Baseball team welcoming many new players

Taylor Pevny may be new to the head baseball coaching job at West Milford High School, but he is vastly familiar with the Highlander team.

He played baseball at West Milford, graduating in 2009, and was an assistant coach as well.

Pevny also is recognized for his success with the school’s wrestling program.

He takes over the head coaching position from Joe Jordan, who had a successful tenure at the helm of Highlander baseball.

The team was scheduled to host DePaul on Thursday, April 6.

“This is my first year taking over this program,’’ Pevny said. “My brothers all came through this program and I played for Coach (Joe) Trentacosta and Coach Jordan. I’ve been an assistant since 2014.

“We always want to compete for a conference, county and (NJSIAA) sectional title.’’

Among the key returning varsity student athletes are seniors Brandon Scrimenti (pitcher), Will Craten (catcher) and Ryan Lombardi (pitcher and outfielder) and junior Charles Cimmino (outfielder).

Promising newcomers include seniors Erik Reill (outfielder), Ryan Eckhart (outfielder and pitcher), Sean Bono (infielder), Sean Smits (infielder), Tim Paulison (infielder and pitcher), Noah Daigneault (infielder) and Mike Sciarra (infielder and pitcher).

“We have seven seniors who join the varsity team this season,’’ Pevny said. “We lost about 10 seniors to graduation last year so these seven will step in trying to battle for spots.

“We also have some juniors battling for spots. Those players are Jake Schwarzlow, Nate Ford, Evan Sangis, Bryant Carrion and Dan Jenkins. Our entire sophomore class is very talented and will look to make an impact this season.’’

Leadership on the roster will be very important for the Highlanders this season.

“All of our seniors are viewed as leaders for this program,’’ the coach said. “They are expected to hold the team accountable and help keep the Highlander baseball tradition alive.’’

The Highlanders finished with nine overall wins, and they were 7-3 as second-place finishers, behind only Wayne Valley, in the Big North Conference Independence Division in 2022.

West Milford advanced to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North 1 Group 2 sectional tournament, where they were defeated by Mahwah last spring.

This year, the Highlanders compete in the Big North Conference Independence Division along with Passaic Valley, Lakeland, Fair Lawn, Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley.

“We are rebuilding” after losing many seniors to graduation, Pevny said. “We will have a lot of new players stepping on the field this year.’’