Pompano Beach Deep & Experienced

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New Pompano Beach Manager Joe Giummule rested a sore arm as he met with HSBN at spring practice this week. The Tornadoes new skipper was one of the coaches who pitched in the team’s 50-inning marathon game this past weekend. It was a great event that helped raise some money for the program, so it was worth it that Giummule could barely hold his arm up on Monday.

With the amount of depth and talent on this squad, Giummule does not expect any calls into game action anytime soon. Pompano returns eight seniors and 13 players overall, and this veteran group is talented and eager. Most of the guys have been starters since they were sophomores and have faced the best of the best that this tough district has to offer, and now it is their turn.

It is a great change for Giummule, the veteran Manager who came over after taking South Broward to the regional playoffs last season. The players and parents have been totally supportive, and he is coaching in the same neighborhood that he lives in. They play at Pompano Four Fields, so they do not have to focus on field maintenance before and after practices and games. Days are more productive and everything has been great so far.

“It’s an academic magnet program, but they are a feisty group and they are hard-nosed,” Giummule said. “These kids work hard, they love baseball and the great thing is they’re very strong academically. That makes my job a heck of a lot easier when I pick up the phone and call a coach and can tell him he has a 4.2 GPA and his ACC score is a 30. Academically they are getting 50% right off the top.”

Three seniors have already signed for college. AL Marcantonio is head to Ave Maria, Garrett Hiott is going to Eckerd College and Bryce Keller signed to Methodist University. Several more guys are also very likely to sign when they find the right place for them.

Giummule admits the team is still in the honeymoon stages, even though they have had their first round of player cuts. They have a Meet the Team Night planned where they will introduce captains, and when games start they may lose some of their shine on their new guy as they see where they hit or who starts. But so far the players are on board and behind their coaches.

“He knows what he’s doing and we all appreciate him here,” Garrett Hiott said. “Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Coach Combs last year, but Coach Combs started putting us in the right direction and Coach Giummule is definitely going to take us to where we need to be. I’m really looking forward to playing for him.”

Hiott plays shortstop in a crowded infield corps headed by Keller, Hunter Stept and Jeremy Davis. Junior Vince Costello moves to the outfield to join a group that also includes Thomas Fengler, Justin Proano and Kelsey Lunde. There are more capable players than there are for positions. They are pushing each other and it’s only going to make them better each day.

“We’re going to make plays and we’re not going to kick the ball around,” Giummule said. “I have too many infielders for spots available, with about seven varsity players for three infield positions available. So it might come down to who hits, like most schools. It’s a good situation to have but it’s also a tough situation, because we have guys who are deserving of playing time that might not play as much.”

With the defense being the strength of the team, the key will be for the pitchers simply to throw strikes and get the ball moving. As long as they do that, they figure to be in every ball game. The team has about five or six arms that are interchangeable, and the coaches are waiting to see who emerges to be the bulldogs in the group. Senior right-hander Phil Kniskern figures to be the top arm, with lefties AJ Marcantonio and Frank Moschette and righties Zach Audet, Peyton Trautman and Kelsey Lunde also in the mix.

“We all got some varsity innings last year and I think we’ll compete in this district,” said Kniskern. “I love the opportunity and I love all the pressure that comes with being that guy that comes into the big games. I’m going to give it my all each and every day and I know some good things are going to come out of it this season.”

With such a tough schedule and such a tough district, the team knows they need guys to step up and pitch with confidence. Kniskern is showing that composure and stature, offering the type of example the coaches hope for.

“I don’t have the most dominant stuff but when I go out there I am confident,” Kniskern said. “If I get ground balls we’re usually pretty successful, and I use that to my advantage. These guys, we are brothers and we hang out every weekend. I have confidence in my guys that they are going to make plays behind me, so I just pound the zone and know good things are going to come out of it.”

When Giummule first looked into this opportunity, he was excited by the things he saw from this club. The team played a grueling schedule and was competitive, they have a lot of depth and experience and they have a great family atmosphere. This fact is highlighted even more this season, wit four combinations of brothers in the program. This group includes Phil and Trevor Kniskern, Vince and Chase Costello, Garrett and Ryan Hiott, AJ Marcantonio and Nick Marcantonio.

“This group is really unique and we are as close as you get,” Garrett said. “We’re really like brothers and we all played summer ball together and lived with each other. It’s a great group of guys to be around and I’m just happy I get to spend my last year of high school playing the game we all love together.”

The Tornadoes are working on the little things, such as getting hit, dirt-ball reads, and hitting behind the runner. They are working on all those aspects of the game to give themselves any edge that helps them win baseball games. Players are excited, and the coaches are too.

“I’ve got a great coaching staff and I’m happy about that,” Giummule said. “We have Kenny Harrell, who played here and coached JV last year, Jay Feinberg, who was the catching coach from CSCA last year, and Kevin Carney, who coached at Northeast and also coached in college. We have a good mix of young and older coaches that have some knowledge in the game.”

The key to success is hard-nosed fundamental baseball, all the things that the coahces preach about executing the little things. If they do those things the Tornadoes feel they will be just fine, because there is a lot of talent and there is a lot of depth.

“We definitely feel like we can compete and our goal is to win districts and get to regionals, because once you get to regionals you don’t know what can happen,” Garrett said. “We have some smaller goals, like to beat our rivals and that fun stuff. But the goal is to win a district. It’s time to bring it back to Pino.”

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