Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Hunter Javeline
After a disappointing season last year, the Huntington Blue Devils have a bunch of underclassmen who will make an impact for this upcoming season. Huntington went 2-17 in a difficult league 3 last year. Early in the season, Huntington took two of three from North Babylon and then fell flat.
The expectations were high last season with star left fielder Harry Uvena leading the way. He is currently playing college baseball at SUNY Oswego. Last year he batted .577 and had an OPS of 1.472. Uvena played lockdown leftfield. Coach John Romano told Axcess Baseball, “Last year he only struck out about 5 times. Other teams were like wow, that kid can hit.”
Harry Uvena (Huntington 2025) commits to SUNY Oswego @TitansBsb pic.twitter.com/EtJYv2RISn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 3, 2024
Another key loss for this team is Will Donaghy, who is concentrating on golf this year. He batted .430 and played a clean right field. With Uvena and Donaghy not returning to the team for this year, leaves open gaps in the outfield for some underclassmen to thrive.
Griffen Kanzer, George Meuger, and Jibreel Murtaza all made impacts last year. All three of them graduated last year.
On the bright side of things, Presley Moss is returning who gets the ball every first game. He competes out on the mound every day even when the statline doesn’t go his way. He batted .388 and an OPS of 1.022 last year and was an All-League player. He is a leader on and off the field which will help with the development of this program.
Coach Romano is very excited for the return of Henry Gerber. Coach Romano called him a “swiss army knife”, meaning he can play a bunch of different positions. He pitched in relief during the season last year too. They are looking for him to be a leader of this team and have an impactful season.
Joey Perotti is returning to play as a junior. Perotti was a finalist for gold glove at second his freshman season. With him being a defensive weapon, Coach Romano and the Huntington coaching staff made the decision to move him to play shortstop. He will be batting at the top of the lineup this season and pitching too.
Senior Matt James took some big steps last season after struggling during his sophomore season. Coach Romano said “he became a leader behind the plate and controlled the pitching staff too.” With younger pitchers like sophomore Jacob Boxer taking on a larger role this year, having experienced leadership behind the dish will be important. Boxer will also be playing in the outfield this year.
Jesse Blohm is a sophomore third baseman and outfielder, who will help fill the gaps of Uvena and Donaghy. He is expected to step into a larger role as the team looks to replace that production. Gabe McManus and Oliver Frint were two eighth graders who played JV last year. Romano said “they could have played varsity last year, but were blocked in their positions by seniors.” At the end of the year, McManus was brought up to varsity and got his feet wet in some meaningful games at second base. He will be starting at second base this upcoming year and will be pitching in the rotation as well. Oliver will be a relief pitcher and play the outfield as well.
Blohm, Boxer, Frint and McManus have brought a lot of energy to the winter workouts so far. Coach Romano is hoping that same energy will translate to the field to compete every single day. The returning players have been guiding the younger players during the winter workouts. Romano said “We see them [returning players] giving the underclassman advice, and kind of bringing them under their wing.”
The Blue Devils compete in League 3 which is a very competitive league. Hills East moved down to League 4 and were “one of the favorites to win the league” according to Coach Romano. “There are teams in our league who always compete for playoff spots. Each game will be a challenge this year.”
The Blue Devils are looking to turn it around this season. Despite struggling in the previous couple of seasons, the program is focusing on developing and getting better day in and out. One way that they have been trying to turn it around is by summer camps and youth clinics, which they hope will reap benefits at the varsity level in the coming years.
The Huntington Blue Devils will open their season on March 26 vs the Northport Tigers.
