FEATURES
Q & A With Frankie Collora
Ward Melville has a habit of grooming pitchers in beasts. Frankie Collora might just be the latest to join that list. With an improved velocity in the mid-to-upper 80s and command of three offspeed pitches, he promises to be a problem for League I hitters next year. He announced his verbal commitment to SUNY Cortland, so I spoke with him to get a better understanding about his decision and what makes him tick. Here’s what he had to say… Who are your biggest role models in life and why? My biggest role models are definitely my parents because I’m an only child with a limited size family so I’ve always looked up to my parents and they’ve led me on the right path ever since I was little. Who are your favorite players in Major League Baseball and why? I used to lo...
Wade Kelly Commits to Coastal Carolina
Wade Kelly launches a 2-run shot to LF to provide Massapequa with a 6-spot in the top half of the first. pic.twitter.com/7vevLBU1Za — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 22, 2018 One of the main ingredients to Massapequa’s latest dynasty has been a potent offense–specially at the top. This season was no difference as players like Wade Kelly, Nick Schwartz and Travis Honeyman perpetually were on base and came around to score to put the Chiefs up early in games. Kelly, a lightning quick outfielder was a huge impact player in 2019 and he figures to be once again in his senior season. He was in the news last week after committing to 2016 College World Series Champion Coastal Carolina. I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Can you explain y...
Joe Durso Commits to St. John’s University
When it comes to baseball programs in the northeast, St. John’s University is at the mountain top in 2019. They have been for the past several seasons, since Stony Brook‘s cinderella run in 2012. They have made the NCAA Tournament 37 times, won nine Big East Championships, made it to Omaha six times for the Div-I College World Series and sent over 100 players to professional baseball. Simply put, they look for the best players. So when a Long Island player commits to St. John’s just before his junior season in high school and having not played varsity yet, it’s significant. They’ve pinpointed several of the region’s top players before they’ve rose to prominence, most recently Jake Lazzaro in 2017. Joe Durso became the latest player to join the list...
Q & A With Robbie Manetta
You may remember May of 2017 in the early days of Axcess Baseball when a fresh-faced freshman smoked a game-winning three-run HR to deliver a big victory for Farmingdale over Port Washington. Fast forward 27 months and that slugger is now entering his senior year, and is one of the well-respected all-around players on Long Island. Manetta, having been a middle-of-the-order hitter/starting catcher for the Dalers and some high-profile travel organizations, was one of the highly-sought after players entering this summer. He announced his verbal commitment to Albany this weekend, meaning the Dalers will trot out an all-America East battery on Opening Day next year with ace Justin Rosner (Binghamton-commit) likely receiving the start. I had a chance to speak with Manetta, and here’s what ...
Q & A With Cullen SantaMaria
Shoreham-Wading River making the playoffs is just one of the facts of life. It’s been over 3 decades since they have missed out. While they did not capture the Suffolk Class A title (that went to Sayville), they had another strong season thanks to the emergence of pitchers like Aidan Crowley and Cullen SantaMaria. The former committed to Boston College earlier this summer, while the latter committed to Hofstra University just two days ago. I had a chance to speak with Cullen and here’s what he had to say… Who is your favorite player in the MLB and why? Trevor Bauer is my favorite MLB player because he works hard to perfect his craft every day. Who are the biggest role models in your life and why? My parents are my most significant role models in life. They are behi...
Q & A With Garrett Scavelli
One of the more underrated bats on Long Island over the past couple seasons has been Carey’s Garrett Scavelli. The rising senior was in the news this week as he became the latest impact player to verbally commit to New York Tech. The Bears have locked up a number of high-level players that ensures they will be a championship contender in the ECC for the next several seasons. Scavelli, who hit a scorching .492 as a sophomore on varsity, has a chance to be a Diamond Award winner in 2020. I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Who are your favorite players in the MLB and why? Christian Yelich. I admire his work ethic moving from an average player to an MVP. He overcame adversity around him and continues to succeed. Who are your biggest role model...
