Long Beach walk-off in the bottom of the 7th to win 7-6 over GNN
Christian Parisa scored Aidan Cardo. The win clinched a playoff spot for Long Beach pic.twitter.com/FzN25ArZ5H
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 13, 2022
It was a bittersweet ending to the 2022 season for Long Beach, as they were able to qualify for a postseason berth but they let a 4-0 lead slip away in the 7th inning against Roslyn in the play-in round.
They finished with an overall record of 9-11 on the season. They graduated two impact players from last year’s squad. They are Connor Nooney, who was named All-League, and is now playing at Dean College. He led the team in innings pitched with 30.1 and he also compiled a record of 3-3 with 1 save and a 3.90 ERA. Peter DiGiorgio was their captain and catcher, and coach commended him for the job he did behind the dish.
They return a number of impact players, led by senior RHP/OF Jake Scafa. Jake was named All-Conference last year and he will be headed to Francis Marion University on scholarship in the fall. He batted .328 with a .400 OBP and led the team with 19 hits last season. He drove in 11 runs, scored 16 runs and will hit third this upcoming season.
Behind the dish, they have junior Dan Defonte. He was named All-Conference last season as well after hitting .340 with a strong .429 OBP, .960 OPS, 16 hits, 12 RBIs, 16 runs scored and 11 stolen bases as a sophomore. Coach said he’s been getting some looks from schools already.
“He’s a real dynamic player. He will hit 2nd or 4th for us. He’s a gap-to-gap power hitter. He steals a ton of bases and he handles pitchers really well,” said coach Jason Zizza.
At second base, they have Aidan Cardo. The senior batted .333 last season with a .438 OBP, 17 hits, 11 RBIs, 19 runs scored and 7 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter. Dylan Cantwell will play third base and pitch. He batted .312 with a .532 OBP, .938 OPS, 10 hits, 9 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
“He will solidify our rotation. He was injured last year but he’s worked really hard and he’s ready to go,” said coach.
In the outfield, they have Troy DeFrancesco, who coach spoke extremely highly of. The junior is coming off a huge season in which he batted .353 with a .436 OBP, .818 OPS, 12 hits, 7 RBIs, 13 runs scored and 7 stolen bases as a sophomore.
Troy Defrancesco puts the Seminoles Gold up 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th. pic.twitter.com/lD6a4TRT4d
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 24, 2022
“He came up after the first series – he was just crushing it at JV. He came up for our 2nd series and had an awesome season. We were going to keep him down but saw how well he was playing. And as good as he is offensively, he’s as good or better on defense. He will get the ball from foul line-to-foul line. He does an amazing job for us,” coach said.
Playing right field is junior Alonso Espinet. The 6’2 235 lb left-handed hitting Espinet was on varsity last year and coach expects him to make a jump this season. “He appears more confident and more ready. He’s a big, strong kid. He will be a big piece for us. In right field, he has a cannon for an arm.” He recently was invited to play in the NY State Games.
Alonso Espinet (Long Beach 2024) pic.twitter.com/fKaykzsCYf
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 16, 2023
The offense will be in great shape – they hit .293 as a team last year and are returning many of those pieces.
They have a couple newcomers to varsity. Paddy Henry is one of those players. He led the JV in hitting and he will split time with Defonte behind the dish while also getting time as a DH and 1B. He is just a sophomore. They also have Matthew Hayes, another 10th grader that will be getting the call. Coach said they expect him to be a conference starter and he will also play SS and 1B.
“We had a really good year last year, making the playoffs for the first time in 2 years. We have a great group of hard-working players. We are looking to get back to the playoffs. We believe we can compete with anyone in the conference.”
Long Beach will be opening up next week against Calhoun. They play in a very difficult conference with MacArthur, New Hyde Park, Mepham, Jericho and Great Neck South
