FEATURE STORIES
Ryan Sandberg: From Obscurity to the Top of the Nation’s Leaderboards
If he was a secret before, he definitely was not a secret following his 16-strikeout, no-hitter over Suffolk CC last month. Suffolk Head Coach Brian Klammer called him the “best pitcher we’ve seen all year, hands-down”. He was siting 88-90 and touching 92 MPH with pinpoint command. And he’s available to any college that’s interested. Queensborough CC ace Ryan Sandberg went on to be named CUNYAC Pitcher of the Year after recording 90 strikeouts over 46 innings just a year removed from Tommy John Surgery. He led the nation in strikeouts, K/9 and was top five in complete games. His pitching coach Alex Pangourelias described him as a “bonafide ace that took the mound overtime and gave his team a chance to win”. Following his lights-out season, he has g...
Vincent Rice: Farmingdale’s Resilient Leader Eager to Win a Skyline Championship
by Joe Pantaleo “I knew I was in trouble during the first inning,” said Vincent Rice. “On one pitch, there was an electric shock up my arm, and I just walked off the mound. I knew.” Shortly after, Rice — then a senior at Farmingdale High School — received news that all pitchers dread: he had torn his Ulnar Collateral Ligament and would need Tommy John surgery if he wanted to play baseball again. “It was actually a big game for me too. There was a lot of college scouts coming that day,” he said. Rice was one of the best high school pitchers of his class on Long Island, and he had started to gain some buzz from several local colleges that season. A few weeks later, Rice would receive the surgery to repair his partially-torn UCL, and he decided to walk-on at Farmingdale State ...
Willy Adames Ready for the Call
Click For Video From Adames’ Cycle NEW YORK – Willy Adames didn’t appear as if he had too much left to prove in the minor leagues. Tampa Bay, however, assigned him to minor league camp in early March, signaling that the club didn’t think he was quite ready to make the leap from Triple-A Durham. Adames, whom the Rays acquired from Detroit in the 2014 David Price deal, remains one of the top prospects not only in Tampa’s system but also in all of baseball. According to MLB.com, he is No. 22. If he was disappointed that he opened the season in Durham, he hasn’t let it show, putting together a slash line of .315/.419/.507 and 15 RBIs through the end of April. The native of the Dominican Republic also hit for the first cycle in the Durham Bulls’ Triple-A franchise history on April 23 agai...
Patrick Lagravinese: The Ultimate Utility Player
(Photo Credit: Bill Ziskin) By Justin Paura Being asked to do everything is hard. There are very few people who you can count on to do backflips for you one day and run a mile for you the next. But for Albany junior Patrick Lagravinese, it has become second nature. In his first two seasons with the Great Danes, Lagravinese saw himself playing all over the infield. It helped him get some burn as an underclassman, playing in a total of 80 games through his freshman and sophomore years. “Getting experience early has really helped me develop as a player,” Lagravinese says. “Some kids don’t see time until their sophomore or junior year. I’ve been lucky.” The only thing is, it hasn’t been a matter of luck. It’s been a matter of flexibility. His role in his junior year has completely changed. He ...
Alex Katz Reflects On His Playing Career
(Photo by Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images) What could be a bigger thrill for a six-years-old than getting to stand on the field of a Major League Baseball stadium and getting to meet your favorite players? What could be a bigger thrill for a baseball player than getting to participate in the World Baseball Classic in front a sold-out crowd in Japan? New Hyde Park-native and Herricks HS grad Alex Katz was fortunate to experience both things. The former was the virtue of luck by winning a contest at a shoe store that he was entered in. The latter was the virtue of many years of hard work, success and persistence. The hard-throwing southpaw grew up a die-hard Met fan in New Hyde Park and he remembers going to games at Shea Stadium hoping to grab the attention of his idols, Billy Wagner and ...
How Marcus Stroman Went From League I MVP to World Baseball Classic MVP
(Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published on March 22, 2017 after Team USA captured the Gold Medal in the World Baseball Classic) Having coached him for five years on the diamond and one year on the gridiron, not many people know Marcus Stroman–who was just named Most Valuable Player of the 2017 World Baseball Classic–better than Patchogue-Medford HS Head Coach Anthony Frascogna. Prior to gaining national acclaim for taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning and leading Team USA to their first WBC championship, he was leading Pat-Med to league titles. But before that, he was the little guy that was turning everyone’s head no matter which sport he played. “I knew Marcus from when he was in elementary school because I knew Earl (his father), and I would see him on the fields...
