GI baseball team has offense to burn

by Eric Keppeler
Grand Island Dispatch, April 6, 2007

Grand Island baseball coach Dean Santorio says this might be the best hitting team he’s ever had – and that’s saying something.

The worst-case scenario is that his Vikings will win a lot of 11-10 games. If he gets any kind of pitching, it shouldn’t be that close.

Either way, the key word is win.

“We’re going to be a strong hitting team,” Santorio said. “I’m confident that we’ll be able to hit the ball well. Even the guys on the bench can hit.”

The Vikings weren’t exactly slouches in that department last season, when they went 12-7 overall and 8-6 in the Niagara Frontier League – good for fourth place. The Vikings entered the Section VI Class A Playoffs as a No. 9 seed and, after picking up a victory in the pre-quarterfinals, bowed to sectional finalist and top seed Williamsville South in the quarterfinals.

Santorio welcomes back a number of key components from that squad, including his top two pitchers.

Senior Justin McInerney was a league all-star, pitching and at third base. He hit .326 and had eight RBI in the 2006 season.

Junior Matt Klock was another league all-star as an outfielder, although he also emerged as an important factor in the Vikings’ pitching rotation. He hit .357 with three home runs and 11 RBI. He also went 3-2 on the mound with 31 strikeouts and a 3.09 earned run average. He allowed just 15 earned runs on the season.

Other pitching prospects include junior Greg Stephan and freshman Joel Klock – both from last year’s junior varsity squad that went 10-4.

Sophomore Joe Oliverio split time last season between catcher and designated hitter, and he responded with a .342 average and 11 RBI. This year, he’s Santorio’s everyday catcher.

Senior Frank Black was a reserve at first base last season, and now he gets his shot as a starter. Junior Neal DeMartin moves up from the junior varsity to play second base, and he might also be the team’s No. 2 hitter in the lineup. Senior Matt McKenna returns at shortstop, and McInerney will play third when he’s not pitching. Junior Shawn Vanderbrook and sophomore Chris Podlucky also will play somewhere in the infield.

The outfield is an experienced bunch.

Senior Chris Rajczak is back in center, and senior Matt Lewis also returns in right field. Matt Klock will play left field when he’s not pitching, and junior Justin Vanderbrook will play left when Klock does pitch.

Santorio has never shied away from going with younger players, and Joel Klock can also play first base and the outfield.

“We have a lot of experience, but we’re still a young team,” Santorio said. “We’re hoping to battle for one of the top three spots in the NFL. I really think we can compete for the league championship this year. After that, I think we’re good enough and we can hit the ball well enough to do some real damage in the playoffs.”