise. The senior, who will walk on at Marist, threw more innings than anyone in Rockland except Aviles. He was a table-setter in the 3-hole, reaching base nearly half the time. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Adonis Germosen, East Ramapo, infielder: The Titan bats didn’t hit like they were supposed to, with one exception. Germosen, a senior catcher, belted homers in three straight games before April was even half over ‹ the last of which Carmel coach Bob Shilling called the farthest he’s ever seen at his home field. He hit a county-high six while scoring 24 runs and driving in 20, earning a late roster spot at St. Thomas Aquinas. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Bill Smith, Nanuet, outfielder: The senior provided the legs in Nanuet’s multi-pronged attack. He swiped a base in 13 different games and led the county with 16 steals overall. Part of that was opportunity ‹ he hit over.400 with a .479 on-base percentage. Because of all his mischief on the basepaths, he scored 25 runs, third-best in Rockland. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Ron Gamma, Suffern, coach of the year: After suffering a disheartening 16-0 loss on opening day, it became a wire-to-wire season for the Mounties, who quickly established themselves as the top team in Rockland and proved it by making the Class AA sectional final. Other coaches were most impressed that Gamma negotiated his way through 12 League I-B games without a loss. He knew when to step in and when to cede decisions to his pitching coach. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Jordan Kolinsky, Clarkstown South, infielder: When the senior was shelved with an ankle injury in mid-May, Clarkstown South tumbled. The Vikings went 0-7 with their pitcher/first baseman first sidelined and then hobbled. Despite the handicap, Kolinsky managed to bat .414 with 28 RBI. As a pitcher he was carefully confusing, never throwing the same speed twice in the same at-bat. His 1.78 ERA ranked No. 2 in the county. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Jim Brennan, Suffern, outfielder: Potential had exceeded production for the center fielder. Until his junior year, when he exploded for a .467 average ‹ 200 points better than last year ‹ with a county-leading 34 runs, 10 doubles and nearly .900 slugging percentage, with 25 RBI from the leadoff spot. As Suffern’s third starter he went 5-1, including a masterful playoff performance at John Jay. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Nick Viohl, North Rockland, pitcher: North Rockland leaned heavily on senior pitchers Fasano and Viohl. Viohl delivered with a 1.67 ERA, lowest in Rockland County and eighth-lowest in the section among those with at least 30 innings. He allowed only 26 hits in 46 innings, an incredible ratio. ( Angela Gaul / The Journal News )
Tyler Rorick, Tappan Zee, outfielder: Tappan Zee’s season was almost dead when Rorick pitched the Dutchmen to a 3-1 victory over Pearl River that revived their hopes. As they were winning 12 of 16 he hit in every game. He batted .500 over that stretch and .422 for the year. Without the senior’s clutch stick and arm, Tappan Zee would have folded. ( Angela Gaul / The Journal News )
Joe Ferrara, Clarkstown North, utility: With Chris O’Grady out, the toughest pitching assignments fell to the senior. Even when used in relief, it was in crucial situations, allowing him to pick up decisions in 10 of 11 appearances. As a hitter he was an on-base machine (19 walks) because of a keen eye for pitches. He’ll join Germosen and Wargo at St. Thomas Aquinas. ( Angela Gaul / The Journal News )
George Wargo, North Rockland, infielder: The preseason began with the senior in a battle to be the starting catcher. Coach Tom Lynch has to be happy with his choice after Wargo threw out 60 percent of baserunners. He thrived behind the plate, delivering a .403 average ‹ 100 points higher than last year ‹ to provide rare consistency in North Rockland’s order. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Ryan Fasano, North Rockland, pitcher: Last year’s playoff hero picked up where he left off, tossing seven shutout innings in a 1-0 opening-day win. Though his walks more than doubled, he still only issued 1.9 per seven innings. Three times he pitched more than seven innings. The final start of his career was a complete-game 1-0 loss in which he was robbed of a tying homer in the last inning. (Vincent DiSalvio / The Journal News)
Steve Prosapio, Nanuet, infielder: A victim of his own track record, the Monmouth-bound senior first baseman/pitcher was pitched around regularly. Yet he still repeated as county batting champ (.493). No one in Section 1 brought a swing to every game over the last two seasons like Prosapio. Over that span he hit in 44 of 46 games, including a 29-game hit streak. ( Photo by Christina Jeng / The Journal News )
Mike Chiapparelli, Mamaroneck, coach of the year: In his 29th year in some capacity with the program, Chiapparelli guided the Tigers to their third Section 1 title and first state championship. They finished 30-2, and were paced by an offense that averaged 11.1 runs per game, including 10.1 during their eight postseason games. USA Today’s final regional rankings had Mamaroneck as the No. 6 club in the East. ( The Journal News )
Dan Sorine, Eastchester, utility: As one of the best two-way threats in the area, Sorine, a junior, helped turn the Eagles’ once-floundering season around. He batted .506 with six home runs and 32 RBI and, after overcoming a sore arm, finished 5-1 with 37 strikeouts in 32 innings. He threw a no-hitter against Hen Hud in the Class A quarterfinals, and hit three home runs in a regular season game against Edgemont. ( Christian Roadman / The Journal News )
Alex Maruri, Stepinac, infielder: Although scoring dipped considerably as the CHSAA used wood bats this season, Maruri still managed to bat .500 as the Crusaders won their second Bronx-Westchester division title in four years. No player in the division earned more all-league votes than the Elon-bound Maruri, who led the team with 23 runs scored, and had seven doubles, two homers and 14 RBI. ( Christian Roadman / The Journal News )




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