The snow has melted, the temperature is rising, and baseball season is here.

With the long winter, and snow still on the fields, preseason this year was hectic as teams competed for gym time and tried to get themselves ready mostly indoors. The baseball team feels ready to go however.  Ten seniors will be returning this spring and six of them were starters last year. Even though competition will be tough and young pitchers will have to step up, Coach Phalon is looking for a successful first season as head coach.

Last year, the team relied heavily on senior aces Luke Sniatkowski, Dean DeNicola, and Jon Tosh. This year, they will rely heavily on freshman Collin Kiernan and juniors Mike Cifaretto, Thanasi Grillias, Mario Catania, and Chris Bujnowski, none of which have any varsity baseball experience.

This is a concern for the team because of the lack of varsity experience.

Coach Phalon is thrilled to have an all senior infield, a senior catcher, and a few senior outfielders. He is also happy to have back some varsity pitching experience from seniors Matt McKeown, Max Vasile, and junior Luke Connell.

Tom DeNicola (OF), Mike Coppola (3B), Matt Rubins (SS), James Hill (2B), PJ Lombardi (C), and Luke Weiss (1B) all started have been varsity contributors the last two years and will be starting in the field this spring.

Even though the senior-heavy team looks promising, the competition is going to be tough as always. Newark Academy, Caldwell, MKA, and Cedar Grove are always tough opponents along with Group 3 West Essex.

“Rufo from Cedar Grove and Torres from Bloomfield are two players we always have to look out for,” said junior Mike Cifaretto. “They both can singlehandedly change the outcome of games.”

However coach Phalon feels confident and is ready to go. He is looking at the bright side of the long winter. “The gym time allow(ed) us to focus mainly on hitting which has been our biggest struggle the last two years,” said coach.

Mitch Roshong, Chris Suel, and Greg Davidson are new additions to the coaching staff who have already been a huge help for the Hillbillies. Coach Davidson and Coach Roshong were once players for Verona, so they know what it’s like.

The baseball team has three goals every year. They are to compete in the county tournament, compete in the state tournament, and to beat Cedar Grove at Yogi Berra Stadium. Last year, the team only reached one of those goals, but hopes to achieve all three this year.

I definitely think we can compete in the state tournament as long as our hitting is up to par with our competition,” said junior outfielder Paul Chanley

Verona is starting the preseason on a high note with a lot of confidence heading into the season. Now the team just has to play the games and see how the season turns out.