Adam Heidenfelder On His Resurgent Season at Old Westbury
It’s been quite a journey for Adam Heidenfelder. In May 2014, he was coming off winning his second Diamond Award at MacArthur HS. His fastball, sitting 90-91 MPH, was drawing herds of scouts behind the plate at all his games and was being discussed as a potential draft pick. Ultimately, the only local high school player that got drafted was Jesse Berardi, the Carl Yastrzemski Award winner out of Commack. Heidenfelder, a 6’5″ RHP, began his college career at Hofstra University and made his first start against UCLA in Hofstra’s second game of the season. The start did not go as planned, and it was the start of two frustrating seasons for him. He used that as an opportunity to start fresh, however, recognizing that there was an opening atop the SUNY Old Westbury rotati...
Max Effort Baseball: On the Cutting Edge of Baseball Training and Education
When it comes to being a successful hitter, there is nothing more frustrating than being geared up for a fastball only to hopelessly flail at a change up in the dirt. Believe me, as a .220 hitter as a senior in high school I can attest to this. There is no amount of hours in a batting cage that can prepare you for the challenge of off-speed pitches and tight breaking balls. Enter Senaptec and Hack Attack Pitching Machine. These revolutionary devices represent the next-wave of baseball training, something in which several Major League Baseball teams have purchased and begun to implement into their organizations. Both of these do not come cheap, however, and unless you are able to book an appointment at Yankee Stadium or Wrigley Field you won’t be able to utilize their limitless potent...
Catching Up With Will O’Brien
One of the forgotten story lines of Wantagh‘s championship run in 2016 was that they were able to withstand the loss of their two-time All-State RHP Will O’Brien, who suffered an arm injury. Although Jimmy Joyce and Bobby Hegarty did just fine in his absence, the Warriors had a pitcher that had compiled other-worldly numbers over the course of a two-year stretch. 2015: 5-1 record, 0.71 ERA, 66 K (5th team All-State) 2016: 7-0 record, 1.21 ERA, 88 K (1st team All-State) He is currently at St. Thomas Aquinas. He spoke with Vinny Messana and here’s what he had to say… Describe the 2016 run by Wantagh. How difficult was it being sidelined with injury but also how proud of your teammates were you to pick up the slack? I think what made the 2016 playoff run so special was...
Q & A With Joey Grillo
(Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan) One of the story lines that slipped through the cracks in Suffolk County Class A was the terrific season by Rocky Point in 2017. They began the season 13-1 and finished with an overall record of 17-5. Their team was led by James Weisman, Joe Grillo, Brian Forbes, Rob Milopsky among others. Grillo, a University of Bridgeport-commit, will be back this year and is setting his sights set high. He batted .411 (30-for-73) with 3 HR, 20 RBI, 21 runs, .500 OBP and 1.158 OPS at the plate. On the mound, he was 4-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 35 K over 34.2 IP. He didn’t mince words when he discussed his goals for 2018 with Vinny Messana. Here’s what he had to say: Talk a little about your experience with the college recruiting process and how you decided to com...
Q & A with Joey Ricciardi
When you play for MacArthur, playoff berths are par for the course. The General are coming off a 16-win season, but they had their season cut-short by rival Division in the second round of the postseason. They will be looking to avenge that loss this season. One of the players they will be counting on is left-handed hitting senior outfielder Joey Ricciardi. He announced his commitment to play at York College of Pennsylvania a couple days ago. Prior to that, he put on an impressive performance at the charity Home Run Derby at Calhoun last month. He spoke with Vinny Messana about a variety of things, and here’s what he had to say… Talk a little bit about the college recruiting process and how you made your decision? The recruiting process was very stressful. I attended a lot of c...
Who Is Trevor Virno?
by Andres Rivas For Bellport to finish with a share of the league title for the first time in 51 years, it took a complete effort. While the pitching staff was led by three experienced starters in Sacred Heart-commit Joe Greco, Southern New Hampshire-commit Ryan Baumann and talented junior LHP Anthony Jacabacci, the team was looking for a player to step up and win the starting catching position. Enter Trevor Virno. A natural shortstop, Virno was asked to go behind the plate and corral a pitching staff that was expected to be very talented. Behind the plate he had 22 assists and threw out six runners. He finished the season with a hit in eight of his last twenty at bats (.400). Additionally, he logged some innings on the mound and compiled a 2.76 ERA over 12.2 IP. Following this season he a...
