Wayne Hills Baseball Looks To Take Next Step Under Scott Illiano

Wayne Hills Baseball Looks To Take Next Step Under Scott Illiano

By Jared Cohen, Staff Writer

The Wayne Hills Baseball team is looking to thrive in the Big North-Independence Division under the second-year coach Scott Illiano, and improve upon their 15-7 record from last season.

After losing key players including Patrick Gilmore, Dean Hulbert, and Mason Smith, the Patriots will be relying on their strong Senior class and developing Sophomore class to step up to the plate.

Key contributors this year are expected to be Jason Sanfilippo, John McConeghy, Mike Disteso, Louis D’Agati, Vince Venturelli, Dominick Casamassina, and Christian Puntilililo, amongst others.

When talking to Senior Matt Taggart and Sophomore Dominick Casamassina, both players set the goal of taking home a county championship this season, which would be the team’s first county crown since 2016.

Casamassina, a sophomore with tons of upside, feels that the team can, “Make a run at states and finish the season with at least fifteen wins.”

He also mentioned that the team did a lot of offseason training at Wladyka baseball academy in order to get ready for the upcoming season.

Matt Taggart also added that the team often goes out to eat and hang out after they are done with training.

Opening day for the boy’s baseball team is April 1, and they feel that if they train hard and use the next few weeks of scrimmages and practices wisely, they will be able to accomplish great things this season!