SPORTS

Knoth-less Pat-Med baseball looking to return to playoffs

Raiders coach on verge of 300th career win

Gary Haber

Posted 3/28/24

The goal of this year’s Patchogue-Medford High School baseball team is to make it back to the playoffs and go further than last season when they were swept by Commack in the Suffolk Class AA …

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SPORTS

Knoth-less Pat-Med baseball looking to return to playoffs

Raiders coach on verge of 300th career win

Raiders coach Anthony Frascogna hits ground balls to his pitchers during a recent practice. Frascogna is one shy of 300 career wins, which could come in the team’s opener on March 26.

Adv/Haber

Pitcher Frankie Kentoffio will be part of the Raiders starting rotation as the team looks to return to the playoffs this season.

Adv/Haber

Posted Wednesday, March 27, 2024 12:00 am

Big season for coach, too

This will be a momentous season for Frascogna, Pat-Med’s longtime coach, who begins the season with 299 career wins. He could reach the 300-win milestone when the Raiders open their season at Central Islip on March 26.

Gary Haber

The goal of this year’s Patchogue-Medford High School baseball team is to make it back to the playoffs and go further than last season when they were swept by Commack in the Suffolk Class AA finals.

The Raiders, who went 16-8 last year, will have to do it without last season’s No. 1 starter Josh Knoth, who graduated and is pitching in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system.

“We play what I would say is the better half of the league in the first half of the season, so we’re going to know pretty quick where we stand,” Pat-Med coach Anthony Frascogna said.

“I’m pretty confident,” he said. “The guys have been really doing a good job in practice… I think we should be able to get back to the playoffs.”

The Raiders return several players from last season, led by senior Rob Melo, who will be the Raiders’ No. 1 starter and also play left field.

Melo, who will be playing for Army next season, has shown some pop at the plate, hitting several balls into the parking lot during preseason practices, Frascogna said.

Other returning players include catcher Bryan Frascogna, an all-league selection; infielder-pitcher Frankie Kentoffio; catcher-first baseman Nick Cadolino; infielder Logan Polselli; SUNY Maritime commit Dave Granucci; and pitchers Ryan Gruter and Connor Lockwood.

This will be a momentous season for Frascogna, Pat-Med’s longtime coach, who begins the season with 299 career wins.

He could reach the 300-win milestone when the Raiders open their season at Central Islip on March 26. The Raiders’ home opener is March 27 against Central Islip.

The Raiders and other teams will have to adjust to some new rule changes.

Coaches will be able to designate a runner to run the basepaths for pitchers and catchers. And the Raiders will also be among the teams whose catchers will be wearing earpieces that enable one-way communication between the coach and the catcher for calling pitches.

And you’ll notice something different on the Raiders’ uniforms this season.

Their caps pay tribute to the late Pat-Med baseball coach George Ulrich, who collected 352 wins coaching the Raiders from 1960 to 1991. The caps read “31GU352.”