FEATURE STORIES
Up Next: Liam Bowes
Liam Bowes (Shoreham-Wading River 2022) pic.twitter.com/8RjTaGi7kq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 3, 2018 (Editor’s Note: This is the second part of our ‘Up Next’ Series which profiles the top middle school and JV players on Long Island. On Sunday night, we profiled Christian Alicea. Now is Shoreham-Wading River 9th grader Liam Bowes, who is a power-hitting catcher that turned some heads down at the USA Complex in Cary, NC) Controlled aggression. It’s the phrase that comes to mind when you watch the swing of Shoreham-Wading River catcher Liam Bowes. As I watched swing-after-swing result in thunderous line drives at Gameday Sports in Port Jefferson, it became clear that a bright future lies ahead for Bowes. From his longtime hitting instructor and co...
Q & A With Garden City SS Tommy Reifler
Tommy Reifler is a middle infielder for Garden City HS and the HDMH Titans. He recently committed to Binghamton University. We spoke about his success on the field and a number of other topics. Here’s what he had to say. Can you tell our audience about your experience with the college recruiting process and how you decided to commit to Binghamton? My recruiting process all happened during the early summer. The coaching staff at Binghamton watched me play in June and followed me throughout July. I decided to commit to Binghamton because I really liked the program, coaches and the academics fit what I was looking for. Garden City has been very successful the past few seasons. What have you enjoyed the most? What do you think it will take to get over the top and beat a team like Wantag...
Andrew Veit: Why I Chose Saint Peter’s
Great arm action from Bellport Andrew Veit pic.twitter.com/TE3GNqFtvJ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 20, 2017 (Editor’s Note: Andrew is a 2019 graduate of Bellport HS. He is the younger brother of Michael, who is an outfielder at Farleigh-Dickinson University. He is a middle infielder that helped Bellport make a postseason appearance in 2018. He announced his commitment to Division-I Saint Peter’s in New Jersey. The following words are his own.) The recruiting process is not an easy process, it takes a lot of time and effort to attend as many tournaments and showcases as possible. Making sure you’re working to your full potential while at the tournaments is necessary because you never know which college coaches are there watching. It’s important to pick the ...
Dante Interlandi: Why I Chose Queens College
(Editor’s Note: Dante is a 2019 graduate of Farmingdale High School, where he helped guide the Dalers to a postseason appearance. He recently announced his commitment to Queens College. The following words are his own.) In my whole life as a baseball player, getting to this stage of playing was only a small dream I never thought I could reach. This past Sunday, November 4th, I decided to make the next decision to better my future and commit to Queens College. I couldn’t have been able to make this decision and get to this point in my life without my family, all of my coaches and my teammates. Before I even learned about the entire recruitment process, I would occasionally flip to college baseball games, football games and basketball games and see kids starting to live out their child...
2022 East Coast Lumberjacks Dazzle and Impress In Summer 2018
(From left to right: Bowes, Miller, McGurk) Four class of 2022 standouts have been raising eyebrows all over Long Island this summer. Matt McGurk (Commack), Cody Miller (Rocky Point), Tyler John (Ward Melville) and Liam Bowes (Shoreham-Wading River) have united under the flag of East Coast Lumberjacks. The organization was founded by Ryan Pembroke, who coaches the older teams, but the younger guys are led by former professional ball player Eric Strovink. This experienced guidance and coaching has led to all four players earning selections to Junior Team USA. Their commitment on-and-off the field is impressive and this can be credited to the committed coaches and mentors in the Lumberjacks’ organization. “We’re constantly trying to improve and we believe in that 10,000 hour rule,̶...
Charles Rainone: Life Under The Radar
Being a high school athlete is a journey. A developmental phase that can only be compared to riding a roller coaster with all the ups-and-downs that emerge in the process. It is rather rare for an athlete to enter high school and make the varsity team his or her freshman year. Often times it takes determination, hard work and a willingness to put in more time and effort than everybody else to get to where you want to be. Being a high school athlete is a journey that hinges on skill development and dedication. This is the journey of Charles Rainone. Charles entered high school at Deer Park with the thought in the back of his head of how he wanted to make the varsity baseball team his freshman year. He soon would find out that for most high school athletes that tends to stay a want rather th...
