Pope John Paul II’s Motto: Unfinished Business

Johnny Sheridan is one of several returning players this year.

One run.

That’s all it takes to win a ballgame. But when you’re on the losing end of that decision in the playoffs, you realize just how close you came to fulfilling your dreams.

It may sound cliché, something a lot of teams say after a year in which their season ended abruptly, but the Pope John Paul II baseball team is using a familiar saying as motivation to guide it after falling just short last year in the regionals.

“Our motto this year is unfinished business because we lost a one-run game to an incredible team and we got into the regionals, and our business is unfinished with that,” junior pitcher Alex Bialakis said.

With a roster chock full of underclassman, the Eagles battled through their 2013 campaign. They took their lumps with a dozen losses, but eventually ended up making a statement by winning a district title and advancing to the regional semifinals before falling to a stacked Coral Springs Christian program, 4-3.

To say this year’s team is hungry would be an understatement. The Eagles want nothing less than to complete their quest to reach the state tournament. They’ll use the invalueable experience they gained last year as mostly sophomores to propel them this year, now as a junior-laded club.

“I think it gave all the younger kids confidence with winning districts with no seniors or juniors on the mound, just sophomores,” Bialakis said. “So I think winning district last year gave us that confidence but I think it’s also going to push us harder to realize we can’t just be at that level. We realized we reached that level why can’t we reach the next one, which is obviously going to state.”

Junior center fielder Stephen Gogreve, who hit .310 with 18 RBIs last year, said the Eagles turned heads but were counted out from the start.

“No one really gave us a shot,” he said. “We were a young team last year. We proved everybody wrong, won districts, beat Heritage at Heritage, a 1-0 shutout, beat Highlands in the first round of regionals on a walk-off double and then played Coral Springs Christian, who was obviously loaded last year.”

“Growing up playing baseball a lot we were kind of exposed to that a lot, that pressure. It was a great experience for all of us. We were young, all of us underclassman. We lost a few seniors, but the whole core of our team is back and we’re just that much more experienced for the upcoming year.”

Josh Parker will be among the top pitchers this year.

Gogreve and Bialakis are just two of several returning players. Chris Graffeo is back at first base, Dominic Baldino moved from second base to short stop, and Evan Shaffner has moved over to third base, leaving second open. Matt Luzzi is back in left field, Gogreve returns in center, and right field will be manned primarily by Josh Parker, when he’s not pitching.

Cale Brader transfered from Boca Raton to take the catcher’s job at Pope. He’s already made his mark, especially in the eyes of Manager Peter Graffeo.

“He’s tough, has a big heart, battler, get’s it done and really epitomizes what we’re trying to go with this program and the toughness we’re trying to show,” Graffeo said. “He’s just a workaholic when it comes to the gym and everything else, a good character guy.”

Pitching will be a strength for Pope with Parker and Bialakis at the front of the rotation. Parker went 4-4 with 45 strikeouts last year, and Bialakis led the team in strikeouts last year with 86 in 59.2 innings. Danny Mayer and Johnny Sheridan also will start. Chris Graffeo and Gogreve are a pair of lefties that can come in for relief, as can righties Baldino and Shaffner.

The depth in pitching will be huge this year as the Eagles move up from Class 3A to 4A and will have to get past three more district opponents than it had to last year. American Heritage remains in the district, with Summit Christian dropping out. The new district also includes Cardinal Newman, St. Andrew’s and King’s Academy.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Coach Graffeo said. “I expect every game is going to be a battle. No one’s going to be a pushover. You have good coaches there, so we’re going to play well-coached teams. I think we’re up to the task, but then again, you have to do it on the field. It doesn’t matter how many guys you have coming back on paper. It matters if you can do it on the field.”

Parker said he’s looking forward to added competition.

“It should be fun because there’s more meaningful games,” he said. “It’s going to be more challenging because instead of winning one game to get to the district championship, you have to win two or three.”

Graffeo is confident he’s got the arms to make it through. He’s not sure what the other teams have as far as pitching, but he can worry only about his team.

“I believe I have four guys I can run out there and they’re going to keep me in every game,” he said. “I feel they’ll give me their best effort, and as long as the defense plays good, we’ll be in those games with the opportunity to win late.”

Evan Shaffner will play at third base, moving over from short stop.

What happened last year will benefit the team this year, Graffeo believes.

“I think they gained tremendous experience by playing a tougher schedule during the season and we were able to win districts in a one-run game,” he said. “It’s not easy to win a 1-0 game. We won 3-2 in the regionals and then we lost 4-3, so I think it prepared us to play in those close games. We knew that when you step on the field and play good teams, you expect good baseball. Nothing’s going to be easy. I think they learned and realized that you have to play a full seven innings. You can’t rush it. You have to play one pitch at a time. And that definitely has carried over with them through this fall season.”

Another benefit to last year’s success in addition to the experience it gave a young team is that it’s boosting the program in terms of reputation. Graffeo said more than 30 players turned out for the fall season, an increase over last year and a general trend over the past couple of years. Playing at home instead of at Sugar Sand Park, where the team had to play a few seasons ago, also is making the program more attractive to potential players. Graffeo credits a strong fundraising effort that’s helped the team put up windscreens and a scoreboard and put plans in place for a lockerroom.

“As the program has improved, so has the interest,” Graffeo said. “In the past, with not having a field and a weak program, we lost kids to Gibbons, we lost kids to Cardinal Newman, we lost kids to St. Thomas. Pope wasn’t an option if you were looking to go play baseball. So that whole perception has changed, and I think winning helps and the respect we’ve earned as a program. That’s all from the hard work these kids have done, and they deserve that. We’re just trying to put a good product out there and play good baseball.”

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