Gershkoff gearing up for another season

Matt Metcalf
Posted 6/18/15

With all but the state championship series decided around the state for high school baseball, many players are now focusing their attention on legion ball.

That’s certainly the case for the …

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Gershkoff gearing up for another season

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With all but the state championship series decided around the state for high school baseball, many players are now focusing their attention on legion ball.

That’s certainly the case for the Cranston-based Gershkoff Auto Body – Auburn Post 20 senior legion squad.

Behind head coach Dave Schiappa, Gershkoff played late into the summer last year, making it all the way to the semifinals before getting eliminated.

Although much of the roster is different this summer, Gershkoff is hoping to make another deep run this time around.

Gershkoff’s roster composition will consist of mainly current players at Cranston West and Cranston East. Additionally, two players from La Salle will suit up for Gershkoff this summer – catcher Chris Perez and pitcher Ryan Quirk – as well as two post-graduate players – Rhode Island College right-hander Myles Levy and former Cranston East pitcher Nick Mendez.

Behind the dish, Schiappa will return West’s starting backstop, Sam Franco. La Salle’s Perez will also push for time at catcher as well as first base.

At first, there is a battle for playing time.

Along with Perez, Schiappa also has West’s Connor Kiernan, Mitch Carvalho and Steve Piscopiello that will compete for innings at first.

At the other three infield positions, Gershkoff will have a trio of versatile infielders in Travis Collins, Nik San Antonio and Austin Alzate.

In the outfield, East’s Mike Castillo and Harold Corniel will see a bulk of the innings alongside Carvalho and Piscopiello.

However, pitching will be the key for Gershkoff this season, as it has put together a rotation that has seen a number of quality high school innings.

Schiappa noted that he evaluates his rotation from year-to-year and didn’t want to appoint an ace, but it seems as if the pitching staff will be an area of tremendous depth.

The staff will consist of Levy, Quirk, Mendez, West’s Blake Giarrusso, Dan Smith, Collins, Alzate, Kiernan, Dave Cushman and Mike Cuddemi and current East right-hander Chrisdione Mendez.

“We definitely have solid depth at pitching,” Schiappa said. “You need that when you’re playing something like 35 games in 30 days.”

All in all, there is some uncertainty around Gershkoff this summer as it is a largely inexperienced team, particularly at the plate.

“This potentially could be somewhat of a rebuilding year,” Schiappa said. “Our pitching and defense should be good, but we’re definitely a young team.”

Schiappa will be assisted this summer by Mike Pagano, John Collins, Tyler Collins, Matt Brannon, Jimmy Deady and Rob DeCosta.

Schiappa also mentioned he would like to thank Steve Gershkoff and Gershkoff Auto Body, who have sponsored the team for the last 21 years.

Auburn Post 20 and Elmwood Sports are also sponsoring the junior legion team this summer. The two teams will play a junior/senior scrimmage at Cranston West on June 23.

Gershkoff will also be holding its annual Marchetti’s fundraiser at Auburn Post on June 28. Anyone who’s interested in purchasing a ticket can contact Schiappa at coachschiappa@aol.com.

There’s no easing into the schedule for Gershkoff this week. It was set to open up its season against J2 Design Group Sharks – Post 22 on Tuesday. It will travel to La Salle to take on East Coast Beverages – Post 29 today at 5:30 p.m., before hosting West Warwick Post Two at Cranston Stadium on Friday for a doubleheader. The start times for the doubleheader are 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

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