One year removed from winning the Suffolk County championship for the first time in 61 years, the Huntington High School baseball team struggled after graduating almost its entire starting lineup.
Coached by Billy Harris and Robert Cappas, the 16 player team was captained by All-County senior Dylan Schnitzer. The teenager is extremely versatile and capable of playing many positions, including catcher. “Dylan was our top ballplayer,” Harris said.
Junior Joe Toscano was named All-League after a fine season. “Joe started the season slow, but turned it up and became one of our top offensive players,” Harris said.
Huntington struggled to win games. “We were a young team that finally started to gel toward the end of the season,” Harris said. “We are looking to improve over the summer and fall so we are ready for next spring.”
At the 54th Blue Devil senior athletic awards ceremony in the Huntington High School auditorium, Schnitzer collected the Most Valuable Player Award with fellow seniors Theodore Gress and Matthew Beasley winning the Most Improved Award and Coaches Award, respectively.
Schnitzer is headed to Trinity College. He said he owes his success to staying consistent and being ambitious. Realizing many of his goals came about through hard work and striving to be the best version of himself. He loves baseball more than any other activity and has been recruited to play on Trinity’s team. He plans to pursue a degree in economics.
Gress will be attending Bentley University. He said paying attention in class, completing his assignments and listening to his teachers has been the key to his success. He plans to study accounting.
Beasley intends to study supply chain management at the University of Arkansas. Determination to keep his grades high along with constant studying has been the key to his success. He created an award winning documentary for the National History Day competition and participated in volunteer activities with Huntington’s Key Club chapter.
“Next year’s team will return 11 players with varsity baseball experience,” Harris said. “The team will be looking to improve on this year’s performance in a tough league.”