WAPPINGERS FALLS ― John Esposito’s talent and tireless drive had won the admiration of his coaches, those qualities earning him a promotion to the varsity level as a sophomore.
The pitcher, coach Pat Mealy said, “is the kind of the kid you love to root for” because of his demeanor. One of those endearing traits is patience, because Esposito understood it would be a long wait for the mound given the stars in their rotation and the expectations of this baseball team.
“I was on the bench, watching them and waiting for my chance,” the Roy C. Ketcham senior said on May 13. “But I learned a lot just from being around those guys and I took those lessons into this year.”
Those guys are now playing at the Division I level collegiately, and Esposito is proving the wait was worthwhile.
The right-hander suppressed a surging lineup while leading the Storm in a head-turning 12-2 win over John Jay-East Fishkill that clinched for them a league title.
“Oh, my God,” teammate Nick Mondesando said while pointing at Esposito afterwards. “That’s the man. He’s had a few outings in a row where he’s been lights-out.”
Esposito, who recovered from elbow tendinitis early this season, has dominated down the stretch and is quickly establishing himself as a legitimate ace. But none of his previous starts was as important as this performance against their rival.
Ketcham rebounded from a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Patriots on Monday and, with a lopsided five-inning victory over what might’ve been the hottest team in Section 1, they issued a reminder, Mealy said, “that we’re still a team to be reckoned with.”
The Storm erupted for five runs each in the third and fourth innings, forcing a mercy-rule finish. Joe Downey went 3 for 3 with two runs, Giancarlo Henry drove in two, and Ethan Paredes was 2 for 2 with a walk, two RBI and two runs for Ketcham (15-3).
“It feels great,” said Mondesando, who went 2 for 4 and drove in three runs. “We didn’t get the timely hits last game, and we made errors that cost us. But we were out here from fifth period working on our infield defense and adjusting our approach. So, to see the results and bounce back like this, it’s awesome.”
Esposito utilized a well-located fastball and curve, scattering seven hits and striking out six in the complete game. John Jay got two runners on and threatened to score in the first, but he escaped the jam by striking out the side.
“Getting out of that spot with a ‘zero’ was big for me,” said Esposito, who improved to 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA. “That made me feel more confident and let me get settled in.”
He carried a shutout for 4⅓ innings until surrendering a two-run homer to Alex Jendras.
But his emergence this season is an example of what has enabled Ketcham to flourish, including winning three consecutive Section 1 championships. That the team can graduate six stars, including some of the program’s all-time greats, and still be among the title contenders is a testament to their depth and player development.
“I’d like to say, ‘It’s another game,’ but against a team as great as Jay, it’s not,” Mealy said. “It’s great, but we can’t lose sight of the fact we’ve got much bigger goals than (the league title).”
Esposito was aided by his offense immediately as the Storm got on the board in the first. Ensley Perez led off with an infield single, took second on a balk, and later scored on Tyler Durkin’s single.
Ketcham added a run in the second, then pulled away in the third. Parades’ two-run single made it 5-0 and Mondesando’s RBI double extended the lead to seven. The Storm, Mondesando said, need to continue building momentum for the playoffs because “we can’t let a win like this go to waste.”
Shane Driscoll was 2 for 3 with a run and Landon Stichbury went 2 for 2 for the Patriots (17-2).
These teams met in the Class AAA section final last season and that could again be a possibility. The regular season concludes this week and they both will be seeded high in their bracket, potentially setting the stage for another Wappingers school district showdown.
“There’ll definitely be some added confidence for us, knowing we can beat them and that we have,” Esposito said. “But we know they’ll be locked in and intense if we see them again, so we can’t relax.”
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Baseball: Esposito continues breakout, helping Ketcham topple John Jay for league title
Reporting by Stephen Haynes, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
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