2012 All-Hudson Valley baseball team

Related media

VIDEOS

VIDEOS

Follow baseball in the Hudson Valley on Twitter: @MSGVarsityKDJ

Hudson Valley Baseball All-Stars: 2012

Hitter of the Year: Seth Lamando, Ketcham. The most feared hitter in the Hudson Valley for the last two years, Lamando leaves a two-time all-state player in the most competitive conference in the state. He was voted by Section 1 coaches as the Tony Zimbalatti MVP award winner after batting .456 with a .527 on-base percentage. Despite rarely getting pitched to, he had 14 extra-base hits, hit two homers, drove in 18 runs and scored 22. Lamando, who’ll play at Coastal Carolina, guided the Indians to a Section 1 championship last year and led them to the Class AA quarters this season.

Pitcher of the Year: Max Bruckner, Harrison. Bruckner established himself this season as a legitimate “big game pitcher.” His postseason was epic, winning three of Harrison’s four Section 1 playoff games and not allowing an earned run in those 17 2/3 innings with 22 strikeouts. After throw a complete game in the semifinals, he came back two days later and tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief as Harrison beat Byram Hills in 10 innings for the Section 1 Class A title. Bruckner, who’ll pitch at Iona College, ends his senior year 8-1 with a 0.88 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings.

Newcomer of the Year: Tim Degraw, Rye. The freshman star burst onto the scene this year and secured his place atop the Garnets’ lineup the next three years. The shortstop standout led the team with a .446 batting average, 27 runs, 33 hits, six doubles, and 22 stolen bases. Degraw also hit two triples and drove in 12 runs, earned honors as the only freshman selection All-Section.

Coach of the Year: Tom Virgadamo, Haldane. The former Haldane standout as led the program to new heights as a coach. Virgadamo guided his team to a 16-win regular season despite playing many Class A and B opponents, and a return trip to the Section 1 Class C final. The Blue Devils knocked off defending state champion Tuckahoe for their first title since 2004 and then won three straight state tournament games — all shutouts. Haldane lost in the state final to unbeaten Lansing. The team fed off Virgadamo’s tireless energy and enthusiasm, and was one of the section’s best pitching and defensively polished squads. With so much talent returning, don’t be shocked if next year Haldane eclipses this memorable season.

MSG Varsity All-Hudson Valley

First team
C: Andres Larramendi, Sr., Horace Greeley: Although quiet, Larramendi had one of the most productive four-year varsity careers of any player in a decade. As a senior he batted .368 with four homers, 21 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He walked 16 times, six of which were intentional and rarely saw quality pitches to hit. He even batted leadoff to increase his number of at-bats. In his career, he batted .405 with 23 home runs, 95 RBI, 23 doubles and 48 stolen bases. Larramendi, who’ll play at Princeton, ended his career in style — in his final at-bat, he hit a grand slam in a playoff loss to Clarkstown South.

1B: Tony Romanelli, Soph., Beacon: The section’s top young star continued his rise to an elite level. After earning all-state honors as a freshman, he was voted the Conference I pitcher of the year for the second time. Romanelli went 5-3 with 64 strikeouts and a miniscule 0.46 ERA thanks to just three earned runs allowed all season. At the plate, the preseason All-American batted .333.

2B: Elbin Martinez, Sr., North Rockland: One of the surprise stars of Section 1 this season, Martinez wasn’t even supposed to be the best middle infielder on his own team. But he started hot and carried the Red Raiders offense at times, finishing with team-highs with a .451 average, 24 RBI and second with 22 runs scored. Martinez, the Conference I Player of the Year, homered twice, stole 14 bases and committed just two errors in 79 chances.

SS: Seth Lamando, Ketcham: Hitter of the Year

3B: John Fussell, Sr., Briarcliff: Few players have had quite a two-year stretch as Fussell. The slugging left-hander led the Bears to a second straight Section 1 championship and back to the Class B state title game. He had a team-high .436 batting average with 32 RBI, 25 runs, 12 extra-base hits and a team-high 19 walks to only five strikeouts. In two years, he’s batted .473 with seven homers, 64 RBI and 70 runs scored, leading Briarcliff to 46 victories. Fussell will play at either Texas Tech, Wake Forrest or UConn.

OF: Adam Calabro, John Jay-EF: Calabro managed to stand out on one of the deepest, most talented team in the Section 1 this season. He was in the top three of almost every major offensive category, including batting average where he hit .380 and on-base percentage with .597. Calabro was arguably the best defensive outfielder in the Hudson Valley and helped guide the Patriots to a 19-5 record and a berth the Section 1 Class AA title game.

OF: Bret Viola, Carmel: The four-year varsity starter established himself as much as power pitcher as he was a power hitter. The 6-foot, 190-pounder batted .429 with a .671 slugging percentage, guiding the Rams to the Section 1 Class AA semifinals. As the team’s ace, Viola went 3-1 with a 1.97 ERA, striking out 35 batters in 21 1/3 innings. Viola, a Diamond 9 scholar-athlete scholarship award winner, will play next year at Stevens Tech.

