Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
East Tennessee SS Cody Miller (Rocky Point 2022) selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 3rd round of the 2025 MLB Draft pic.twitter.com/Jyf4cYs88M
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 14, 2025
As he enters his eighth year as head coach of the Rocky Point Eagles, head coach Anthony Anzalone’s team is coming off of a season in which they finished just over the.500 mark. Finishing 10-8 in league play and 11-9 overall. Despite falling short of their ultimate goal, Anzalone believes it was a step in the right direction for his team.
“We lost to East Islip in the first round of the playoffs 1-0 on a 10th inning squeeze.” Anzalone said. “We came back and beat West Babylon in eight innings the next game, but we ultimately lost to East Hampton in the third round of the playoffs. Two years ago we missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years so last year was a team with some of those guys who missed the playoffs. So, they really put their heads down to make sure that didn’t happen again. We were really proud of the season that they put together. Making it through three rounds of the playoffs against some really good teams was a huge success for us.”
Last year’s Eagles team consisted of three key seniors, who will each be missed by the Eagles this season. They include Ryan Loughlin, Vito Spatafina and Tyler Maggio.
“They were the three highlight seniors that we graduated last year.” Anzalone said. “Loughlin and Spatafina were our one and two starters. Loughlin and Maggio are playing at SUNY Plattsburgh now, and Spatafina is playing at SUNY Cobleskill.”
The only member of Rocky Point currently committed to play college baseball is Dom Pavlicko. Pavlicko, a SUNY Farmingdale commit, had a strong season for the Eagles in 2025. Pavlicko hit .281 with a .683 OPS and drove in five runs.
“He had a really good summer and fall for the Blue Line Rangers.” Anzalone said. “So we’re excited to have him possibly be our leadoff guy this year.”
In terms of other returning players, at the very top of the list is junior left hander and reigning All-League player Colin Ark. In 55 plate appearances last year, Ark hit .262 with a .670 OPS. Additionally, Ark also features as a premiere pitcher for the Eagles. Six starts, Ark pitched to a 2.78 ERA, striking out 29 batters to only 12 walks. When he’s not pitching, Ark features as the team’s primary first baseman.
“What he’s put together the last couple years speaks for itself.” Anzalone said. “Going into his junior season, he’s slated to have a great year.”
Likely behind Pavlicko in the number two spot this year will be Tyler Callahan. Along with featuring at second base for the Eagles, Callahan is also the team’s closer. Last season, Callahan pitched in nine games, and was five for five in save opportunities. Callahan pitched to a 1.61 ERA and struck out 29 batters to only 12 walks. Although only a freshman, Anzalone has big expectations for Alek Wozny. Last year, despite only being in eighth grade, Wozny was one of the Eagles top bats. Wozny hit .288 with a .684 OPS. Wozny also led the team with 13 RBIs. And, although he only threw three innings on the mound last year, Wozny is expected to step into a major role on the mound, and will likely feature as the Eagles number two starter.
“He was an eighth grader last year starting on varsity at third base.” Anzalone said. “He had a great year, especially for an eighth grader, we’re very excited to have him back.”
The second of the two Rocky Point eighth graders from last year is Jacob Abran. Now a freshman, Abran is expected to feature heavily around the infield for the Eagles. Last year, Abran only had six at bats on varsity, but made the most of them as he recorded two hits including a double. On the mound, Abran threw six innings for Rocky Point last year, and could see an increased role there this year.
Jacob Abran (Rocky Point 2029) pic.twitter.com/3EZa7Omx53
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 22, 2025
“We’re excited for him to have a great year.” Anzalone said. “He’s slated to be in the rotation in some way, shape or form, if not be our closer. He’ll be around the infield and he’s our starting short stop as of right now. He also might play a little third base and maybe play some second. He’s very versatile.”
A senior, Anzalone is expecting to see Gavin Lamoureux take a big step forward this season. Lamoureux could see both time on the mound and at the plate, and will be heavily relied upon as a senior.
“He was a utility guy, that kind of spot filled last year.” Anzalone said. “He will have an opportunity to earn a regular spot this year.”
When it comes to his team’s biggest strength, Anzalone believes it will be taking care of the little things.
“I think we do a lot of the little things well.” Anzalone said. “We obviously have Colin who is a proven ace in this league. But aside from that, we have great role guys who we’ve seen step up over the last year. There’s going to be a lot of ‘who wants to get the job done today.’ I don’t want to say we’re the underdogs, but teams aren’t going to know what to expect from us. So we can go out and surprise a lot of people with the talent that we have and do a lot of different things well.”
The Rocky Point Eagles will open their season on March 27 against Miller Place.
