Classical baseball’s Mike Zukowski was named Coach of the Year for the Northeastern Conference North and the Rams drew three all-conference honorees as the league announced its 2019 awards and all-stars earlier this week.
“I’m definitely honored,” Zukowski said. “A lot of it has to do with the kids, the players on the team. I was lucky enough to be surrounded with good players. Their attitudes were great. They wanted to win, they wanted to learn and they’re very coachable. I think that does a lot with how the season goes.
“I really want to recognize my assistant coaches, my brother, freshman coach Scott Zukowski, JV coach Greg Rybak and varsity assistant Rick Myette,” Zukowski said. “Without those guys the season isn’t possible. The time and effort they put into the season is invaluable.”
Earning all-conference selections were Kyle Finnigan, Aidan Dow and Brett Bucklin. Fellow Rams Dayshon Anderson, Brendan Lannon and Nico Galeazzi were named NEC North all-stars.
“It was nice to have those guys recognized,” Zukowski said. “The hard work really paid off for them. It just goes to show the season we had and the character of the team.
“The chemistry on the team’s really good and really strong,” Zukowski said. “I like that all our older guys were including the younger guys, the guys on the JV and freshman teams. It wasn’t clicky or separated. It was one solid unit. That goes a long way during the season.”
The English Bulldogs were also well-represented. Senior shortstop Jomar Moreta was named MVP of the NEC North.
“Jomar had a tremendous senior season,” English coach Doug Mullins said. “There were a lot of expectations laid upon him. He committed with a full scholarship to New Mexico Junior College. He carried us offensively and defensively on the basepaths and he was the leader of our team. He leads by example. He was my MVP pick all along and it was great to see him win an award that was well-deserved.”
Bulldogs Jose Morel, Julien Silvestrie and Juan Subervi also drew all-conference selections.
“All three of them impacted our team in different ways,” Mullins said. “To be that well-represented just shows the type of team we had this year and the talent we had. I think all our guys that are all-stars and all-conference really deserved it. That’s something we’re proud of. Those kids earned it.”
The rest of the NEC North all-conference team includes Revere’s E.J. Leone; Salem’s Bobby Jellison; Malden’s Christian Monahan Dasilva and Billy Stickney.
The rest of the NEC North all-star team includes English’s Albert Torres and Erick Ubri; Salem’s Bryan Pena and Jayco Pena; Medford’s Shane Grant and Shawn Nestor; Revere’s Matt Cravotta; Somerville’s Manny Dias; Malden’s Ari Cohen; Everett’s Jonathan Fitzgerald. The Salem Witches earned the sportsmanship award.
Saugus’ Todd Tringale, who recorded his 100th strikeout of the season last week, was named MVP of the NEC South. Joining Tringale on the South all-conference team are Swampscott’s Ryan Graciale and Dylan January; Beverly’s Brayden Clark and Tyler Petrosino; Gloucester’s Zach Abbott and Ben Oliver; Danvers’ Tony Olszak; Winthrop’s Dan Gillis; Marblehead’s Jacob Bornstein.
The South all-star team includes Marblehead’s Brady Lavender and Ben Weed; Saugus’ Jackson Stanton and Ronnie Paolo; Swampscott’s Jonathan Oriakhi and Max Pegnato; Peabody’s Taidon Perez; Winthrop’s Dan Dicicco; Beverly’s Matt Ploszay and Nick McIntyre; Gloucester’s Daylon Lark, EJ Field and Marcus Montagnino; Danvers’ Andy Chronis. Gloucester coach Rory Gentile was named South Coach of the Year and the Magicians won the sportsmanship award.
“Our kids have done a great job of focusing on ‘us'” Magicians coach Mike Giardi said. “We tried to stay away from negative chirping and focus on lifting our teammates up, and it’s great that we were recognized for it.”