Brandon Buchan Changes Mind, Decides to Play Ball in College
Brandon Buchan won the 2018 Diamond Award, given to the best pitcher in Nassau County, for his performance in the 2018 season. Up until a few weeks ago, however, he wasn’t planning on continuing playing baseball anymore. The SUNY Maritime-commit came into his senior season as not just an under-the-radar player, but almost completely unknown outside of his school. He was rarely used as a junior on a team that featured several other accomplished senior pitchers. Buchan burst onto the scene in his senior year in a big way. Buchan attributes much of his improvement to his offseason workouts. “Last year I was told I was very thin,” the lefty said, “so I was able to put on 15 to 20 pounds throughout the offseason.” The increase in strength helped Buchan increase his fastball velocity from ...
Catching Up With 2016 CHSAA Player of the Year Matt Martino
(Photo Credit: Vassar Athletics) Although Kyle Young and Chris Cappas were the players that generated all the headlines in 2016 in regards to the Catholic League, neither of them actually won the CHSAA Player of the Year. That’s right, that honor was bestowed upon St. Anthony’s senior 3B/RHP Matt Martino, who hit three HR and won six games for the Friars. From there, he went on to Vassar College, where he was named First Team All-Conference as a freshman. The injury bug, however, bit him quite hard. Not only did he tear his meniscus but he also went under the knife to undergo Tommy John Surgery which caused him to miss all of 2018. I had the chance to speak with him, and here’s what he had to say… What are your fondest memories of your time at St. Anthony’s? Playing...
Rich Ciufo’s Road To Recovery
by P.J. Potter It’s Opening Night at Historic Hicks Field in Edenton, North Carolina. The fans are still filing into the grandstands as the Steamers are coming up to bat for the first time of the Coastal Plain League season. While people were still getting settled, Rich Ciufo was already locked in. On his very first swing, everyone in the ballpark stopped what they were doing. They looked up as Ciufo crushed the ball over the double deck of advertisement signs in left field, and he was met by a roaring ovation while rounding the bases. And just like that, crossing home plate with a huge smile, Ciufo became a star in the CPL. “It was a great way to open the summer. It felt like a lot of hard work paid off,” Ciufo said, a Medford, NY native attending Brown University. Jumping into the summer...
17 Miles, Two Counties Apart, One Passion: Baseball
by Matt Dzenawager The Carl Yastrzemski Award, given to the best player in Suffolk County, and the Diamond Award, given to the best positional player in Nassau County, are two of the most prestigious honors for Long Island High School baseball players. This year the Carl Yastrzemski Award was earned by Matt Hogan of Half Hollow Hills East High School and the Diamond Award was earned by Anthony D’Onofrio of Wantagh High School. Despite living in different counties, the game of baseball has brought Hogan and D’Onofrio together. The two have played travel ball together since they were 11 for the Long Island Titans organization and have forged a long-lasting, great friendship. “Everyday, every weekend we’ve had games and stuff,” Hogan said “baseball is more of a brotherhood bond.” Both D’Onofr...
Catching Up With Peter Theodorellis
by Matt Dzenawager The transition from high school to college baseball has had its ups and downs for 2017 Commack High School graduate Peter Theodorellis. Theodorellis has been a winner his entire baseball career. From winning the 10-year-old Mid-Atlantic championship in 2010 to winning the high school Suffolk County championship in 2017. Individually, he won the Silver Slugger and was named All Tri-State in his senior campaign. Theodorellis now plays for the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights and he’s honing his craft this summer in the Hamptons League. As a pitcher and position player, Theodorellis pitched 22 innings and received 76 at-bats his freshman year with the Knights. “My role definitely changed,” Theodorellis said. “I wasn’t the top notch guy anymore,” between being a freshman...
Q & A With Joey Pena
It’s hard to have a better collegiate career than Joey Pena. The Brooklyn native just wrapped up an outstanding 4-year career with the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans, hitting .366 with 37 RBI and 50 runs scored this season. Joey was far from a singles-hitting shortstop. He had 26 extra base hits and stole 37 bases, while playing all 54 contests. Perhaps most impressive, he drew 45 walks and struck out only 14 times; which padded his OBP to a ridiculous .498 over 194 at bats. Earlier this year he broke the program record for hits in a career. They came up just shy of returning to Cary, N.C. for the Div-II College World Series after they were shutout 6-0 by Blue Point native Shane McDonald. Pena participated in our Axcess Invitational on Tuesday and he was one of the stars of the show. He...
