Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Anthony DiCocco
Following a successful 2025 season, the Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK Hawks will strive to continue their strong play with a new-look lineup and pitching staff.
Last year, head coach John Givargidze and the Hawks continued to perform in a powerhouse conference despite losing some high-profile players, going 13-10-1 and 10-7-1 in Conference-AAA play. Nevertheless, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK was ultimately eliminated by Farmingdale in the semifinals for a second consecutive season after pushing the Dalers to the brink in a best-of-three series.
Despite falling short of their ultimate goal, Givargidze was proud of his players for both their on-field play and the way they conducted themselves.
“Because of [our team’s] character and the way they approached the season last year, I honestly think we overachieved,” Givargidze said. “That’s not to say they weren’t talented — they were — but we didn’t have those top-flight guys that we had in the past. Last year’s group was truly the definition of a team.”
Much like last season, the Hawks will have a plethora of new faces scattered across the diamond for the 2026 campaign, as a large chunk of last year’s group graduated. In addition to having as many as seven spots in the lineup up for grabs, all three of its starting pitchers — Josh Kim, Jacob Kouba (SUNY Farmingdale) and Sawyer Bogaty — graduated. Kouba earned All-County honors last season, while Kim and Bogaty were named All-Conference and All-League pitchers, respectively.
“There’ll be a lot of competition this spring,” Givargidze said. “Everybody’s going to do their best to earn a spot. Competition is always a good thing, even within your own team.”
With a talented trio of pitchers now moved on, senior Dominic Macedonio will look to take the reins of the starting rotation. While Kim, Kouba and Bogaty posted a combined 1.43 earned run average (ERA) across 83 innings, Givargidze called upon Macedonio for some key innings in the playoffs. Across six innings pitched last year, he gave up seven runs, with none being earned.
RHP/OF Ryan Paradiso and LHP/1B/OF Brett LaGallo will also help fortify the pitching staff. As a junior last season, Paradiso allowed two runs (one earned) with six strikeouts over 3 ⅓ innings, while LaGallo punched out six batters over 4 ⅓ scoreless innings.
LHP/OF/1B Evan Frangas burst onto the scene as a freshman last year and will look to build upon an All-Conference season that saw him post a team-leading .467 batting average, 1.098 on-base plus slugging (OPS) and 18 runs batted in (RBI). Though he will play in left field and occasionally man first base this season, Frangas will also have an opportunity to pitch this season as well. He possesses tremendous upside as a hard-throwing southpaw.
“We’re going to count on [Frangas] to do a lot for us,” Givargidze said. “Evan surpassed all my expectations for him last year. He was much more mature as a baseball player than I would have expected to be as a freshman. His at-bats were like the at-bats of a junior or senior.”
Like the pitching staff, there are some holes that will need to be filled in the lineup as well. Most notably, catcher Ryan Buckhardt (SUNY Oneonta) and center fielder Ryan Kurre (St. Joseph’s University, Long Island) are now playing college baseball.
Behind the plate, junior Joseph DiLeo — who Givargidze labeled as a “very good defensive catcher” with a good arm that thrives at blocking —- will take over catching duties.
Following his success last season, LaGallo will be a staple at first base once again and will likely bat third in the lineup or in the cleanup spot. LaGallo — a LeMoyne commit — put together a solid junior campaign at the dish last season, posting a homer and 12 RBIs with a .304/.389/.457 slash line.
Though Givargidze wants his cornerstone piece to become more of a vocal leader, he commended LaGallo for leading by example.
“[LaGallo’s] actions speak for themself,” Givargidze said. “The ball comes off his bat differently. He’s a big kid, he’s tall and lanky and he has a really good arm. He’ll play a big role in our lineup, our rotation and for our relief pitching.”
Though center field is still being sorted out, senior Ryan Healy and Paradiso will round out the outfield, with Tyghe Rowland mixing in at some point. Healy produced a .864 OPS and drove in five runs with three extra-base hits while batting .276 as a fixture in right field last season.
Another returning stick that will help bolster the Hawks’ lineup is senior Michael Mijuca, who is expected to reprise his role as the team’s designated hitter. A season ago, Mijuca batted .231 with six RBIs and three doubles.
After graduating All-League 2B Tyler Pilatsky, who produced a .400 average and .452 on-base percentage, 2B/SS Andrew Cucuzza, Aaron Traub and Timmy McDonough will all vie for playing time up the middle. In a small sample size for each player a season ago, Cucuzza and Traub batted .462 and .300, respectively, with Cucuzza also producing a .995 OPS.
Regardless of some of the question marks created by the departure of last year’s graduating class, Givargidze is excited to watch his team begin its quest for a championship as it looks to build off its deep playoff run from last season.
“Success is never promised, but we always talk about how the harder you work, the better chance you give yourself to be successful,” Givargidze said. “We always look at the banners in our gym and I ask, ‘what is your legacy going to be? Do you want to just be an afterthought?’ Our expectations are no different this year … and that’s to win a conference championship.
Plainview Old Bethpage JFK will open its season against Oceanside on March 26 to begin a three-game series.
