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Updated: December 2, 2009, 8:15 am	Share    Print    Email

State-of-the-art dugouts installed in Westhampton will be inhabited by both the Hurricanes varsity squad in the spring and the Aviators this summer. Photos courtesy HCB

With winter around the corner, there are plenty of items being cooked up in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball hot stove. It's time to go around the horn and examine some of the organization's off-season moves ...

Stepping It Up
In the interest of becoming one of the elite summer programs in the country, those at Hamptons Collegiate Baseball are aware that part of bringing in the best talent that the nation has to offer relates to, among other things, providing a high level of baseball, a path to the major leagues and creating a rewarding experience overall for its players. Another facet is the fields on which they play, and this year, all five East End fields figure to receive modest to major makeovers in preparation for the upcoming season.

An army of community members pitched in to give the Westhampton home field a makeover.

The field in Westhampton was in danger of not being ready not just for the Aviators this summer but for the high school varsity team in March. However, through the efforts of Lettieri Construction, DeLalio Sod Farms, several other local contractors and Hamptons Collegiate Baseball, wholesale renovations were made. They included the construction of two spectacular dugouts alongside each base line. Lettieri Construction, led by Tom Lettieri, donated the dugouts that came complete with benches, helmet racks and plenty of space for players to maneuver.

"They're the nicest dugouts in the Island, high school or college," said Westhampton Head Coach Terry Moran. "With their hard work, it's now a legit high school field, and it's going to make kids want to come out and play baseball again."

"New York Yankees players would be proud to go into these dugouts," added HCB President Rusty Leaver.

Issues with the grounds left both the varsity team's and the Aviators' seasons in jeopardy, but in working with Lenny DeLalio of DeLalio Sod, HCB was able to lay 37,000 square feet of sod, including more than 25,000 in the outfield, to create an idyllic baseball atmosphere for the home teams. Contractors from Accu-Rhett Contracting, Broadview Landscaping and Philip S. Bean Landscape Design contributed their time as did members of the Hurricanes varsity team.

Custom-made helmet racks are just part of what WBHS Head Coach Terry Moran calls "the best dugouts on the Island."

"It's an unbelievably great community effort," said Superintendent Lynn Schwartz. "Hamptons Collegiate Baseball, Tom Lettieri, community volunteers and members of the varsity team all came together to support the school, and I think it's just terrific."

"It's just a very happy ending to what could have been a very unfortunate scenario," Leaver said. "There were issues that had arisen that basically rendered that field unplayable for at least a year. Our view was there was the potential, with an aggressive program, we'd be able to play but varsity would definitely not be able to. Those of us involved in center of Hamptons Collegiate Baseball felt that we don't want to play on the field or any field if the primary use can't, especially if it's a school group. That would defeat the very purpose of what we're about, which is the inspirational part of this project."

It's just the beginning of a renovation process. Through Sportable Scoreboards in Murray, KY, electronic scoreboards will be installed at each location. There has been talk of having lights installed at one or more fields but no official word has been passed down in that regard; only Cochran Park in Peconic, home of the North Fork Ospreys, held night baseball in the summer of 2009.

Approximately 37,000 square feet of sod were used to revamp the field in Westhampton.

Recruiting Well Underway
The recruitment of players for the 2010 season is well underway with players from Duke, Indiana, Missouri State and most schools in the Big East and Atlantic 10 among those who have committed to the Hamptons. Signees include Nolan Becker, a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher out of Yale, catcher Tyler Barnette, an excellent catch-and-throw backstop at West Virginia, Hawaii Pacific third baseman Blake Amaral, who was named the Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Year after batting .386, and Hayden Holub, a righty out of Seward County Community College who's headed to Texas Tech. Front office officials feel strongly about the crop of talent that has committed. Each team will consist of approximately 24 players - 13 pitchers and 11 hitters.

Jeff Quiros, a former star at Lehigh and current assistant at St. John's, has agreed to head the ACBL champion Westhampton Aviators. Photo courtesy Lehigh Media Relations

Additions To Coaching Staff And Front Office
Former St. John's catcher and current assistant coach Jeff Quiros has been added to the Hamptons' coaching staff and will take the reins of the ACBL champion Westhampton Aviators. Quiros came highly recommended by former St. John's coach and athletic director Jack Kaiser and Red Storm head coach Ed Blankmeyer. Quiros, a Mamaroneck native and four-year letterman at Lehigh University, joined St. John's in 2008 and is the team's assistant hitting coach and first base coach. He also was an assistant for the Saratoga Phillies of the New York Collegiate Baseball League last summer.

"I couldn't be more thrilled about the opportunity to be a part of Hamptons Collegiate Baseball," said Quiros, who replaces last year's Aviators coach, Dave Walker. "I'm excited about the talent coming in, developing this talent and being a part of a project that will get better every year."

HCB has brought in four Red Storm players - OF Kevin Needham, C Mike Lonsdale, RHP Kevin Grove and RHP/1B John Schilt - yet rules prevent them from being coached by Quiros.

Randy Caden, the head coach at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, has also accepted a head coaching role in the Hamptons division. Elsewhere, Shawn Epidendio (North Fork) and Andrew Lorraine (Southampton) have verbally committed to return as their team's managers. The Sag Harbor post is currently vacant.

In addition, significant talks have occurred to bring former major league pitchers Tommy John and Neal Heaton on as members of the organization's front office. John won 288 games over 26 seasons in the majors and appeared in three World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. Heaton, a star at Sachem High and the University of Miami, recorded 80 wins in 12 major league seasons.