Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
The season ended in painful fashion for Center Moriches, who lost to Bayport-Blue Point, 2-1, in the Class A semifinals. It was an all-too familiar opponent for the Red Devils who compiled a record of 17-2 against all teams not named Bayport-Blue Point and 0-5 against them.
That loss came directly after a thrilling 13-inning victory over the reigning Class A Long Island Champs, Kings Park, in which their ace, Joey Hiller, put the team on his back en route to a 4-3 victory.
Center Moriches, who last captured a County Championship in 2022, enters the season with one goal in mound – getting back to the top.
“Anything less than a County Championship is not good enough,” said head coach Paul Gibson III.
They will have to do so without two players that not only had a tremendous impact last year, but for the past several years – Joey Hiller and Brayden Hromada. Both were five-year varsity players, both won Long Island Champions with the Red Devils and both are now at Quinnipiac University.
Center Moriches RHP Joey Hiller struck out 12 in a complete game victory over Mattituck @GetGameChanger pic.twitter.com/BmDBWW4yOz
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 15, 2025
Coach Gibson had high praise for both of them.
“They were with the program from eighth grade on,” said Gibson. “They were both reliable guys. Hromada caught almost every game for us and he was on base all the time. Joey pretty much gave us a quality start every week for 4 years and played a great shortstop.”
All is not lost, though. In fact, the team had an outstanding core of players that also have accrued plenty of varsity experience.
Offensively, they will be led by the trio of Max Rayburn, Luke Rebore-Costanzo and JT Bonventre.
6’0, 195 LB Uncommitted 1B/OF Max Rayburn (Center Moriches 2026) crushes an RBI single to left center, giving Fransisco a 1-0 lead in the first. pic.twitter.com/1hVDNE1kMl
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 28, 2025
Rayburn was named All-County and is a four-year varsity player. Gibson called him a “left-handed hitter with a lot of power”, and added that he led the team in RBIs each of the last two seasons. He has a strong ability to get on base and he’s a vocal leader on the team.
He had high praise for Felician-commit Luke Rebore-Costanzo.
“Luke is just a phenomenal athlete,” he said, which was certainly on display during our showcase at Ducks Stadium last August in which he ran a 6.4 60-yard dash. “He’s an All-American track guy. He’s just a menace offensively – he’s always on base and a constant threat to steal. As a CF, he covers a lot of ground and is also a vocal leader.”
Last but not least, Bonventre is a junior who was featured as part of our “Up Next” series in 2024. He is entering fourth year at the varsity level and will be another big bat in their lineup.
“JT is another kid who is super physical. He runs the bases really well. We are expecting a big year out of him. For us to do what we think we can do, it will be him driving in runs, stealing bases and playing all over the field. He will be a high-level college player,” said Gibson.
Dan Gilroy (Center Moriches 2026) strands a pair with a strikeout to end the fifth inning pic.twitter.com/GLx5406dnp
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 28, 2025
In terms of the pitching staff, they will be relying on New Haven-commit Danny Giroy to anchor the staff.
“He’ll throw the first game of each week. He was as good as Hiller was last year. He’s a bulldog. He does not want to come out of the game, he doesn’t want to be pinch ran for. Just loves to play. We’re gonna go as he goes.”
Joining him atop the rotation is sophomore Richie Roberts. He was another player we profiled in the “Up Next” series. Roberts was called up as an eighth grader so will also be entering his third year on varsity.
“He will pitch the third game of every series after playing shortstop the first two days. He is phenomenal defensively and had a really good year on the mound. I think his offense will take a jump this year, he’s put on some good size in the offseason.”
Behind the dish, they will have Jack Cressy, who is committed to Mount Saint Vincent. He will be tasked with handling their talented staff.
Senior Nico Libretti is another player that will compete for innings on the mound. They have a pair of sophomores, Jack Passaro and Alex Foster, who will both be on varsity and will be a big part of their present and future.
The “wild card” is Charlie Edwards, as Gibson called him.
The 6’4 flame thrower fired a perfect game on his 14th birthday and was also featured in our “Up Next” series. He was also called up as an eighth grader and will be an impact player sooner rather than later. He was up to 82 MPH last year and has plenty more in the tank.
6’4 RHP Charlie Edwards (Center Moriches 2029) pic.twitter.com/mi2vXWOAeV
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 24, 2025
Coach had the following to say about him in the “Up Next” story:
“He knew going in that there wouldn’t be a ton of playing time, but embraced the idea of working hard at practice every day and getting valuable experience being part of a strong varsity team. Early on, he was nervous at practice. But he showed really good maturity by not letting some struggles get to him and just continued to work. I’d say about 4 weeks into the season he really started to look comfortable being on the field with older players and he started to show the type of talent he is. Athletically, he really checks a lot of boxes. He’s a big strong kid. On the mound, he’s already into the 80s with a nasty hook. At the plate, he has power to all fields and really disciplined approach. What really stands out about him is the type of kid he is. He just is one of the genuinely most likable and restful kids I’ve worked with. Despite al the other positive attributes and talents he has as a player, his love for the game is what I believe will drive him to doing great things.”
The Red Devils are one of the most consistent programs in Suffolk County and will once again be competing for a championship. With their combination of talent, experience and youth, they will be title contenders for several years to come.
“Our guys for the most part, and we’ll probably have 15 players, 13 of them play year-round – travel ball, in the gym. A lot of our pitchers throw with Bill Pulsipher. He’s done a great job. It’s nice to have someone that I trust, and has similar upbringing with baseball and similar philosophy.”
They will compete in League 7 along with John Glenn, Southampton, Shoreham-Wading River, Bayport-Blue Point, Babylon and Mattituck.
“Over the last few years, the small schools have bridged the gap a little. We’ll be in a competitive league, there’s some solid pitching throughout. Always have BBP to go through. They were our kryptonite last year and we have to do a better job against them.”
They will open up against Southampton on March 27 at home.
