Final: West Islip 5, North Babylon 4 (13 Innings)
WP: Brad Battaglini (5 IP, 1 R)Mike LaDonna: Wall-off sac fly pic.twitter.com/ogXGg6gd4Q
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 24, 2019
One of the most consistent pitchers on Long Island over the past two seasons was West Islip RHP Mike LaDonna. The hard-throwing RHP was a key cog in the Lions’ incredible 22-game win streak in 2018 that culminated in another Suffolk Class AA Championship. He also had a dominant 2019 season in which the Lions made it back to the Final 4 but ran into Max Nielsen and the Ward Melville Patriots.
LaDonna also won the Boomer Esiason Award, given to the top QB in Suffolk County after an incredible season in which he threw for 19 TDs and ran for 21 TDs, but lost to Lindenhurst in the Suffolk II title game.
He was committed to New York Tech, but recently announced he will be attending Palm Beach State in Florida instead.
They compete in the Southern Conference of the Florida State College Activities Association, a body of the NJCAA. In 2013, they made it to the Div-I Junior College World Series and finished runner-up to Central Alabama CC.
They’ve had some notable alumni. In addition to movie star Burt Reynolds, they have sent 15 players to the big leagues most notably Dante Bichette.
They were 24-20 last season, finishing their season with a 2-0 victory against Miami Dade CC (Mike Piazza‘s alma mater).
LaDonna is one of the best athletes to come through Long Island in the past decade. We wish him the best.