OF: T.J. Hallock, Sr., Fox Lane: Few players had a season as good at the plate as Hallock — and nobody had anything close to the six-game stretch to end the season as he did. Hallock, who’ll play football at Colby, batted .475 with five homers, 27 RBI and 29 runs scored to earn league MVP honors. In the final four games of the regular season and two rounds of the playoffs, Hallock carried the Foxes. He went 14 for 21 with four homers and 14 RBI, highlighted by a stretch where he hit homers in three straight at-bats.

UTIL: Matt Mezansky, Mamaroneck: One of the region’s top pure contact hitters, Mezansky batted .492 with a .595 on-base percentage as a senior. He had two home runs, 23 RBI and 19 runs scored, stole 10 bases and struck out just six times in 84 plate appearances. Mezansky, a multisport star who’ll play baseball at Franklin and Marshall, has batted in the middle of the Mamaroneck order the last three season, guiding the program to an impressive 53-13 record in that span.

SP: Max Bruckner, Harrison: Pitcher of the Year.

SP: Dominick Kulbaba, Suffern: The 6-foot-2 right-hander has been one of the region’s elite pitchers the last three seasons. As a senior Kulbaba went 6-1 with a 2.04 ERA, striking out 67 batters in 55 innings. Kulbaba was voted the Dom Cecere Pitcher of the Year by Section 1 coaches, and was the Conference IV Pitcher of the Year the last two seasons. He went 14-3 in his career with five saves while hitting .405 and recording 86 hits and 61 RBI in three seasons.

SP: Tim McCarthy, Iona Prep: The ace of the city champions, McCarthy carried a pitching staff that was solid early in the season and sensational late. The 6-foot-7 Temple-bound ace went 6-2 with a 1.14 ERA, highlighted by a terrific complete game effort in the city championship against rival Fordham Prep. He struck out 58 batters in 54 innings.

SP: Andrew Slosberg, Byram Hills: An extremely-talented all-around player really emerged as one of the region’s hardest throwers this season. He went 8-1, striking out 66 batters in 61 innings, and posting a 1.61 ERA. Slosberg set school records for wins and ERA and earned him league pitcher of the year honors. He also batted .347 with 12 RBI and 21 runs scored, guiding the Bobcats to the Section 1 Class A title game.

Second team
C: Joe Scambia, Jr., Somers
1B: Joe Boland, Sr., Arlington
MI: Vinny DeMaria, Sr., Iona Prep
MI: Wardy Polanco, Sr., North Rockland
3B: Mike Scocozza, Sr., Arlington
OF: Dan Speranza, Sr., Spackenkill
OF: Spencer Kulman, Jr., Briarcliff
OF: Bill Sablinksi, Sr., Beacon
UTIL: Tyler Curtis, Sr., Marlboro
SP: Dan Kinnaird, Sr., Haldane
SP: Alec Eisenberg, Sr., Ardsley
SP: Tyler Choate, Sr., Marlboro
SP: Paul Henshaw, Sr., Briarcliff

Third team
C: Dan Stein, Sr., Ardsley
C: Kyle Adams, Jr., White Plains
1B: Matt Oniffrey, Jr., Fox Lane
MI: Mike Laffin, Jr., John Jay-EF
MI: Eddie Ritch, Sr., Dobbs Ferry
3B: Erik Bauer, Sr., Kennedy
OF: Will Marmor, Sr., Warwick
OF: Matt Horton, Sr., Arlington
UTIL: Matt Forlow, Jr., Haldane
UTIL: Richard Slenker, Jr., Fox Lane
SP: Kento Suga, Sr., Keio
SP: Jackson Conway, Sr., Bronxville
SP: Joe Chaisson, Sr., Pleasantville
SP: Willis Robbins, Sr., Rye

Fourth team
C: Kyle Adams, Jr., White Plains
1B: Joe Anselmi, Sr., North Rockland
MI: Joe Tomasulo, Jr., Somers
MI: Jesse Galina, Sr., Suffern
3B: Jake Tedesco, Sr., Pearl River
OF: Chris Osterman, Jr., FDR-Hyde Park
OF: Rashawn Armstrong, Sr., Ossining
OF: T.J. Margiotta, Sr., Clarksown North
UTIL: Alex Beckett, Sr., Harrison
SP: L.J. Gallo, Sr., Tuckahoe
SP: Sky Bates, Jr. Kennedy
SP: Will Jahn, Jr., John Jay-Cross River
SP: Matt Todd, Sr., Ketcham

About the MSG Varsity Hudson Valley All-Stars: The awards winners and first-, second- and third-team selections were limited to players from public and private schools from our regional coverage areas, including Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess and sections of Putnam and Orange counties. For a list of MSG Varsity coverage schools, click here.

All-Stars and award winners were selected by MSG Varsity reporter Kevin Devaney Jr. with the assistance of a panel of coaches from throughout the region.

Email Kevin Devaney Jr. at kdevaney@cablevision.com
 

More from MSGVarsity.com