Three Peat from CSI Baseball in 2017?

By: Anthony Carbonaro

Joshua Bernstein – Senior – RHP

How has the transition from a high school pitcher to a college pitcher make you better as a player?

“As a pitcher, from high school to college, the biggest transition was going from wood bats to metal bats. The inside fastballs were key for me in high school, I broke so many bats.

In college, I throw inside and they always fight it off and get bloop hits. I think all college baseball should be wood.”

Do you have higher expectations for this team then you did the team last year at this time in the season?

“Last year’s team and this team are way different. Last year, the team was filled with upperclassmen and this team is very young, but I do expect CSI to be very competitive for years to come. My expectations are always high, I’m a winner and I like to win.”

How has the season been so far this year? And what teams do you think will give you some problems down the road in playoffs?

“The season so far has been really rough because of lots of cancellations due to weather. Practicing inside is rough, we’re hungry to play. And down the road I don’t think we will have any problems. Our pitching staff is deep and strong so I have no worries. As long as we hit, get on base and make the plays, we will be fine.”

What team might give you your hardest challenge and why?

“Baruch is always tough, they have good bats and good arms, but at the end of the day we will be fine.”

Joshua Mercado – Junior – 1B / 2B

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your team and why?

“Our strength definitely has to be our pitching staff. We’re a team that sometimes struggles offensively, and the pitching staff always manages to keep us within striking distance of our opponent.”

Was the College of Staten Island always the school you wanted to play baseball for? Why or why not?

“Growing up, I always wanted to go away to school and play baseball. Things didn’t work out that way for a few reasons and the College of Staten Island was my best option if I wanted to continue to play ball while I was home.”

How does baseball affect you as a student? What are the positives and negatives?

Baseball forces me to stay on top of my school work because, being a student athlete, you have to maintain a certain GPA to stay eligible. That being said, at times it is difficult as a student athlete to try and balance getting school work done and having to go to games and practices on top of trying to have a social life.”

Bobby Glennester JR – 5 season – 3x champion

How have you guys been successful over the years?

“It has been successful because the way we treat the program and there is always consistency. We never take days off, have a good practice routine, and there is a ton of talent on Staten Island. We get the majority of those players and even if those players go away and then don’t want to be away anymore, they come back and play for us.”

How has the team been different from other various teams you’ve coached? And why?

“I think the team is different because of youth. It has been different from years past, our midfielders just graduated and they played for us the last four years. This is the first time at CSI where I didn’t have those two kids. More youth than in the past and the depth in the pitching staff is little different as well.”

What makes you believe that this team can win it all?
“Our pitching staff is gonna keep us in many games this year. As long as we hit and defend, do our routine things, I can’t see why we can’t compete for another championship.”

They went on to win the CUNY AC Championship