New Dorp catcher Tyler Wurshefski (r.) tags out Tottenville’s Joe Sessa as he slides into home. (Christina Santucci)
Tottenville shortstop Gil Mendoza throws from the seated position for an out. (Christina Santucci)
Tottenville has the same purple jerseys, fearsome lineup and unmistakable swagger.
Yet with the new season has come new roles for the defending PSAL Class A champion, and they were put to the test Sunday against emerging New Dorp amid heavy winds.
There was last year’s closer, senior Mike Gillen, given the ball from the start; junior Vin Aiello, a starter all his life, in Gillen’s old role out of the bullpen; and designated hitter George Kantzian protecting Stony Brook recruit Kevin Krause out of the cleanup spot instead of eighth, where he terrorized opposing pitchers last spring.
“I knew this would be a good test,” Tottenville coach Tom Tierney Jr. said.
All three came through in those respective positions and the result was a hard-fought 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon for The Post’s top-ranked baseball team. Aiello earned his first PSAL save with two innings of scoreless relief, Gillen went five-plus strong innings for his second win and Kantzian drove home the go-ahead run with a double.
“It means we have an edge on them because we beat them and I think it will go like this the whole year,” Kantzian said.
Aiello stood out in particular because he found himself in a tight spot for the first time this season, the bases loaded and nobody out and the Pirates (3-0 Staten Island A) clinging to a two-run lead in the home sixth against the Central Cougars (4-1).
Described by Tierney as “a bulldog” and “fearless,” Aiello responded to the jam by fanning New Dorp’s Alex Joseph on three pitches, came from behind to whiff leadoff man Tom Sheridan and induced Steve Kuzcera into a weak groundout to third. He earned his first league save by pitching around a Matt Domina single in the seventh.
“Knowing this is a PSAL game, good team, it was big — it was really big,” he said. “Confidence is through the roof right now.”
New to the role, he has studied Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and how he prepares for end-of-game situations. Aiello likes to stay to himself as the opportunity nears, listen to rock music and focus on the task at hand.
“In the beginning of the year, because of pitch-counts, he’s probably the most important guy on the staff,” Tierney said. “What you saw today is what he can do – hopefully without as many runners on base.”
Kantzian, meanwhile, had the contest’s biggest at bat, driving home Tom Kain with the go-ahead run in the fifth. Just two innings earlier, he stepped to the plate with two men aboard, nobody out and fished for a Danny Karasinski breaking ball in the dirt.
Kantzian thrived in the eighth spot last year – Tottenville coaches often said he was the best eighth-place hitter in the city – but was moved up after the graduation of several key seniors. With seven RBIs in three league games, the transition has been a seamless one.
“Definitely you have to be more of a contact hitter, more of a power hitter and more of an RBI guy,” Kantzian said of the transition. “I definitely like the challenge. … Maybe I can be the best 4-hitter [this year].”
The win was by no means flawless. Tottenville committed six errors, leading directly to New Dorp’s only run, stranded 10 runners on base and walked four. It was nevertheless a victory against a team some consider the Pirates’ biggest challenger to their Staten Island dominance in less than ideal conditions. Plus, they received key contributions from players in new roles.
“I’m happy with the fact we stayed calm and didn’t panic after some bad things happened,” Tierney said. “We knew they were good, we knew they came in 4-0 and they have some good players. We knew this was gonna be a game today. We did enough to win.”
