Baseball: Maiale shines as new-look New Paltz continues to ascend after rebuild

There still is the tinge of a Utah accent as Brendan Rusnack speaks, an inflection literally accentuating the description of his travels and the adjustments required.

"It was pretty difficult," Brendan said of leaving Utah as an 8-year-old. "There are some things I still miss about it."

The slowed pace and the outdoors, of course, but also the sports. That state is a quiet hotbed for youth baseball.

He and his brother, Sean, were born in Poughkeepsie but spent a portion of their formative years out west when their parents worked at Utah State University. The family moved back to New York in 2014 and eventually settled in Rhinebeck, before relocating to New Paltz before this school year.

But as he and his brother are finding their footing in a new school, adapting again to new surroundings, Brendan is quickly growing to appreciate that Section 9 also is home to several competitive baseball teams. And, after enduring a rebuilding phase, New Paltz High School again is part of that wave.

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The brothers “have been tremendous” in contributing to that ascent, Huguenots coach Tom Tegeler said. Brendan is a power bat and their leading run-producer thus far. Sean, a freshman, is talented pitcher with a bright future.

Yeah, that'll help the transition a little bit.

"It's going well," Brendan, an 11th-grader, said with a smile on Wednesday. "Being on the team, it's a lot easier to make friends and get to know people. We've been playing well together and that always makes things more fun."

Their teammates are enjoying themselves, too, as New Paltz already is within a victory of securing a playoff berth. They're also a win shy of matching their total from last spring, while the roster finds its form and begins resembling a team capable of title contention.

"It means a lot to us, being in the position we're in now," said Tony Drewnowski, a senior who remembers well their three-win season two years ago. "The whole mentality has changed, and we expect to do good things."

Speaking of which...

Jack Maiale drove in two runs and pitched a two-hitter with nine strikeouts Wednesday, leading New Paltz in a 7-1 win over visiting Red Hook.

The sophomore, who is a burgeoning star, kept the Raiders off balance with an excellent changeup that complemented his fastball, and carried a no-hitter to the sixth inning.

"Our strength right now is the skill level on defense, so I just trusted those guys," Maiale said, deflecting praise. "My job is to just throw strikes and let them work."

The right-hander was masterful in doing that, throwing 62 of his 99 pitches for strikes. He walked three but didn't allow a hit until Brady Giorgio singled with one out in the sixth. That followed a walk and set up runners at first and third for the Raiders, but Maiale surrendered only a sacrifice fly to Karl Russell.

"I was gonna stick with him until he gave up a hit," Tegeler said of monitoring Maiale's pitch count. "He was economical and, once he got out of the jam, I knew he could finish. That was dominant. He's a young kid, but he's a leader. He's been big in big spots."

Maiale has been on the mound for half of their eight victories and is a force in the lineup. He went 3 for 4, and his first-inning double preceded Peter Dillehay's RBI single.

"He's the heart and soul of this team as a sophomore," Drewnowski said. "He pitches, plays third (base) well, hits well. He does everything at a high level."

Mike Lynn and Justin Coiteux each went 2 for 3. Lynn doubled and scored on Evan Rice's single, making it 2-0 in the fourth. New Paltz blew the game open with three in the fifth, including run-scoring singles from Gavin Treglia and Maiale, taking a 7-0 lead.

Robert Paschal singled in the seventh, and starter Michael Barratt allowed four runs, one earned, in four innings for the Raiders (4-6).

"We've been working hard and building up to this since the fall," said Maiale, whose team is 8-3. "People might be sleeping on us because we didn't make much noise in the last few years. But we're a good team, and we're hungry."

The turnaround began last season when Tegeler, the former longtime football coach at the school, took over the baseball team. Players said he instilled discipline and brought a heightened "seriousness" to the dugout.

"During my sophomore year, we'd be joking around a lot, and it felt like we were just here to have fun," said Drewnowski, who also led the football team on a surprise run to the section final last fall. "But (Tegeler) is intense and pays attention to details, and that motivates us."

Tegeler credited the coaches who preceded him for maintaining a quality program, and he sought to "bring a greater level of accountability" during the rebuild. That, he said, was aided significantly by the leadership of Lynn and Drewnowski.

The lineup is littered with talent, but there needs to be better consistency, the coach said. The collective 2.39 ERA certainly is encouraging. That includes Sean Rusnack, who pitched 5⅓ innings in a shutout of Chapel Field last Saturday.

The Huguenots had somewhat of a resurgence last season, winning nine games before losing in the first round of the playoffs to eventual Class B state champion Spackenkill. Now, with the continued growth of key players like Marley Guinan and Dillehay and the addition of the Rusnack Bros., the process has accelerated and, perhaps, expectations raised.

"We can't get ahead ourselves, but it's been great," said Brendan Rusnack, who helped lead Rhinebeck to the Section 9 Class C final last season. "We've been playing some good teams and doing well against them. I'm proud of the start we're off to."

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Baseball: Maiale, Lynn and Rusnack helping lead New Paltz's turnaround