The Johnston baseball team has made deep runs into the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and the Panthers will be looking to do the same this spring.
Two seasons ago, the Panthers made it to the Final Four, before coming one win away last season.
Johnston’s goal has remained the same, as it will return many of its starters from a season ago.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs, just like it is every year,” Johnston head coach Steve DeMeo said.
The Panthers should have a good shot of doing just that, as they’ll look to an experienced pitching staff to carry the load.
Highlighting that staff will be senior ace, Korey Fijal.
Other arms that will be relied upon to eat a number of innings will be juniors Jake Pratte and Jake Podmaska, as well as freshman Zachary Clesas.
The Panthers should be outstanding in the field this season, returning some experienced players at key positions.
Pacing the defense will be one of the top shortstops in the state, Jake Coro.
Joining Coro up the middle will be senior Aaron Perfetto, who will start at second.
At the corners, Johnston will start two captains – junior Nick Raposo and senior Steve Pennacchia – with Raposo starting at third and Pennacchia at first.
In terms of the outfield, Fijal will patrol centerfield when he’s not on the bump. When he is, Marc Conte will fill his spot in center.
Junior Joe Michael is set to start in left field, while Podmaska will start in right when he’s not on the mound.
Assisting DeMeo this season will be Ed Bedrosian and junior varsity coach Ryan Geremia.
One thing that Johnston has going for it is its tremendous depth, as DeMeo noted that his outfield and pitching staff, in-particular, are very deep.
That may be useful because of the schedule down the stretch. Because of postponements due to weather in recent weeks, several games got pushed back. As a result, the Panthers will play 18 games in just seven weeks.
That many games with little rest can damage a pitching staff, but luckily for DeMeo, he has several players who can pitch.
“We have a deep pitching staff, with a number of guys who can come in and give us an inning or two,” DeMeo said. “I’ll be looking for our starters to give us five (innings), then we’ll piece together the last two.”
There’s no question that Johnston’s biggest strength this season will be its defense.
“Defensively, we’ll be really good,” DeMeo said. “If the ball is put in play, we’ll be able to catch it.”
Johnston was set to open its season at Central on Wednesday, but results were unavailable at press time.
The Panthers will travel to East Greenwich on Friday for a 4 p.m. start.
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