No. 5 Walter Panas (13-5) may have had its season end unexpectedly when it fell to No. 21 Port Chester 7-3 in the opening round of the Section 1 Class A Tournament.
Despite the loss, it was still a great year for a Panas squad that saw many of its players earn awards.
Leading the way was all-section junior pitcher/3B-OF Brandon Cohall.
“When you have a 0.74 ERA, that’s a great year,” Panas coach Anthony Fata said. “He exceeded what I expected from him this year. He did everything I asked him to do for a No. 2. Every time he came in, he gave us a good performance. I am looking for big things from him next year as my No. 1.”
Catcher Tom Dinnen earned an all-section honorable mention nod and was selected to play in the exceptional senior game, which was scheduled at Dutchess Stadium earlier this month but got rained out.
Dinnen was Fata’s catcher for the last two years, a team captain, and a player the Panas coach says will be hard to replace.
“A good catcher in high school, especially one that is all-section honorable mention, is hard to find,” Fata said. “Tom did an outstanding job for us this year. He batted .438. You can’t ask more from a kid. He’s going to Utica to play some baseball. Hopefully the young kids can step up and emulate some of the things Tom did this year.”
Another all-section honorable mention player was junior second baseman/pitcher Kevin Reynoso, who batted .425, walked 25 times and was also a solid defender. Reynoso probably will be the Panthers No. 3 or No. 4 hitter next year, Fata said.
Earning all-league honors were senior pitcher/center fielder Miguel Arroyo, senior first baseman Carmine Gentile, senior left fielder/center fielder Jeremy Guerrero, and junior shortstop Zach Preuss.
Junior third baseman/pitcher Brenden Gallagher was given an all-league honorable mention.
