No shortage of quality arms in Warwick

Matt Metcalf, Sports Editor
Posted 4/28/15

The old adage in baseball is that pitching wins championships.

That may not entirely be true, but it certainly helps, particularly in the postseason.

When late May and early June rolls …

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No shortage of quality arms in Warwick

Posted

The old adage in baseball is that pitching wins championships.

That may not entirely be true, but it certainly helps, particularly in the postseason.

When late May and early June rolls around, the Warwick schools could be dangerous because of the number of quality arms that the four schools possess.

Depth within the pitching staffs at Bishop Hendricken and Warwick Vets has the two schools out to unblemished starts in the early weeks of the season.

In the Hawks’ six wins thus far, they’ve allowed a total of 10 runs.

The reason for that? Starting pitching.

Hendricken has arguably the state’s top pitcher in left-hander Mike McCaffrey. The southpaw’s increased velocity and ability to keep hitters off balance has led to two dominant starts against Pilgrim and Lincoln – two of the better teams in Division I this season.

He has been followed by two right-handers in the rotation, who have also been nearly flawless early on, in Matt Kennedy and Anthony Cofone.

Kennedy tossed a one-hitter at La Salle, while Cofone has been solid in his two starts thus far.

Just down the street, pitching has the ’Canes in a similar spot in Division II.

In a division that doesn’t seem to have as much depth as D-I, pitching is what could set Vets apart from the field down the road.

The ’Canes have four legitimate starting pitchers – a rarity throughout the division.

Right-handed ace Shane Kittila has already proven himself at the top of the rotation, but Austin Lamaire, David DeFusco and David Simmons have also turned in solid starts for the undefeated ’Canes.

Back in D-I, Pilgrim should be a legitimate playoff threat this season, largely because of its pitching.

The Pats’ Elijah Dressel looks to be one of the top pitchers in the state, earning the victory in three of his four starts. The one loss came in a tough match-up at Hendricken, where he pitched well.

Dressel hasn’t been the only one logging quality innings for Pilgrim, though.

Right-hander Chris Duchesneau and left-hander Mike Broccoli have been impressive – as Duchesneau emerged victorious in one of his two starts and Broccoli won his only start.

The experience of Dressel, Duchesneau and Broccoli – three seniors – could prove to be beneficial in what Pilgrim hopes will be a deep playoff run.

Toll Gate has had the worst start of the four schools, currently at 3-5, but the lack of success hasn’t been because of poor pitching.

The Titans have had trouble scoring runs, but it looks like they may have began to turn the corner on Wednesday, routing Johnston in a 10-0 win.

If they can keep that up, they should win more games with their solid pitching staff.

Senior ace James Meizoso has been relied upon to shoulder the majority of the innings on the bump, and he hasn’t disappointed.

Toll Gate has also received quality starts from fellow senior, Steve Foster, and sophomore Manny Bjorklund.

If the Titans can consistently put runs on the board, they can be a threat within the division, as well.

At many schools in the state, quality pitching is hard to come by, but not in Warwick.

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