Peglegs Surpass Expectations

Stuyvesant’s boys’ varsity baseball team, the Peglegs, have a reputation for being a strong team. In 2023, the Peglegs were ranked ninth in the AAA citywide playoffs, and in 2022, the Peglegs had a historic playoff run, reaching the semi-finals and setting the all-time record for the latest playoff elimination of any specialized high school. Under coach John Carlesi in his 21st year as head coach, the Peglegs have made it to the playoffs in almost every season they’ve played.

This season was no different, with the Peglegs securing their playoff spot as the third seed in their Brooklyn division and 11th seed in the 3A division in the city. The Peglegs won their opening game in the playoffs against Walton 7-6. However, in the second round, they lost against Beacon 5-7, knocking them out of the playoffs and putting an end to their run.

While their playoff run wasn’t as long as they had hoped for, the Peglegs still managed to make it to the second round of the playoffs, a very respectable feat, and according to Coach Carlesi, a surprising one at that. “At the beginning of pre-season, we did not look very good as a team. There were some standout players, but they weren’t playing as a team at the beginning,” Carlesi said.

During pre-season, the Peglegs struggled with teamwork and were not well-acquainted with one another. Even with highly talented players, baseball is a team sport where teamwork is essential in securing wins against opponents, and Carlesi noticed a deficiency of these key factors early in their season.

The Peglegs were fortunately able to improve their chemistry with one another throughout the season and pull off a shocker in the playoffs, putting on a better playoff performance than they did in the previous season. “The team’s performance this season far exceeded my expectations. The boys surprised everyone on their accomplishment this year,” Carlesi said.

The senior captains this year—pitcher and outfielder Mantas Kempinas, outfielder Lucas McGarvey, and catcher Adrian Veto—deserve much of the credit for the team’s accomplishments. They were able to keep the team focused throughout the season and led by example.

The Peglegs’ biggest strength this season was their pitching. “I think as a team, we definitely excelled at pitching,” Veto said. The Peglegs’ outstanding pitching this season is led by their star-pitcher Kempinas, who won seven games in the regular season and is tied for the most wins in the PSAL’s top division, a remarkable accomplishment.

With Kempinas’s exceptional pitching, the Peglegs were able to take down John Jay this season, currently the third-ranked team in the entire city. Kempinas started for the Peglegs and put on a completely dominant performance. He pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only five hits and one walk while striking out seven. The Peglegs put a run on the board in the first and closed out the game with two more insurance runs in the sixth, winning 3-0 and creating a memorable moment for the team.

This season, the Peglegs also did a great job at getting deep into counts on offense. Multiple players on the team were efficient hitters with high batting averages and slugging percentages. Most notably was senior outfielder and Dartmouth commit Axel Riess, who had a 0.912 slugging percentage, the highest in the entire 3A division. In 34 at-bats, he was able to get 16 hits, including five doubles, two triples, and two home runs.

However, most of all, the Peglegs’ resilience and the ability to not quit were key to this season. “We always fight to the end, no matter what,” junior infielder Andrew Choi said. This was showcased in the Peglegs’ comeback win against Walton in their first playoff game, coming back from 1-6 in the fifth inning. Towards the end of the sixth inning, the Peglegs were still down 4-6, when senior infielder and pitcher Jared Virasami tripled, scoring one run, and Choi singled to bring in the remaining two runners. This secured a 7-6 win against Walton and the Peglegs’ spot in the second round of the playoffs, marking another memorable moment for the team.

For next season, there are still some aspects of their game that the Peglegs need to work on and improve. “For next season, I know we’ll try to cut down on strikeouts and keep our fielding solid,” Veto said.

However, the future of the team is filled with uncertainty. “Next year’s team is still a little bit of a mystery because most of the returning players did not play much in league play. We are also losing nine seniors, so our team will be very young. I am hoping the boys are up to the challenge,” Carlesi said.

Losing nine seniors, including the team’s ace and several skilled batters, will undoubtedly take a heavy toll on the team. Nonetheless, the current juniors are still looking forward to the new season with confidence.

“Next year will be hard, losing all of the seniors who helped make the team what it was this year, but if we work hard and bond together, I’m confident that we will do well next year,” Choi said.

Stuyvesant has a great JV program that prepares a lot of younger players as they make their way onto the varsity team. In fact, this season, the JV team completely dominated their division, going undefeated with eight wins. The JV program is sure to promote some talented rising juniors into the varsity team next season, which will help compensate for the departing seniors. If the Peglegs are able to make the necessary improvements to their game in the off-season and build up their team chemistry, it’s only a matter of time before they make a deep run in the playoffs.