VOORHEESVILLE — Players on the Voorheesville baseball team want to remain the top Birds in the Colonial Council.

That could be difficult for a team that lost a few key players from last season. Pete Lindner, Nick Duncan, Andy Catellier, and Jake Norris all graduated. The biggest vacancy is on the pitching mound.

The Blackbirds, though, will have a big team this year.
"We have 16 on the roster," said Voorheesville Coach Hank Czerwinski. "We have two on injured reserve. But it was the most kids that we’ve had. I had to cut some kids. It’s a good turnout for the program."

Czerwinski cut four players from the varsity team and said the junior varsity team is made up mostly of ninth-, eighth-, and seventh-graders and has 18 kids.
"The program looks good," Czerwinski said.

Diverse roster

Returning to pitch for the Blackbirds this season are senior R.J. Curreri and junior Jay Conde. The Voorheesville squad will have some experience returning in catcher Steve Cardinal and center fielder Justin Arico. Both are seniors.

Returning but making a move is junior Chris Massaroni. He will move from left field to shortstop this spring.

The others returning are Bryce Gray, Matt Henry, and Pino Ragonese.

Curreri, Ragonese, and Arico are the team’s captains.

Moving up to the varsity are Joe Berschwinger, Nick Blow, Jake Vandervort, Tom Pasquali, Brian Sorel, Donald Healy, Kevin Klembczyk, and Michael Snyder.

Berschwinger, Blow, Healy, and Snyder are sophomores. Snyder has never played high-school baseball.

Czerwinski hopes to have a full roster soon. Gray and Sorel have been hurt and limited in what they can do this pre-season.
"Bryce Gray got hurt last year in Ravena," Czerwinski said. "He had surgery on his knee. We expect him back in late April or May. He’s Mister Versatility. We missed him because he can play any position.
"Brian Sorel is hurt and we’re hopeful we can get him back," Czerwinski added. "We’re not sure when he will be eligible."

Czerwinski said he likes the way his team looks defensively.
"We should be strong up the middle," he said. "With Cardinal, Pasquali, and Massaroni. Our hitting focus will be with Cardinal, Arico, and Massaroni."

"Time in the gym"

But like every other baseball team in Section II this season, the Blackbirds are confined to holding practices in their gym.
"We’re doing time in the gym," Czerwinski said. "We’re hitting off the machine. I’m hopeful we get outside before our first game. We have two games against Cairo-Durham [March 27 and 29] but they will probably be a washout."

Being inside also makes it difficult to evaluate the team.
"It’s hard to determine what you got," Czerwinski said. "Everybody looks good in the gym. We’ve been taking ground balls and hitting in the gym. It gets monotonous. We’re going into our third week in the gym."

Once the snow melts, the Blackbirds do know that they will play their home games on campus. The past few years, they have had their home games at the town park field on Swift Road.
"Playing at the school field will be a big plus," Czerwinski said. "It was finished up last year. We should get an outfield fence, backstop, and a scoreboard."

There has been some community involvement with the team. Conditioning equipment the Birds are using inside was donated by Lee Masterson, a local chiropractor.
"He had a conditioning clinic for us last year," Czerwinski said. "He has been a big help."

Czerwinski and the other coaches at Voorheesville will be running a summer camp this year. The camp is open to Voorheesville students in grades four to nine.
"I think that will help generate interest in baseball," Czerwinski said. "It can build a foundation for future years."

Czerwinski doesn’t know what the other teams in the league look like this year.
"Lansingburgh was young last year," Czerwinski said, "and they were good last year. Mechanicville and Ravena will be tough. But we would like to three-peat. We’ve had two years in a row as Colonial Council champions.
"We have a decent amount of returning players," Czerwinski added. "We should be able to make another run at the Colonial Council."