Author: Vinny Messana

Photo Credit: Massapequa Patch Playing for Massapequa isn’t always easy. After all, you are basically expected to continue the winning tradition that has been in place for decades. This year, however, the football and the basketball team came up just shy of the ultimate goal. Alex Cosenza, who was also a pivotal part of the basketball team, made sure the baseball team would not follow suit. ...

Photo Credit: Newsday For the first time since 2008, West Islip has been crowned Suffolk County AA champs. They defeated Half Hollow Hills West 5-0 in a winner-take-all game. Just like 2008, they had a dominating pitcher lead the way. Back then it was senior Nick Tropeano, who is currently playing with the Houston Astros Triple-A affiliate. This time it was sophomore sensation James Kory, who thre...

Photo Credit: Stony Brook Athletics Here is the second and final power rankings for the Long Island NCAA-affiliated teams. 10. NYIT: 4-46 Poor year all around. They will be looking for an infusion of talent coming in. 9-St. Joseph’s: 17-20 They have regressed the past few seasons after nearly winning the Skyline in 2011. Dan DiBlasi had a standout year as a two-way player. He had a .342 aver...

Déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra used to say. One week after losing two games to St. Thomas Aquinas in the ECC tournament when they only needed one win, lightning struck twice. They easily won the first three games of the tournament, with their starting pitcher going the distance each time. In the potential clinching game against STAC, they were defeated 4-2. In the season finale, they were s...

Photo Credit: St. Thomas AquinasThe Spartans Forced a Deciding Game against Dowling “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”, is the old saying. Well, perhaps Dowling prematurely celebrated the East Region title because they came out flat this afternoon, and now will be facing the pressure of not squandering a golden opportunity to qualify for the College World Series. Neith...

Photo Credit: Hofstra Athletic Communications The Hofstra Pride were eliminated from postseason contention when James Madison University won their game early Saturday afternoon. The Pride went on to split a double header with UMass-Lowell to finish the season with a record of 20-24, including 7-11 within the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season with a bang—an 18-11 win in ...

When Stony Brook started out 0-6 on the season, it was hard to believe they would be playing meaningful games in late May. But then they won a game. Then they continued it. Now they can’t lose. The Sea Wolves defeated Hartford 4-2 to capture their third regular season America East title in the past four seasons. They will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and be looking to win their fif...

Photo Credit: Farmingdale Athletics For the entire season, Farmingdale was the team that found ways to escape jams, created runs from a hat and relied on a hint of magic. Tonight, they were on the receiving end of a torturous way to lose a baseball game and end a season. They lost 6-5 to Kean on a wild pitch by Alex Pangourelias in the bottom of the tenth. He nearly escaped the jam after coming on...

Photo Credit: Dowling AthleticsDowling is one win away from their pre-season goal For the third consecutive game, the Dowling Golden Lions have received tremendous starting pitching. This time it was senior JJ Bessell, who fired a complete game, allowed three runs and struck out 10 against Wilmington for the 4-3 win. The Golden Lions got out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI double by a...

With the possibility of being sent home for the season, Farmingdale put together a complete effort and disposed of Steven 6-2. Mike Dolce threw 5.1 innings without allowing a run for the victory. His season ERA drops to 3.68. He was relieved by Chris Dragone, who allowed four hits and one run in 3.2 innings to close the door. The offense got out to a 1-0 first inning lead on a wild pitch and added...

After splitting a double header yesterday with second place Hartford, the stage is set for a crucial rubber game today. The winner will claim the regular season title in the America East conference and the No. 1 seed in the tournament which begins next week. They lost the first game 6-1, with Frankie Vanderka suffering his fifth defeat of the season. He went 7.1 and allowed six earned runs. The Se...

The Dowling Golden Lions, who were hoping for an at-large bid less than a week ago, are now two wins away from the Division-II College World Series. They powered past Wilmington University 6-1, behind Tom Bammann’s complete game. Bammann, who was recently named Second Team All-Region, won his ninth game of the season. He limited Wilmington to four hits. The only damage came on a ninth inning...