BOOMSTIX
LONG ISLAND
TOURNAMENT ROSTER
Nick Tullo (c) – RHB – Age 35 – New York
Tyler Cann – RHP/RHB – Age 22 – New York
Ryan Petrone – RHP/RHB– Age 22 – New York
Matt Valenti – RHB/RHP – Age 24 - New York
Mike Valenti – RHP/RHB – Age 26 - New York
TEAM OVERVIEW
A trio of players from the NY Dark Knights (GSWL NY Yard) – Tyler Cann, Matt Valenti and Mike Valenti – comprise the core of the BoomStix roster. The Dark Knights slowly made their way up the ranks in the NY Yard scene between 2015 and 2018 before experiencing a breakout season in 2019. That year the Knights captured their first Super Qualifier in May and made it to the finals at two other NY Yard SQ’s. While they have not quite reached those same heights in 2020, they continue to be a consistently competitive presence at the Long Island tournaments. Tyler Cann has been that team’s best pitcher thus far in 2020 and he is bullish on his chances of being able to get hitters out in an unrestricted pitch speed environment. After two years of being the workhorse of the Knights’ pitching staff, Mike Valenti has struggled at times in 2020, but will be another pitching option for the BoomStix in Pennsylvania. Both Valenti brothers and Cann are quality hitters in Yard. Most importantly of all, perhaps, is that these three – along with their other Dark Knight teammates – have proven to be unafraid of a challenge and capable to grinding through a tournament. Those are attributes that will suit them well as they embark on their first major fast pitch experience.
The other two members of the BoomStix roster should make up for any fast pitch experience that the others lack. Nick “Niffman” Tullo is the veteran of the group with over a decade of high-level experience in multiple styles and formats. Ryan Petrone has the most recent fast pitch experience of the five, having competed in Palisades WBL for several seasons in the latter half of the 2010’s. That recent experience makes Petrone the likely choice to get the ball for the BoomStix in more critical situations.
The BoomStix are a candidate to pull off an upset or two at some point in the tournament. The lack of unrestricted pitch speed experience from a majority of their roster makes it tempting to overlook them, but there is a lot of experience and a lot of talent on this squad as well. Teams that look past them could very well wind up regretting it.