Q & A With Logan Koester
Logan Koester, a 2019 graduate of Chaminade HS, was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 32nd round of the 2019 draft. Just two weeks ago, he was leading the Flyers to their 17th NSCHSAA Championship at Hofstra University over St. Anthony’s. Logan is a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher that was named Pitcher of the Year and also hit four HR–which was tied for the conference lead. Here’s what he had to say… Can you describe day three of the MLB Draft–how nervous were you what the past couple days have been like? Day 3 was a nerve wracking day. Before day 3 it seemed almost impossible and it wasn’t really a reality. but after i heard my name get called it felt so surreal and the joy was overwhelming. 2019 has been an outstanding year for you. Are you sur...
Rewind: Lindenhurst’s 2010 State Championship
(Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy) It’s been nine seasons since Lindenhurst‘s incredible State Championship winning season in which they went 26-1. They are the last Suffolk AA team to win the state title . Not only did they have 29th round draft pick Jon McGibbon but also the Yaz Award Winner, Jimmy Briggs. The season before, I had the misfortune of facing them in a playoff game. They were the No. 12 seed, Centereach was the No. 5 seed and they were the far superior team. McGibbon, then a junior, cranked two home runs and put Long Island on notice. The next year, they put it all together and the rest, as they say, is history. I had a chance to sit down and speak with their ace, Rich Vrana, who went 10-0 that season and we spoke about a host of topics regarding that team and h...
Q & A With Farmingdale RHP Matthew Constantine
It has been an unbelievable season for the Farmingdale State Rams. They just recently defeated rival SUNY Old Westbury to capture the 2019 Skyline Conference title. It is their first championship since 2014. A major reason for their success is their starting pitching led by senior Matthew Constantine. The West Babylon-grad leads the team in innings pitched (67.0), wins (7), saves (2) while compiling a sterling 2.28 ERA. Against Merchant Marine Academy–a game that Farmingdale eventually won in extra innings–Constantine went 8.1 innings and then came back on zero days rest and fired 1.1 innings in the championship game. If the Rams are able to advance to the Division-III College World Series, he will certainly be a big reason why. He spoke to me about a variety of topics and here...
Brock Murtha: What Mother’s Day Means to Me
(Editor’s Note: Brock Murtha is a 2020 graduate of Sayville HS. He is one of the top players in the region and is committed to the University of Notre Dame. He currently leads all Long Island high school players with seven home runs included a walk-off three-run home run earlier this week. The follow words are his own…) Brock Murtha hits a walk-off 3-R home run (7th of the season) to deliver a 6-3 victory for Sayville pic.twitter.com/sjy2XjB5pu — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2019 As an athlete, my mom, (and all moms) play a very important role in our lives. I am lucky enough to have a mom that is the real superstar. My mom is my greatest cheerleader, and my #1 fan. There are countless things my mom does for me, to make my life easier and to show me how much she l...
Who Is Aidan Crowley?
It seems every year the narrative is that Shoreham-Wading River ‘lose a lot of arms’ from the previous year. Once the season begins, they find another power pitcher that blows away the competition. Last year it was Gabe Romano who emerged to become a front line starter and this year it is Aidan Crowley. The 6’2 uncommitted right-handed pitcher has began 2019 with back-to-back no-hitters against Eastport-South Manor and John Glenn with a total of 22 strikeouts. “My goal going into every outing is to not give up any hits,” said Crowley, the younger brother of Jack who graduated in 2017. Last season, he performed well on varsity as a sophomore, he went 3-1 with an ERA in the 3s. That performance is good, but at Shoreham-Wading River where record-breaking numbers ...
St. John the Baptist Looks To Young Core To Push For Consecutive league championships
If there is one thing that’s consistent across all sports, it’s that teams who get hot at the end of the season win championships. That was exactly the case last year for the St. John the Baptist baseball team as they won 11 of their final 12 games on their way to a CSHAA league championship. And it wasn’t easy. “In [this] league, it’s almost whoever gets hot at the right time,” said St. John the Baptist head coach Casey McKay. “A lot of the games we were actually down,” he said. “We were behind or tied in every single game in the playoffs.” That includes the deciding game of the league championship where the team was down 3-0 and rallied to win the game 5-3 and their first league championship since 2014. “We don’t get high on ourselves.” McKay says that’s the reason why the 2018 team neve...
