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Farmingdale Eager to Regain Nassau-AAA Title

Farmingdale Eager to Regain Nassau-AAA Title

Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series

By Anthony DiCocco

After falling just short of being back-to-back Nassau County Champions, the Farmingdale Dalers are eager to begin their climb to return to the top of the mountain.

Two years ago, Farmingdale finally got over the hump, as it captured its first county title after a 34-year drought. However, the Dalers were unable to complete the repeat last spring despite going 19-5-1. 

In the final game of a best-of-three series, Massapequa upset top-seeded Farmingdale with a 12-0 blowout win to reach the Nassau County Class AAA’s summit once again. Nonetheless, 23-season head coach Frank Tassielli was proud of the campaign his team put together.

“It’s tough to [repeat] in any conference, let alone in ours,” Tassielli said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “But to be back there, we came back really strong. That was the third county championship we went to in the last four years … so it was a pretty exciting season.”

Heading into last season, the Dalers had graduated a pair of All-County stars in Jordan Welch and Joe Tagliavia. Despite being key losses, their production was seamlessly replaced by two more All-County recipients who stepped up in a big way — C Angel Cartagena (Iona) and SS/RHP John Franco (Molloy).

Cartagena batted .491 with six doubles, two triples, a home run and 20 runs batted in (RBI). In Franco’s case, he slashed .549 with a team-leading 30 RBIs, nine doubles, three triples and four long balls en route to winning the Diamond Award. Franco also hurled 2 ⅓ scoreless frames for good measure.

Now, Tassielli will look for reinforcements to step up once again.

“[Cartagena and Franco] mirrored what Jordan and Joe did,” Tassielli said. “They were the guys that got us [to the championship]. They were two of our longtime mainstays, so we’re going to need to fill those two holes.”

To start the season, junior Jonel Franco will get the first crack at filling his older brother John’s shoes at shortstop. Tassielli praised the younger Franco for being “sound defensively” and will look for him to get on base and make productive outs.

C Mark Reo will take over as the team’s starting backstop. Along with being happy about where the catcher is at defensively, Tassielli envisions Reo batting in the middle of the Dalers’ lineup. 

Fortunately for Farmingdale, there will not be much turnover beyond the loss of Cartagena and Franco. LHP/OF Lorenzo Cimino is set to return for his senior campaign after earning an All-County nod a year ago. The Florida International University-commit batted .526 with three doubles, three triples and 23 RBIs to go with his co-team-leading four homers. The southpaw went 3-0 and pitched to a 2.37 earned run average (ERA) across 22 ⅔ innings last year.

Now that he is fully recovered from a meniscus tear that kept him sidelined throughout the playoffs, Cimino will slot into the role as Farmingdale’s ace after the team graduated RHPs Colin Horowitz (SUNY Maritime), Andrew Dillon (SUNY Oneonta) and Justin Hills (SUNY Plattsburgh).

“[Cimino]’s our de-facto No. 1 guy,” Tassielli said. “He’s back at 100% and he’s ready to go.”

Behind Cimino will be senior RHP/OF Jake Mora, who will continue his baseball career at Mercy next spring. As a junior, Mora posted a 6.57 ERA, but recorded 21 strikeouts across 10 ⅔ innings pitched.

For his No. 3 starter, Tassielli will give sophomore LHP Nick Toto a look. Tassielli cited Toto’s “pedigree for high performing,” as he was the starting quarterback for the Dalers’ varsity football squad this season in addition to eating some innings in the playoffs last season. 

LHP Thomas Duffy and RHP Jake Mormino will come out of the bullpen. Duffy produced a 5.26 ERA in 6 ⅔ innings, while Mormino struck out four batters across 1 ⅔ scoreless frames.

A key piece returning to join Cimino in the Dalers’ lineup is All-Conference 3B Ive Mills (Wheaton College, MA). During his junior season, Mills displayed a patient eye and an ability to run, leading Farmingdale with 14 walks and five steals on top of slashing .370 with a home run, 10 RBIs and 18 runs scored. Mills also has the ability to play his natural position of shortstop if needed.

All-League Honorable Mention Justin Ortiz will continue to man second base after having a strong season there as a sophomore. Ortiz batted .324 with 13 walks and struck out just four times.

“[Ortiz] is the real deal,” Tassielli said. “He’s got a smooth left-handed swing and I can really see him winning the pseudo batting title in Nassau County. This kid is that good; he can bring it.”

Senior OF/1B Mateo Morales — a LeMoyne commit — will be an X-factor both on and off the field. Tassielli dubbed Morales as “the epitome of a freak athlete” and he will count on him to be an anchor in the middle of the order after he batted .300 with four RBIs and three triples last spring.

“I don’t think anybody wants to get on Mateo’s bad side,” Tassielli said. “This guy is a workaholic. He’s a cage rat and he’s just going to make things happen. He brings so much energy.”

Rounding out the outfield will be LF Kenneth Roldan and CF James Sebber. Roldan slashed .323 with 12 RBIs as a sophomore season ago, while Sebber will look to build on his .279 average, 16 runs and five steals before moving on to play at Suffolk Community College. 

Sophomore Liam Byrne, who “runs like a deer” according to Tassielli, and junior Joseph Ferrante will push for playing time in the outfield as well. Robbie Figgers, a St. Thomas Aquinas-commit will be in the mix as well.

With the 2026 season right around the corner, Tassielli and the Dalers are eager to build upon Farmingdale’s legacy as the team pursues another championship.

“We have a high bar … and these kids stepping on the field know that,” Tassielli said. “It’s about pride in who they are, what they stand for and that Daler Kelly Green. I think these kids are proud of what we’ve become and they want to keep that tradition going by grabbing another title.”

Farmingdale’s quest for another deep playoff run will commence at home on March 27 against East Meadow.

 

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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