Wantagh baseball in driver's seat

Wantagh’s baseball team has blossomed this spring.

The Warriors won 10 games in a row to start the season and entered the last week of April atop the Conference A-II standings. The undefeated streak ended with a 3-1 defeat to New Hyde Park on April 21, but longtime head coach Keith Sachs is pleaded with the balance of strong offense and defense during the first month of the 2016 campaign.  

“It starts with pitching and defense,” said Sachs, who has guided Wantagh to the playoffs each of his 21 seasons as coach including a state championship in 1998 and Long Island title in 2010. “We have many guys contributing on offense and we are manufacturing runs.“

Wantagh’s top two pitchers, ace Will O’Brien and Jimmy Joyce have set the tone for the Warriors’ winning ways. O’Brien won his first four starts and recorded 12 strikeouts against New Hyde Park on April 18. O’Brien also has four wins and racked up 11 strikeouts in a 3-2 win against Hewlett.

“That is as good a one-two punch as you could have,” said Sachs of O’Brien and Joyce. “If they are throwing strikes we are going to be in every game.”

Wantagh has added pitching depth with third starter Bobby Hegarty picking up two early-season wins as the third starter including a four-hitter versus South Side on March 31. Brandon Haas has stepped up in relief and combined with O’Brien on a four-hitter in a 6-0 win against New Hyde Park. Sachs credits junior catcher Trevor Fagan with stepping up as a leader of the pitching staff behind the plate.

“He has been handing the pitching well,” Sachs said of Fagan. “He has been excellent behind the plate.”

Sophomore shortstop Anthony D’Onofrio anchors the Wantagh offense and has picked off from his solid freshman season where he hit .388. The Hofstra commit went 3-for-3 with the game-winning RBI in the Warriors’ season-opening 5-3 win against South Side.

“He is just a phenomenal player,” Sachs said of D’Onofrio.  

John Fitzgerald and Joyce have also been strong offensive producers. Both shined in a 14-5 win against Hewlett with Fitzgerald going 4-for-5 with a home run and Joyce knocking in three runs.

Wantagh has a big three-game series on tap against Division starting on May 2 that could decide who wins the conference and earns a higher seed in the upcoming Class A playoffs. Sachs said he expects the postseason to once again be competitive with Wantagh among numerous teams capable of capturing a county title.  

“The A teams in Nassau are on a very high level,” Sachs said.

To prepare for the stretch run of the season and enhance team chemistry, Sachs planned a late April trip to Baltimore and Washington D.C. to play against a team in Maryland while also taking in a Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles game. Sachs has planned a trip like this the past 21 years and said it brings an already tight-knit team even closer together.

”We have a really great group of guys,” Sachs said. “They just love playing baseball.”