West Hempstead wins 15 games

It was a banner year on the baseball diamond for West Hempstead. The Rams compiled an overall record of 15-4, and finished atop the Nassau County Wide Conference with 14-2 league record. 

The season ended on a bit of a down note as the Rams fell to Uniondale 6-0 in the County Wide title game played on the campus of SUNY Farmingdale. Uniondale’s Josh Ockiney tossed a complete game shutout, striking out 10 and scattering five hits to give the Knights the win.

Bill Cloughessy, who wrapped up his fourth season as head coach at West Hempstead, hopes the positive season will give his program a boost for the future. “The last few years were real tough,” Cloughessy said. “The guys had a good time playing and winning games. Hopefully, the younger players in the school will see the success this team had, and be a little more dedicated to playing baseball.”

After splitting a pair of games with Uniondale to open their league schedule, the Rams went on a month-long, 10-game winning streak in conference play before dropping a 5-4 decision to Roosevelt. 

The team played without senior catcher/pitcher Yoldalyn Canela-Vargas for nearly the entire season. Canela-Vargas suffered a neck injury early in the year and was unable to return to the lineup.

Senior Hardvis Batista had a tremendous season for West Hempstead, earning All-County honors. Batista was 4-0 on the mound with a 1.26 earned run average, giving up just one earned run in league play. Batista got it done at the plate as well. He batted .425, led the team with 35 RBI, and also scored a team-high 35 runs.  

Senior James Valerio batted .406, drove in 20 runs from the leadoff spot, and swiped 20 bags. Valerio, who was impressive at times on the mound, earned All-Conference recognition. Senior Vinny Digiovanni had fewer at bats than most of his teammates, but hit .468 and knocked in 24 runs out of the cleanup spot. Charles Smith, who was 2-0 on the mound, hit .400 out of the five hole.

While the Rams will lose much of its team to graduation, there are a few underclassmen who performed well in 2014, and will be counted on for big things in the future. Sophomore Ryan Sandberg batted .400 and was sterling in the middle of the infield. Playing both second base and shortstop, Sandberg made just one error all season long. 

Junior Tyler Montick took over at catcher and hit well down the stretch. He’ll be in the pitching mix next season, as will Sandberg and freshman Matt Arasmo. The latter pitched a no-hitter in a 12-0 win over Westbury.

Cloughessy hopes his team can carry momentum into next season. “The guys got a taste of what the playoffs can be like by playing in the title game,” Cloughessy said. “Hopefully, we’ll have more guys come out next season, and we can build on this.”