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They say the East Coast teams hate traveling across country in the NFL. That may be true in college baseball too, as Hofstra began its 2014 season by losing three of four to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. They were outscored 32-13 in the series, with the lone win coming in the third game 7-5. In the victory, David Jesch earned the win with four innings of relief, yielding three runs. He relieved junior college transfer Alec Eisenberg who was making his first start for the Pride. Hofstra pounded 12 hits in the game, with the top four hitters in the lineup (Eric Ferguson, Kenny Jackson, Dalton Rouleau, Matt Ford) accounting for 10 of those. The go-ahead run scored in the eighth inning on a wild pitch. The Pride will return home and take on Iona College this weekend as they look...

Just two years ago, Stony Brook marched down to the Coral Gables Regionals to put a shocking beat down on some of the most powerful baseball programs in the country. This year, however, they have gotten off to an uncharacteristic dismal start for the second straight year.  Head Coach Matt Senk commended the performance of Florida International, but said it’s “important to have good practices this week.” Florida International swept the series by a combined score of 28-4 to move their undefeated streak to eight games to begin the season. The Sea Wolves are 0-3 and return to New York with a bit of a bruised ego. It is not quite last year’s excruciating 0-9 start which directly followed not just the best season in school history but the winningest season in the country....

Kevin Courtney scoring the first run of the season for the Stony Brook Sea Wolves Photo Credit: Stony Brook Athletics

Photo credit: Molloy Athletics The first day of the 2014 season was a rough one for Long Island teams. Molloy, Stony Brook and Hofstra all began out of state and were greeted rudely by the home team. Molloy kicked the day off with a 4-3 loss to Merrimack. Carlos Guzman drove in two runs for Molloy, who went up 3-2 in the fourth inning, but squandered the lead in the seventh inning on a ground-rule double. Stony Brook fell to Florida International 6-2. Frankie Vanderka suffered the loss, as he tossed 3 innings, with the crushing blow being delivered on a three-run second inning home run by Julius Gaines. The bright spot for the Sea Wolves was Kevin Courtney who walked three times and stole a base. Hofstra was defeated 8-1 by Grand Canyon University. David D’Errico suffered the defeat,...

by David Moskowitz Old Westbury is always a competitive team. Problem is, they have not been able to overcome Farmingdale State for the past six years. Year after year, they appear to have a shot, only to lose in dramatic fashion in the final round. They will most likely find themselves face to face against Keith Osik’s squad, and they must find a way to get it done.    The team must cope with the absence of their seniors from 2013. Gone are Steve Chapter, Tim Walsh, Matthew Andress, and Andres Machuca, and James Roubal.  Walsh, Chapter, and Roubal were big contributors last year, but all in all to lose only 5 pitchers isn’t bad.  The team still has a good group of arms, highlighted by Alex DiSanto. DiSanto was a beast last year while serving as the team’s closer.  He pos...

Hoftra Athletic Communications Like Stony Brook, Hofstra had their first series cancelled last weekend. They will begin their 2014 campaign in Arizona this weekend against Grand Canyon University. The Pride finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 26-27, 11-16 within the Colonial Athletic Associate (CAA). The team will be playing for Head Coach John Russo in his sixth season. The offense will be led by Kenny Jackson, who hit over .300 last season. Jackson is an elite power hitter, who knocked nine home runs last season. He will need to replace the production of Matt Reistetter, a star catcher who was of the best on the island and now plays in the Washington Nationals system. I picked him to represent the All-Long Island team last season. Fortunately, the team will benefit from th...

Photo Credit: Mets Blog Way back in 2009, Steve Matz made a name for himself when he was selected with the 72nd overall pick by the New York Mets out of Ward Melville HS. After waiting until the very last minute of the negotiation window (August 15th midnight), Matz came to terms on an $800,000 contract which convinced him not to attend Coastal Carolina. At the time, I was pretty surprised the Mets took Matz that early. Even though he dominated the best competition in Suffolk County (two earned runs in 55 innings) and hit 94 mph at the Area Code games, it was known that he had elbow issues. Also, I hadn’t heard much buzz about him and I was very in tune with the chatter at the time. Everyone knew Marcus Stroman was a lock to go, possibly Kyle Hansen, Anthony Italiano, Adam Brown and ...

Photo is credited to GoSeawolves.Org The Seawolves of Stony Brook had their first series of the season cancelled due to inclement weather. They will take on Florida International this Friday in Miami, Fl. Last season the Seawolves were defeated in the America East conference tournament by Maine, after they had beaten Albany to stay alive. The team will be led by staff ace Frankie Vanderka, who compiled an 8-4 record with a 2.80 ERA over 99.2 innings. Vanderka will be joined by Brandon McNitt atop the rotation. Keep an eye on Stony Brook this season, as they attempt to rebound from last season’s disappointing year (by their standards) and make some noise in the America East.

Photo is credited to Wikipedia If you are anything like me and love the game of baseball, you appreciate the intricacies of the game that make it so unique than any other game. For purposes of brevity, I will focus on one aspect; the stadiums. No other sport–aside from maybe golf–offers such a diverse experience for the fans on a stadium to stadium basis. No two fields are created equal, and some are simply outrageous. It really enhances the experience when you can watch a baseball game in a cathedral. I have been to several, and here are my top top that offer the best combination of fan experience and opportunities to enjoy your time in the city. 10. Progressive Field– To say the city of Cleveland has been tortured by its sports teams would be an understatement. The LeBr...

               For baseball fans on Long Island who are not interested in sitting in NYC traffic to get to a Major League game, there may be some good news on the horizon. According to Dan Malley, vice president of the Independent Professional Baseball League (IBL), the non-affiliated league is looking to add a team in Garden City.                 “Market research over the past year has led us to the Garden City/Central Nassau County area,” said Malley. “The Atlantic League also liked the area and at one point wanted to put a team here in one of the Coliseum projects back in about 2010”, he added.                 The IBL was founded in 2012, and the Midwestern Division will begin play this summer. The other teams are located in Cleveland, Bowling Green, Galion, Muncie and Tiffin. They have...

I’ve always said there’s two seasons in the year; football and baseball. Once the Super Bowl is over, I shift gears to focusing on prospect lists, season previews and looking forward to Opening Day. This year is a little different. Long Island, never known to be a popular winter vacation spot, is looking more like Sochi, Russia. Unless you are training to fight Ivan Drago, there’s not really a reason to be in three feet of snow. If this was January, it would be one thing. We are two week away, however, from most Long Island teams opening up there season. With no tropical storms on the horizon, the snow will likely force most seasons to be pushed back a few days. It will be difficult for pitchers to acclimate themselves to an outdoor mound immediately. Most teams have not ...

Photo Credit: Recruiting Cycle I have been posting thoughts on this site about various topics in Major League Baseball. As you can see, I am a huge Mets fan. But now that the college season is right around the corner you will not be seeing any talk about the Mets or the Hall of Fame voting.  The season will be starting at the end of the month. There are plenty of significant players ready to make some noise and put their teams on the national grid.  If you are just reading this for the first time, you can come here to read about St. Joseph’s, Farmingdale, Old Westbury, NYIT, Molloy, Dowling, Hofstra and Stony Brook.  Best of luck to the players. Have a productive and healthy season.