John Jay baseball sets aim on Section 1 title

Jacob Storch returns at shortstop for John Jay. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

Top, Mitch Hammer returns to anchor the rotation after missing last season due to injury. bottom, Coach Ted Lawrence is back for his third season at the helm.

By JIM MACLEAN

In a way, the John Jay varsity baseball team is on a three-year quest.

John Jay coach Ted Lawrence starts his third-year at the helm for the Wolves. His first year the Wolves advanced to the Section 1 finals, last year they suffered a tough loss in the semifinals to eventual champ Nanuet.

This year, just about everybody is back from the starting lineup with a lot of seniors on the roster anxious to rewrite the ending and make it a big finish to their John Jay careers.

“We have a good nucleus that has played for me the last three years, five senior returning starters and juniors that are returning starters; they’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like to win the league and get deep in the sectionals, now we’re hoping to take that next step,” Lawrence said. “They were freshmen and sophomores in the sectional finals, now they’re juniors and seniors. Expectations are high, we’ve just got to play and be who we can be.”

Last year was another good one for John Jay as the Wolves won the league title and finished at 14-8 overall, falling in the sectional semifinals by a 2-0 score to the eventual champs. There are plenty of reasons for the Wolves to be excited about the new season looking up and down the roster.

One big reason for optimism at John Jay is the return of ace pitcher Mitch Hammer, who missed all of last season due to injury. Hammer was last seen on the mound hurling a gem to lift John Jay to within one game of the sectional title two years ago. Now Hammer is back to anchor a solid staff along with junior Jacob Storch, who was the Wolves’ number-two starter last season.

“Mitch was hurt last year and we have him back for his senior year as our number one,” Lawrence said of Hammer. “We’re looking for Mitch and Jake to be our one-two, then we have Eliot Arbogast and Jack Garneau. We have some good arms and experienced ones — that’s what we’re excited about.”

Storch is only a junior, but he started as a freshman on the sectional finalist team two years ago. He returns at shortstop when he’s not on the mound, and he will be the lead off batter in the lineup for the Wolves.

That’s just the start of the returning veterans in the lineup for John Jay as the Wolves have a lot of familiar names around the diamond.Senior Nolan Rhodes is a returning starter at first base, and he has committed to play in college at Wesleyan University next year. On the other side of the infield, senior Will Civetta is a three-year returning starter at third base for the Wolves.

“Rhodes is solid in the middle of the lineup, our three hitter,” continued Lawrence. “Civetta will bat second, another three-year starter for us at third.”

Other returning veterans in the lineup include senior Ryan Valdes at second base and junior Jackson Moreo in center field. Senior Steve Carozo takes over behind the plate as the starting catcher.

There are plenty of other returning varsity players anxious to get on the field competing for more playing time at John Jay with 10 seniors overall on the roster.

“We have a roster heavy-laden with seniors and juniors all battling for playing time,” Lawrence added. “They know what it’s about, they know what it takes. They say the hardest thing is getting back and we were able to do it two years in a row. Hopefully, we can take that next step. We’re there, we just want to play competitively and have a chance to be there at the end.”

John Jay kicks off the season with a tough one at home against local rival Fox Lane on Saturday, March 29.