Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series
by Max Edelman
For the second consecutive year, the St. Dominic’s Bayhawks won the catholic league regular season championship, and for the second year in the row, they fell just short of their goal of a championship at the end of the playoffs, falling in the semifinals to eventual champions Kellenberg.
“We got knocked out in the semifinals for the second straight year.” Head coach Joe Fusco said. “Back to back conference champions, and both years we were knocked out a game before the championship.”
The main loss for the Bayhawks heading into 2026 will be the graduation of superstar pitcher Luke Lang, who posted a 6-0 record with a 1.57 ERA across 44.1 innings pitched, a two-time catholic league pitcher of the year, the Bayhawks will be hard pressed to replace Lang’s production in 2026. Additionally, Dan Nobel also graduated and is playing at SUNY Maritime, Georgios Sakellis and Ben Feil are playing at SUNY Canton, Joseph Galeotafiore is playing at Kean, and Matt Limbo and Andrew McWilliams stayed close to home to play at Suffolk Community College.
Despite the losses, the Bayhawks are returning nearly their entire starting lineup, as well as a number of impact pitchers both in the rotation and the bullpen. At the top of the list of returning, who impacts the game both at the plate and on the mound is junior Ray Kim. Kim is currently committed to play at the University of Rhode Island after graduating, he finished the year with a very impressive .342 average, with three homers, 27 RBIs and an OPS of 1.021. On the mound, Kim was 4-1, with a 4.01 ERA and 44 strikeouts to only 18 walks.
RHP Ray Kim (St. Dominic 2027) commits to the University of Rhode Island @ShowTime_Select pic.twitter.com/5U45mYlVmT
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 8, 2025
“He was a finalist for the league MVP award as a sophomore.” Fusco said. “He’s our shortstop and one of our top two starters. Ray is a returning All-League player. He can pretty much do it all. He’s fantastic.”
A two-time returning All-League player in his freshman and sophomore seasons, second baseman Dom Muccia is set to have another big year as a junior. Last year, Muccia hit .382 with a homer and 17 RBIs, and recorded a 1.023 OPS. Muccia is on pace to break the St. Dominic’s all time hits record of 108 hits. He currently sits at 56 career hits, with 29 coming during his sophomore campaign. A repeat, or increase of those numbers would likely set Muchia on a fast track to the record books.
Also an AllLleague player is junior Hofstra-commit Connor Ackerman. The star reliever posted a 2-3 record with a 2.35 ERA across 32.2 innings pitched. Ackerman recorded 36 strikeouts and converted on five of his six save attempts. Ackerman also bats cleanup for the Bayhawks.
“He was a lights out closer for us.” Fusco said. “He had a great season for us. Him and (Kim) are 1A and 1B for us on the mound. Connor anchors a lot of what we do in the lineup as well.
Behind the plate, Mike Scarry is returning with hopes to replicate his all-league campaign from a season ago. Scarry hit .326 with a .701 OPS, and played strong defense as catcher.
“Mike kind of got thrown into the fire as a sophomore.” Fusco said. “But he answered the bell at every turn. He was fantastic for us.”
The final All-League returner for the Bayhawks is junior center fielder Chris Vangelatos. Vangelatos hit .250, recorded five extra base hits and stole nine bases for the Bayhawks as a sophomore.
“He’s been at the top of our order for the last two years.” Fusco said. “He’s one of our leaders and has a relentless motor that carries through the entire team.”
Another returning player committed to college are senior Christian Moreno, who’s committed to the College of Staten Island. Moreno mainly features as a third baseman for the Bayhawks. Lucas Moseman, a New Haven-commit, will feature heavily on the mound for St. Dom’s this year. Also committed, Matt DeFranza will see innings out of the bullpen before attending Mount St. Vincent.
After a shutout first for Gilroy, Lucas Moseman will look to do the same for Fransisco. pic.twitter.com/N3UjUfRiVw
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 28, 2025
Last year’s Bayhawks team featured four freshmen, all of which are looking to take a big step forward in 2026. They include Dylan Weinstein, Tyler Camastro, Kieran Dunn and Louis Gounaris.
In terms of their biggest strength, Fusco believes that his team is as well-rounded as ever, and with another year of experience under their belt, the future is bright for the Bayhawks.
“Our biggest strength at this point is our experience.” Fusco said. “We have guys that are juniors that have already played 55 varsity games. So I think going into the next two years will be the sheer experience of having done it before and having been successful.”
