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Recap of Saturday’s Axcess World Series at PAL Stadium

by Trevor Dugan

Long Island Crew Defeat the East Coast Lumberjacks

The East Coast Lumberjacks and Long Island Crew kicked off day two of the Axcess World Series this morning at PAL Stadium.

The Lumberjacks sent out Nick Vignola (Shoreham-Wading River 2026) to start on the mound, while the Crew started James Rugolo (Babylon 2025). The pair of starters each pitched a scoreless first inning to begin the game. 

In the second inning, the Crew brought in RHP Joe Cavallo (Babylon 2025). He would pitch the next two innings and strike out five batters, allowing no runs while doing it. 

When asked about his approach on the mound, Cavallo told Axcess “I was just trying to command my fastball and blow by hitters, and it was working.”

Vignola also continued to pitch well, working out of multiple jams to keep the Crew off the board. Through three innings the game remained scoreless. 

Until the fourth inning, when Chris Steneck (Connetquot 2026) beat out an infield single that brought in the first run of the game for the Lumberjacks. They took a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning. 

In the top of the fifth, the Crew offense exploded for seven runs, with just about everyone contributing. 

A.J Giel (Riverhead 2025) had a hard hit RBI single to left that scored one. He finished the day 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Shortstop Cam Wallace drove in two runs with his RBI single. He finished 2-2 with two RBI and a run scored. 

The game would finish as a 7-1 victory for the Crew after five innings due to time constraints. 

LI Crew coach Lou Fontinha spoke to Axcess after the game,and was impressed with the way his pitchers performed.

“Pitching did a great job all day,” Fontinha said. “It’s been the cornerstone of our team, they got ahead and they worked. The defense did a great job too.” 

Phenom Defeat East Coast Lumbejacks

The East Coast Lumberjacks squared off against Phenom NY Saturday for their second game of the day at PAL Stadium, as part of the Axcess World Series. 

RHP Finn O’Rourke (East Hampton 2026) got the start for the Lumberjacks, while the Phenom went with the sidearm throwing Vince Staub (Northport 2025).

After a scoreless top of the first, Logan Walsh (ESM 2026) got the scoring started for the Lumberjacks, driving in one with his opposite field single to right. It was 1-0 Lumberjacks heading into the bottom of the second. 

The Phenom were quick to answer however, tying things up at one right away after scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame. 

In the fourth, the Lumberjacks added two more runs after scoring on an error, then advancing home from third on a throw down to second. They held a 3-1 lead halfway through four.

Once again Phenom answered immediately, scoring three in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Gavin Centeno (Northport 2025) drove in one run with a strong line drive single to right field. Mike Kordecki (Longwood 2026) drove in two as well, he’d finish the game 2-2 with two RBI and two runs scored to go with one walk. 

Three more runs came across in the fifth for Phenom after an unfortunate series of walks and errors. By the end of the inning it was a 7-3 Phenom lead. 

Facing the time limit, the Lumberjacks needed to rally in the top of the sixth. They did manage to score two runs to make it 7-5, but they came up short in the end as Phenom won 7-5 after five and a half innings. 

Lucas Scarangelo of Phenom NY spoke to Axcess about what changed for their offense in the latter half of the game. 

“We finally got a read on the pitcher,” Scarangelo explained. “He started throwing more balls, we sat on fastballs and were waiting for them.” 

East Coast ended the day 0-2, while Phenom NY ended up 1-1. 

Blue Line Rangers defeat Long Island Crew

In the third game of the day at PAL Stadium, the Blue Line Rangers played the Long Island Crew as part of the Axcess World Series. 

Brayden Franco (Longwood 2026) took the mound to start for the Rangers. For the Crew it was the right hander Alex Rahner (Islip 2025).

Both starting pitchers fired a scoreless first inning and looked sharp while doing it. Unfortunately for Rahner however, he was forced to leave the game due to pain in his right shoulder. He was replaced by RHP Dylan Broschart (Islip 2025)

In the top of the second, the Crew scored the first run of the game when a runner at third base advanced home on a throw down to second.  They would take a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning. 

The Rangers put up a crooked number right away in the bottom of the frame, plating three runs to take a two run lead. Colten Sisler (Shoreham-Wading River 2026) drove in two of those runs with an RBI single. He finished the day 2-2 with two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. It was 3-1 Rangers after two.

The top of the third saw the Crew cut into that lead a bit when Aidan Reilly  (Shoreham-Wading River 2025) laced an RBI double to right center. He would be stranded on base however as Franco pitched out of trouble to keep it at 3-2. 

Broschart pitched well in relief for the Crew after that, firing a scoreless fourth inning and demonstrating good command of his pitches. He finished with three strikeouts in 2.1 IP 

In the fifth the Rangers would add two more runs after a few errors and a wild pitch, taking a 5-2 lead into the sixth.  

With the time limit looming, the Crew did push across one run in the final frame to make it 5-3. Unfortunately they could not muster anything more, and the game ended 5-3 in favor of the Rangers. 

The Rangers would finish the day 1-0-1, while the Crew ended up 1-1.

Blue Line Rangers and Phenom NY Tie at Three 

Phenom Baseball NY and the Blue Line Rangers met in the last game of the day at PAL Stadium. It was the second game of the day for both teams in the Axcess World Series. 

The Rangers started Brendan Rivera (Longwood 2026) on the bump, and he looked sharp. He went four shutout innings, striking out five and making a few nice plays in the field as well. 

On the other side, Michael Kordecki (Longwood 2026) got the nod for Phenom. He allowed one unearned run in the first inning, but worked out of trouble after that and otherwise pitched very well. He allowed three runs, but none were earned. 

A scoreless second inning followed the eventful first, but the Rangers would strike for two more in the third. With runners on first and second Kordecki fielded a dribbler hit back to the mound, but his throw to first sailed into the outfield allowing two runners to score. The Rangers led 3-0 heading into the fourth. 

Rivera fired a shutdown inning in the top of the fourth. Kordecki bounced back in the bottom of the inning, pitching a scoreless frame to keep the score at 3-0.

In the top of the fifth, the Rangers opted to bring in Dominic Pavlicko (Rocky Point 2026) in relief of Rivera. He pitched a scoreless fifth inning, and would finish the game for the Rangers. 

Calen Geonie (Northport 2025) entered in relief for Phenom in the fifth. He demonstrated exceptional command of his fastball right away, and pitched three scoreless innings to finish the game.

Down 3-0 in the top of the sixth, Phenom was desperate for runs. They ended up getting three of them to tie the game at three in dramatic fashion. After scoring once to make it 3-1, Joe Rondinella (Sachem East 2026) strode to the plate with two men on. He ripped a line drive down the right field line, allowing both runners to score and tying the game at three. 

Geonie would keep the Rangers off the board for the remainder of the day, and the game ended after seven innings in a 3-3 tie. Despite the fact that neither team won, both teams played exceptionally well and showed off plenty of talent and grit. 

The Rangers ended the tourney 2-0-1, while the Phenom went 1-0-1 on the day. 

 

 

 

 

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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