CT: St. Paul Catholic
March 27, 2019
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St. Paul Catholic
BRISTOL, Ct. - A loss in the quarterfinals to the eventual state champion has only given St. Paul Catholic motivation for the coming season.
After all, the Falcons were a young and inexperienced squad during a 2018 campaign that concluded with a 19-7 overall record.
“We had a couple freshmen starters with a predominantly sophomore pitching staff,” noted head coach Vic Rinaldi. “Now we’re an experienced team, those sophomores are now juniors.”
Julian Thayer, Ethan Rembish and Walker Sharp give Rinaldi a trio of 2020 right-handed pitchers that threw more than 30 innings each a year ago.
Thayer, a 5-11 180-pounder who led the team in hitting as a freshman and was second last season with a .424 average, was 5-2 on the hill with a 2.20 ERA, striking out 38 in 35 innings as a sophomore. A shortstop when not on the mound, the 30th-ranked New England junior had seven home runs, 28 RBIs, a .520 on-base percentage and an .882 slugging percentage.
Rembish, who plays short and third base in addition to pitching, is a 5-9 150-pounder rated 61st in New England that topped the Falcons in innings pitched last year with 56, fanning 65 with a 7-2 record and 1.88 ERA.
Sharp, the 140th-ranked 2020 in New England, was 3-1 with 24 Ks in 31 innings. The 5-9 142-pounder had a 2.94 ERA.
“We have a talented group,” pointed out Rinaldi, a fourth-year head coach. “Our goal this year is to go farther than last year and win the title.”
If that is to happen, production is needed from seniors Sean Crean and Chris Mills along with juniors Josh Cofrancesco and Ryan Parent and sophomore Shaun Remillard.
Cream will play right field after batting .250 a year ago while Mills, a three-year starter, is back to catch after hitting .278 with a .422 on-base percentage last season. The 5-10 175-pounder ranked 380th in New England, is committed to Albertus Magnus College.
Cofrancesco, a 5-10 160-pound left fielder ranked 308th in the 2020 New England class, hit .421 with 14 RBIs and a team-high 40 hits as the leadoff batter in 2018. The 6-3 230-pound left-handed hitting Parent will bat cleanup and play first base after a .357 season a year ago that featured eight doubles and 31 RBIs.
Remillard, a left-handed hitter who plays center field and throws right handed, is “one of those kids you love to have on the team” according to Rinaldi.
“All of our pitchers had varsity innings last year and some of the guys have been playing since they were freshmen, so we have experience,” explained Rinald. “We’re not going into the season with questions, this is a seasoned team now as opposed to a young an inexperienced squad a year ago.
“The key, as always, will be pitching. I’d like to think they’re another year stronger and another year polished If they give us what they did last year and just a little more, the sky’s the limit.”
But there are some concerns playing in a strong 16-team Naugatuck Valley League in which the top eight make the league tournament. There are only four Class S schools in the league, one of which is St. Paul Catholic, with the rest Class M, L and LL.
“There are probably 10 teams that can win the league championship and I’d like to think we’re among the best of them,” Rinaldi said, listing Wolcott, Woodland and Holy Cross - which beat St. Paul Catholic in the league championship game - as others expected to have big years.. “But we had 54 errors last year which is high for a team looking to win a championship. Being that we’re older, I’d like to see the errors be cut in half. That would make the pitchers throw less and then they could go further.”
That could mean another run at a state title for a team that lost two key players - Ryan Greene, a .461 hitter now at Eastern Connecticut, and second baseman Nick Morrell, a three-year starter who is playing at Mitchell College.
“I came in in 2016 in a good situation and we won state with a lot of returning players,” Rinaldi reflected. “Then the last two years we were bounced in the quarterfinals. We want to go farther this year.”