Epley Thinks His Southampton Baseball Team Can Turn Things Around This Season

The Southampton baseball team is a bit of a conundrum entering this season — despite having young players in regard to relative age and grade, the team is returning players, such as sophomore Daniel McDonnell, who are entering their third year on varsity.

The question is, are those players ready to take the program to new heights this season? Mariners head coach Zach Epley thinks the team could turn things around sooner rather than later, thanks to what is now an experienced group, but also to what is a more favorable schedule.

Due to the county using geographic location in all sports this school year as a way of determining league placement, Southampton will play in a League IX this season that will only include fellow Class B schools Babylon, Center Moriches and Mattituck, all teams Epley thinks his team can hang with. It will certainly be different, he said, not having to play county powerhouses Shoreham-Wading River, and the like, this season.

“I look at our schedule, and even though we only had two wins last year, realistically we should be at or above .500 this season. Our goal is to get to that 10-win number and make playoffs. I think it’s very doable,” he explained. “Our two wins last season were against a very good Pierson team and Mattituck, and Mattituck graduated 12 seniors. Center Moriches won Class B last year and they graduated their four best players and we played them competitively last year. So Babylon is probably the favorite to win the league, but I think we can be competitive with them as well.”

The Mariners will be led by their only two seniors this season in Riley Herrmann and Douglas Dunkirk. Herrmann is entering his fourth year on varsity, Dunkirk his third, and both are going to be leaned on for their offense and defense. Epley said Herrmann will play mostly centerfield with some shortstop thrown in depending on who is pitching. To that end, Dunkirk will play a utility role and slot in depending who is throwing.

Also returning is junior Liam Blackmore, entering his third year on varsity, who has a strong bat, Epley said, and will be a corner infielder and do some pitching as well. The aforementioned McDonnell looks to be the pitching staff’s ace, Epley said, and will also play shortstop. Sophomore Elijah Abella, entering his second year on varsity, will slot in behind McDonnell on the pitching staff.

Jackson Romanow is also entering his second year on varsity as a sophomore and Epley said he most likely has the best pure swing on the team, and due to his velocity, could end up closing some games on the mound. Bailey Brown, who played her way on to the team as an eighth-grader last season, will be entering her freshman season on varsity. Epley said Brown, Romanow and Blackmore all have a chance to be the team’s third starting pitcher.

Declan Barbour, a junior, is also returning, and is looking to start somewhere on the infield, Epley said, while sophomore Travis Kreymborg, who played some varsity last season, could figure into one of the starting outfield roles to start the season

One of the few newcomers to the team this season is freshman James Dudley who could start behind the plate and has already shown a promising bat, Epley said.

“A lot of the season will come down to our sophomore pitchers in Daniel and Elijah throwing strikes and how good our bats — in particular Riley, Jackson, Doug and Liam — do,” Epley said. “A lot of the kids have three-plus years of experience. They are the leaders that everyone responds to. I think they have a lot of experience and are now very comfortable at the varsity level. I think it’s always good to have a kid like Daniel who is a sophomore and in his third year on varsity who feels like he’s the leader on the team.”

In addition to its more balanced league schedule, Southampton will play its mandatory nonleague games that count toward qualifying for playoffs against smaller League X teams. The Mariners got the season started on Monday at Southold and won’t kick off their league schedule until April 17 when they play at Center Moriches.

“I’m happy to get a year playing level competition,” Epley said. “Last year, with how young we were, I applaud the kids on how they didn’t give up. In fact, they might have played better the last few weeks of the season where we were competitive. They didn’t quit.”