https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21tXRbacI4k
It was a thrilling season on the diamond once again.
Between high school and college, we covered 85 games not counting the seven game tournament in the Dominican Republic in February, which featured two teams of Long Island-based All-Stars playing at the beautiful minor league facilities of several Major League teams. You can read about that here.
Here are a couple “best of” awards based only on the games that we covered. Feel free to include your thoughts in the comment section:
Pitching Performance of the Year:
Jason Diaz (May 30th vs St. John the Baptist)
Final: Kellenberg 1, St. John the Baptist 0
WP: Jason Diaz (4-Hit Shutout, 10 K)Kellenberg wins CHSAA Championship for consecutive year pic.twitter.com/SVUCaB11Be
— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 29, 2017
While there were several no-hitters thrown this year, the performance Diaz put together in the CHSAA takes the cake considering the circumstances. Here’s a sophomore making the biggest start of his career against a very talented lineup that features one Div-I commit (Logan O’Hoppe) and two more players (Will Shaw, Matt Archer) that will be committing this summer. There were more than 1,000 fans in attendance, many of which were SJB fans just waiting for Diaz to show the first sign of fatigue or weakness so they could will their team to a do-or-die Game 2.
The sophomore answered the bell in a big way–by firing a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, including the final batter to strand the tying run in scoring position.
Again, there were plenty of no-hitters this year, there were games with more strikeouts, but Diaz’s combination of youth and dominance on a huge stage is enough to warrant this award.
Offensive Performance of the Year:
Will Feil (May 24th vs Oyster Bay)
In the Nassau Class B championship, the Wheatley junior put on an offensive clinic. What stood out most to me was that every one of his three hits came with runners in scoring position, and they each gave his team the lead. This was a wild back-and-forth affair between two offensive-minded teams. Feil put his team on his back with RBI hits in the 1st, 2nd and 4th innings, including a long RBI double in the fourth that just narrowly missed being a HR, but it was ultimately the difference in the game. The sweet-swinging junior was retired in his fourth (final) at bat, but his impact was made with the first three hits. It was an eye-opening performance for the uncommitted junior. I came away very impressed and I would expect him to be a high follow this summer.
Best Finish to a Game:
Pat-Med 2, Longwood 1
BRAD MALM WALK-OFF HOME RUN pic.twitter.com/3NC08TYyIa— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) April 27, 2017
Brad Malm (April 27th vs Longwood)
Chris Wasson Walk-Off Single (May 25th vs Oceanside)
Chris Wasson rips walk-off single to send Massapequa to the Nassau County Class AA Finals ! pic.twitter.com/bZJmKM6U0t
— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2017
Malm was named aXcess League I MVP, and the above video is a perfect example of the impact he had on the Raiders. They were a young team relying on some inexperienced players and he was easily the biggest threat in the lineup. Even with most pitchers avoiding him, he was still able to put up monster numbers. The defining moment of his season was certainly this walk-off HR at Bethpage Park that turned a 7th inning deficit into a dramatic victory. What ensued was one of the most exciting finishes you will see on a baseball field.
It was a banner season for Massapequa as they claimed the Class AA Long Island Championship and came just one win away from winning the New York Championship. Along the way, they had several big-time victories that continued their glory ride. In the Nassau semifinals, they defeated rival Oceanside in the 11th inning on a walk-off single by LIU Post-commit Chris Wasson to score freshman Johnny Castagnozzi.
Massapequa has a rich tradition of winning, and it was yet another example of how they have been a difficult team to put away in the late innings.
