Spartans set tone for bright future

Valley Stream North coach Phil Sanfilippo isn’t too surprised with the success of the Spartans’ rivals in the Nassau Class A baseball playoffs, with the exception of No. 14 Seaford’s upset elimination of No. 2 Clarke.

Sanfilippo had an up-close and personal look at both teams, along with ninth-seeded Mineola, three times as conference foes and knew the rest of the county had its work cut out for it. “Our conference is loaded with talent,” he said. “The pitching we faced all year was really tough. I thought we’d be fine offensively, but in the end our pitching and defense led us.”

The Spartans struggled down the stretch with an eight-game losing streak and finished 6-12 overall, but a group of sophomores set the foundation for a bright future. “We took our lumps some days,” said Sanfilippo, “but our younger guys got a taste of big-time competition. There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be better next year.”

One of the team’s key sophomores, Anthony Martelli, earned All-Conference honors while serving as a starting pitcher and shortstop. He won three games on the mound, striking out 24 and walking 12, and led the team with a 3.98 ERA. At the dish, he drew 10 walks and batted .294. “Anthony’s batting average wasn’t indicative of how he hit the ball,” Sanfilippo said. “He had a ton of hard-hit outs, almost to the point where we had to laugh about it because it was so frustrating. He’s a natural talent and someone we’ll look to lead the way in the next two seasons.”

Martelli and fellow sophomore Kevin White kept North in every game they pitched. White, who was named the Spartans’ Most Improved Player, also won three games and had a respectable 4.24 ERA. “Kevin wasn’t a sure thing to make varsity,” Sanfilippo said. “He pitched for me on JV last year and asked what he needed to do to get to the next level. He took my advice and worked very hard on developing a quality curve ball. Naming him Most Improved was a no-brainer.”