Horseheads saw one of the most successful high school baseball coaches in New York history retire and lost to graduation a pitcher who had inarguably one of the greatest seasons ever nationally.
Nevertheless, it remains business as usual for the defending New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA champion Blue Raiders.
Horseheads posted victories in seven of its first 10 games, including a 6-0 mark against Southern Tier Athletic Conference competition broken up by a 1-3 trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that was more productive than the record shows.
Leading the group is longtime JV coach and first-year varsity head coach Andy Scott, who comes off a girls basketball season that saw him reach 400 career wins and guide Horseheads to the Class AA state semifinals.
“We’ve been having a good year so far. Hopefully we can keep it going,” Scott said after a 5-3 win over Corning on Wednesday, April 22. “They’re great kids, they want to get better.”
Horseheads faced some of the nation’s top programs in Myrtle Beach, including Ohio power Archbishop Moeller and a memorable 14-inning loss to Apollo (Kentucky).
“I thought the Myrtle Beach trip really made us a more cohesive unit,” Scott said. “We were 1-3, but we competed really hard with probably some of the better teams that we’ve seen.”
Jeff Limoncelli is now semi-retired and is an assistant coach at Mansfield University after guiding Horseheads to two state titles in baseball and 437 wins from 1998 until 2025.
Mason Holloway is pitching for Binghamton University after posting an 8-0 record and allowing one earned run and no walks while striking out 111 in 64 innings last season for Horseheads.
Scott said the focus is getting better practice-by-practice and game-by-game. Horseheads has the early edge in the STAC West race.
“It’s baseball and I know it’s hard for me, but it’s one of those things you’ve got to take with a grain of salt,” said Scott, an assistant football coach in the fall. “So many things you can’t control out there, where in basketball and football you can.
“I’ve learned from Jeff, he’s been a great mentor for the last 20 years for me and just watching what he does and the way he handles himself and his approach, I try to just emulate him to the best of my ability. And surround yourself with good people like coach (Mike) Bennett and coach (Jerry) Laney.”
New starters have taken advantage of opportunities
Three starters return from last season: first baseman/pitcher Cooper Ball, center fielder Kegan Monahan, and catcher Lyncoln Bennett.
Ball was a secondary pitching ace for Horseheads last season, posting a 7-0 record and 1.63 ERA. Monahan batted .361 and had the winning hit in the state final. Bennett delivered the winning hit in a state quarterfinal.
In Wednesday’s win over Corning, Ball blasted a 2-run homer in the opening inning to help the Blue Raiders shake off a rough defensive frame on the way to the win.
“The rest of them are pretty much newer kids from JV or kids who didn’t play much last year and have come in and done a great job,” Scott said of the starters.
“We have a lot kids who can play a lot of different positions, too, which is nice. It’s been nice to have some depth at the pitching spot.”
Mason Markle has joined fellow righty Ball at the top of the rotation. Both eat up innings and have thrown strikes while mixing up pitches and keeping hitters off balance.
“They’re pitchers, not throwers,” Scott said. “And I think they do a good job of getting ourselves into a good position.
“We get the lead and if we get a couple of good innings of relief from somebody, you’ve got kids like Chase Mashanic, A.J. Sheehan, Kegan Monahan, they’re going to come in and the job for you.”
Patrick Laney, a stalwart in center field last season, decided to compete in track & field this spring as he gets set to run collegiately at SUNY Geneseo.
“He was up front and I gave him our blessing,” Scott said of their February conversation. “We want to see him do well, obviously. I got to coach him in football and he’s a great kid.”
Monahan has made the move to center field and Scott said he’s done “a great job” there. Other players have stepped into the lineup and taken advantage of their opportunities.
Coaching reunion for Scott and Bennett
Horseheads boasts one of the more accomplished assistants in Bennett, who coached Thomas A. Edison to five Section 4 titles and ranks among the top hitters in St. Bonaventure history. Lyncoln Bennett is Mike’s son.
Scott’s coaching career got started about 30 years ago when he joined Bennett in coaching modified football at Edison. Scott said Bennett was the first person he called after being named varsity baseball coach.
“I know he’s very knowledgeable, he played the game at the Division I level, he’s won sectional titles at Edison,” Scott said. “Really knowledgeable of the game, a great person to have around, very level-headed but still can motivate them.”
‘Everybody wants to beat Horseheads’
Defending a state title comes with an inherent bullseye on your back. But that’s nothing new for Horseheads, a program that ruled the old Sullivan Trail Conference under Jim Keenan and the STAC West under Limoncelli.
“Everybody wants to beat Horseheads,” Scott said. “Jeff Limoncelli has done a great job with this program for three decades and Mr. Keenan had done the same thing prior to him, so Horseheads sort of has a bullseye on their back for the last maybe 60 years. Everybody wants to beat them.
“I don’t really feel the pressure (of being defending state champs). I told the kids, ‘One day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time.’ They go out and respond, they go out and play hard.”
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: New coach, new players, typical success for Horseheads baseball
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
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