|
Put Valley Boys Prep for Big Spring; Haldane a Hit on Softball Diamond
Tigers should be strong in lax, baseball
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Putnam Valley SS/P Chris Orlando should provide the Tigers with the kind of hard-nosed play that Coach Joe Natalie needs to make a run at the Section 1 Class B crown this spring. |
|
So I'm hearing that we've got the potential to have a very big spring in and about the PCN&R region along the varsity sports beat. I did a little digging and can actually confirm this as factual, provided the youth of Putnam Valley and Haldane High don't really place much stock in the headlines they read about themselves.
Word on the street is that Putnam Valley can actually match or surpass last year in terms of potential on both the baseball diamond and the lacrosse green, and the Haldane softball team is believed to be on the verge of challenging for the Section 1 Class C title it fell one win shy of last year. Without even thinking about it; these are three sports programs I suspect will be in the hunt in late May.
The 2007 season saw a solid campaign from each of the three programs, and it's totally within the realm of possibility that all three will vie for sectional titles in 2008.
Let's start with the feel-good story of 2007: Joe Natalie's Putnam Valley baseball program. Last year, Coach Nats took the team to places it never dreamt of previously, reaching the Class C semifinals before bowing 3-0 to eventual Class B champion Hastings. Along the way, the Tigers (15-5) made their first post-season appearance and set a school record for wins. Coach Nats' Tigers were all the rave, actually stealing some thunder from Coach Brian Kuczma's fancy lacrosse program, which made its way back to the Section 1 Class C title game where it stumbled for a third consecutive year at the hands of three-time defending champion Rye.
If you read this space regularly, than know enough about ace chucker Pat Considine, the big senior right-hander who ripped through Section 1 during a school-record 7-win season and a microscopic 1.37 ERA, but here's another name you'll hear from this season: count on a breakout year from junior SS/P Chris Orlando. The kid is just a gamer, and that's about the best thing you could say about a player when I was growing up. I grew up on Magic & Larry, Gretzky and Mess, Pete Rose and Johnny Bench, Carl Banks and the original LT… real gamers.
I speak with Coach Nats often, and I know he doesn't like to tip his hand; more so when it comes to Fantasy Football than anything. But I know him enough to know that he's got a quiet confidence in his ability to lead this team to big things this spring, provided the Tigers stay hungry and put in the time necessary to make good on a Section 1 title chase. With a solid mix of senior veterans like Considine and catcher Larry Cobb, plus impact underclassmen like Walter Sherwood and Matt Cordero, now is the time for such a move. The defending League III-A champion Tigers ought to know right off the bat where they stand as they take on Section 1's premier small-school program on opening day (April 2) at Eastchester. If you can take down legendary Eagles Coach Dom Cecere on opening day, with his No.1 against your No.1, you could very well be the last team standing in late May. Putnam Valley has intensified its regular season schedule with the inclusion of Eastchester and Class AA powerhouse Mahopac, so give them credit for recognizing that if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.
That is something Putnam Valley has failed to do on the lacrosse green the past three years. Since defeating Rye for the sectional title back in 2004, the Tigers have lost three-straight lacrosse championship to the Garnets, who some suggest have come back to the pack this spring. I need to see it to believe it. Some say Pleasantville could actually give the Tigers a major challenge this year, too, making it a three-horse race for the Class C title. We'll see about P'Ville on April 9 when the Tigers head south for a visit.
Unlike the baseball team, these Tigers aren't necessarily built for now. Loaded with some key seniors like Hugh O'Gorman, a strong junior class highlighted by Dillon Chestnut and a few sophomores like Ryan Fitzgerald & Dan O'Gorman, who can make things happen, this current group of Tigers has two years in which to reach the pinnacle. Though 2008 would be as good a time as any to snap the three-year championship skid, no?
The Tigers' biggest question mark is whether or not senior goalie John Landi can fill the vacated shoes of All-Section netminder Cory Ender. If Landi can stuff opponents regularly, the Tigers should thrive and survive the rigors of a very competitive slate of games, including John Jay, Somers and Greeley before they face league foes Suffern, Mahopac and Rye. But he's an unproven commodity at this level.
Looks to me like the Tigers are poised for another run at the second Section 1 title in school history ('04).
The same can be said for the Haldane girls, not that the ladies of Cold Spring/Philipstown haven't already given us enough to read and cheer about already this year, what with the two state titles applied to the Class of 2008… quite possibly the grandest in school history. Within the same school year, these seniors have already delivered a pair of state championships in volleyball and girls hoops, the second such feat in Haldane history. But the fate of the Blue Devil softball season lies in the gun-slinging arm of Chelsea Lisikatos, the freshman who is on course to shatter every pitching record in the Haldane books. Can she lead them to a third Section 1 title in a year? Judging from the cast of veteran, battle-tested characters that return with her, you'd have to think they've take a pretty good crack at it.
Life is good, gang; play large! Please visit www.yourdirectrays.com to view Section 1 sports photo galleries.
| 
)
