Two area baseball teams played through to the last weekend of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association schedule with berths in the state Final Four.

The area’s smallest school – the Chapel Field Lions – made it to the championship game, where they suffered a defeat at the hands of Section 4 champion Deposit-Hancock, while the area’s largest school – the Pine Bush Bushmen – saw their season end in the Class AA semifinals.

Last year’s Lions were led by the pitching arm of Leam Powell, who pitched almost every game, for the Lions will headline a returning team that also expects to feature its solid core from last year.

Expected returning players include Mikey Bonagura, Noah Swart and Bryce Hollo, among others who have achieved tremendous success for the Lions over the past 12 months. This core has won two Section 9 Class D boys’ basketball championships, including the recent trip to the state championship game in Glens Falls. They went to last year’s state title game, and won the Section 9 championship in boys’ soccer in the fall.
A repeat title would give the boys a clean sweep in their three team sports.

The Bushmen are primed for a strong season as they’ll take the field this spring with 10 players returning for coach Matt Boffalo, who has been coaching the Bushmen since 2014.

The Bushmen lost seniors Jack Taylor, key pitcher Joe Gleason, Sean Garcia, Josh Martin, Jack Gandolfini and Joseph Sorge.

Right-handed pitcher Alex Bucolo, went 5-2 last year and pitched key relief innings in the Bushmen’s regional championship win over Section 1 champion R.C. Ketcham High School. He’s committed to Mansfield College, where he will join Gleason next year.

Catcher Mike Jacques, who hit .409 last year, also returns to lead the offense.

The Bushmen also return seniors Nick Croce, Mike DeSena, Connor Stacklum, Mike Weed and Mason Miranowicz. Juniors Matt Boffalo, Marc Cancelliere and Blake Vellenga also will return to the team this year.

Even though their season didn’t end with a Section 9 Class A championship, the Wallkill Panthers posted one of their best seasons in 2022, finishing with a 6-5 record and ran an undefeated 12-0 record in Mid Hudson Athletic League play. They also were a sectional finalist and were edged by the Cornwall Dragons.

The Panthers do need to replace three-year starters, but their strength will be on the mound, led by junior Kyle DeGroat, who ran a 5-0 record with a school-record 0.99 ERA. Tyler Mack, Chase Hermance and Brandon Vesely, who all had ERA’s under 2.00, also are in line for rotation rolls.

Defensively the Panthers will have speed in the outfield with center fielder Chase Hermance, along with Jacob Maraday and Spencer Freer in the corners. DeGroat will be at third base when not pitching with junior Kody Best expecting to see time at first base. Chris Wager and Mason Franklin will both see time behind the plate.

Offensively, the Panthers look to maintain their high-octane offense and build on last year’s record-setting .346 in 2022 and 182 runs. Freer and DeGroat both hit over .400. Hermance and Vesely will be in the middle of the order.

Meanwhile, the Valley Central Vikings are looking to get their act together and improve on last year’s 5-15 record, and they’ll have to do it without graduated seniors Sebastian Rockwood and Cameron Stevens.

Returning are Jason Murphy and Danny Bello, who will play for Saint Rose next season. Newcomers Chris Byrne, Justin Freeman and Trevor Michetti will join the team.

“Last year was a tough season for VC baseball,” Valley Central coach Robert Leonard said. “I think we have a good group of kids that have played together for a number of years. Hopefully this group will gel and win some ball games.”

Leonard’s main goal is to be “brutally honest” and have his team playing better baseball in 2023 and get their record to .500, which would qualify for them for the Section 9 Class AA playoffs.

“We need to improve in all areas of the game of baseball,” Leonard said. “A group has to play together to win and lose as a team. We need to have a ‘team first’ mentality and a ‘me’ attitude second. A good team wins and loses together and never points fingers. A good team worries about getting a job done first to give the team the best chance to win. A good teammate worries about the team first and not one’s individual stats. This is a proven philosophy through the history of sports.”