The Iroquois (Elma) senior is in the midst of the most devastating hot streak at the plate in recent New York memory, having hammered seven home runs in a three-game span over five days.
The pitcher/infielder hit a pair of home runs April 30 in a 31-3 rout of Sweet Home and then went 9 for 9 over two consecutive games to open this week, starting it with two moon shots in a 9-5 victory over Lake Shore.
"The ones he hit last Friday were tape-measure jobs, too," Iroquois coach Marv Matteson told The Buffalo News. "One went over the centerfield fence and the other went into the lake in left."
For good measure, the 5-foot-10 righthander who played quarterback and defensive back on the football team last fall threw a three-hitter with nine strikeouts to pick up the victory on the mound. On Wednesday, Sluberski hit three more home runs to lead a 24-3 rout of West Seneca East. He finished the afternoon 5 for 5 with eight runs batted in.
"It's a pretty good week," Matteson said.
Sluberski, a three-year starter, hit five home runs all of last season as an Iroquois junior.
Poly Prep finally toppled
Though it certainly takes more than just a great pitcher, softball teams are capable of stringing together lengthy winning streaks such as the 93-game league run by South Glens Falls that was snapped last week by Queensbury. However, baseball teams don’t get to send the ace to the mound on back-to-back days or even with a day's rest in most cases, so it's inevitable that they play stronger rivals with a less-than-optimal lineup from time to time.
That's why Poly Prep's 56-game win streak in the Ivy League was more than just mildly impressive. It came to an end Wednesday with a 2-1 setback against Fieldston, which tied the contest on Andy Turell’s run-scoring single and took the lead for good when Poly pitcher Chesley Ratliff balked home DH Tom Savage in the fifth inning.
"It’s an incredible shot of confidence," pitcher Eric Kotin told The New York Post. "If you can beat Poly Prep, you can beat anybody in this league."
More baseball heroes and highlights
* Irondequoit senior shortstop Chris Culver had a dream day at the plate Tuesday, slugging two grand slams during an 18-11 victory against Webster Schroeder. Culver, who signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Maryland next season, finished 4 for 4 with nine runs batted in for the Eagles.
* Dustyn Power brought home the winning run by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh as No. 10 Victor edged No. 3 Pittsford Sutherland in a clash of state-ranked Class A teams in the Monroe County League. The Blue Devils rallied from deficits of 7-0 and 12-4. Tommy Wagner, Chris Rhodes and Joe Simmons drove in two runs apiece in the victory.
Boys tennis: Close call for Fayetteville-Manlius
Fayetteville-Manlius has stretched its league winning streak in boys tennis to 183 matches, dating to 1997, though Baldwinsville provided a scare Tuesday before suffering a 4-3 loss.
When Grady Schmidt and Yaro Nieves rallied past Divakar Lai and Eric Rosenthal, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, the Bees pulled even in the match. Baldwinsville’s Ben Weiss and Shawn Sullivan topped Eric Rosenthal and Ben Kaplan 6-1 in the first set, then dropped the second 6-4. Weiss and Sullivan had their serve broken late, and Rosenthal and Kaplan prevailed in the third set, 7-5, to end a two-hour battle.
Ossining mourns after grad’
s sudden death
Former Ossining star athlete Christian Federico died of unknown causes last week while jogging off campus at the University of Maryland, The Journal News reported. He was 20 years old.
"I never realized how much he was respected, adored and loved by so many people," his mother, Luanne, told the paper. "People have come out of the woodwork to tell me what a great child I had, and I'm overwhelmed."
Federico excelled in football and baseball at Ossining. He volunteered as an assistant to the athletic trainer at Ossining last semester while awaiting his transfer into Maryland. Football coach Dan Ricci called him "the best player on the field" during their 2007 run to the NYSPHSAA semifinals.
Coaching developments
* Bill Mitaritonna's resignation lasted barely more than a month. The Half Hollow Hills West boys basketball coach has changed his mind and will continue on the job next winter. Mitaritonna resigned on March 25, saying he wanted to spend more time with his three children ranging in age from 4 to 9. With a little help from three returning players (including Division I-bound guard Tavon Sledge) from his 2009-10 state Class AA finalist, they convinced Mitaritonna to return for his 11th season and an encore for a 24-2 season.
"My three kids were heartbroken that I wasn't the coach anymore," Mitaritonna told Newsday. "They said they couldn't imagine me not coaching. They had so much fun following us around last year."
* Assistant Tom O’Hare, who is also the school’s baseball coach, has been picked to replace Brian Walsh as head football coach at John Jay (Cross River), the Hudson Valley Sports Report reported. The Wappingers Central School District board of education must still grant final approval.
Walsh left in January for Our Lady of Lourdes, whose coach was then offered the John Jay job. But Mike Lindberg's prospective appointment never made it to a vote at the April 6 school board meeting, and the school eventual rescinded the offer, HVSR reported. Meanwhile, HVSR reported the administration will not retaining A.D. David Seipp or girls basketball coach Sarah Mesuch. A spokesman said the school had no comment and Seipp was unavailable, but sources confirmed the news.
Mesuch played for Brian Giorgis and won three NYSPHSAA championships as a player from 1992-94. She coached the Warriors to their 27th consecutive league championship last season.
* Moe Hicks, coach of CHSAA powerhouse Rice, has agreed to become the director of basketball operations at St. John's under new coach Steve Lavin, various New York City outlets reported. Assistant Dwayne Mitchell would appear to be in line to take over at Rice, where Hicks won Federation championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2009.
Lavin is also believed to have had discussions with Abraham Lincoln coach Tiny Morton about joining the Red Storm administrative staff. Per NCAA rules, hiring Hicks would freeze St. John’s out of recruiting Rice senior forward Kadeem Jack, who is putting college on hold for a year. Despite having offers in hand from Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Miami and St. John’s, the first-team all-state selection will head off in the fall to South Kent, a prep school in Connecticut.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at
