Sports

It has been over 10 years since the Hitmen, Stuyvesant’s varsity boys’ baseball team, missed the playoffs. Last season, they came close to breaking that tradition, clinching a playoff spot in their second to last game of the season and finishing with a mediocre record of 8-8. They lost to John F. Kennedy High School in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 16-1.

This year, the Hitmen are aiming for a better record. “The team’s pretty excited because a lot of guys are returning, and only a few seniors left,” said junior and third baseman Zack Karson, who has been on the team since his freshman year. “We really haven’t lost much and we have high hopes this year.”

The Hitmen have seven seniors, including captains Mark Chiusano and Brian Schatz. In addition, many juniors, as well as sophomore Richard Nelson-Chow and freshman Lionel Jensen, are joining the varsity team for the first time. Stuyvesant will look to these players to fill the void left by former captains Jon Mennella (’07) and Wesley Gilbert (’07).

Much to the players’ delight, the Hitmen’s home field has been changed from Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx to Pier 40, located on Houston Street, a convenient 15-minute walk from the school building. “It was very difficult to travel […] for games,” said junior, catcher, and outfielder Nick Goldin, on the commute to Dewitt Clinton. Coach John Carlesi and assistant coach Matt Hahn negotiated the switch with the PSAL.

In the past, many games had been played far away from Stuyvesant and, consequently, drew little fanfare. With the move to Pier 40, however, that could change. “We’re excited and hope to bring some fans out to the ballpark,” said junior, pitcher, and first baseman Nolan Becker, who struck out 20 batters in 24 innings last season.

Nevertheless, the Hitmen could only arrange a full permit for Pier 40 for Thursdays. As a result, they are scheduled to play only two games there, although that number could increase. Still, they are enthusiastic about their new home. Since Pier 40 was not built to be a baseball field, the mother of their manager, senior Matt Greenberg, received an 11,000 dollar grant from the baseball commissioner, Robert H. Pertsas, to fix it up. One of the first tasks they faced was building a mound. A portion of the grant was used to pay the company to fix up the mound, which they received in November 2007.

From Friday, March 22 to Monday, March 25, the team was on their annual spring training trip to Florida. They stayed at a “deluxe condo in the PGA [Professional Golf Association] Village,” Becker said. They trained at a camp owned by Carlesi’s cousin Vinny Carlesi. The team used the trip mainly to maximize practice time and take advantage of the warm weather.

This season, Stuyvesant will play once again in the Manhattan West A Division. Last year, the Hitmen came in third in this division, behind Beacon High School and Manhattan Bridges High School. Since Manhattan Bridges finished only one game ahead of them last season, Stuyvesant expects Beacon, who placed first with a 14-2 record last year, to be their main competition. With a new home field and both new and returning players, the Hitmen hope to be tough to beat.