FEATURES
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Greg Marino
(Editor’s Note: This is the eighth installment of “Where Are They Now” Powered by the BK7 Brand. You can check out the previous seven by clicking here. In this edition, we catch up with Greg Marino, a former standout pitcher at Centereach HS and Stony Brook University.) 6’6″ Greg Marino is coming off a great year and is up to 88-90 MPH with his heater. Certainly a potential draft candidate pic.twitter.com/d5UKWGTEoS — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 16, 2017 Standing 6’6 and throwing in the low 90s, Greg Marino was an intimidating presence on the mound for Stony Brook University. The hard-throwing RHP pitched three seasons for Matt Senk including starting an NCAA Regional game in 2019 against LSU. Following his collegiate career, Marino foll...
College Recruiting 101 Powered by 1 More Rep Athletics & Fitness: Glenn Petraitis
(Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of our “College Recruiting 101 Series Powered by 1MR Athletics & Fitness” in which we delve into the world of college baseball recruiting. In the first edition we spoke to five fathers who sent their sons to Division-I programs. In last week’s edition, we spoke to three fathers who are also coaches that had to navigate through the pandemic. Now we will talk with Glenn Petraitis, who had two sons go through the college recruiting process and is an Emmy-award winning Sports Producer for MSG and NBC Olympics. His younger son, AJ, is a freshman at Le Moyne College) At what point did you notice that your son was a special talent? How did his college recruiting experience play out? My youngest son, AJ, was always an awesom...
College Recruiting 101: How Has the Pandemic Impacted Recruiting ?
In our last edition of College Recruiting 101 we spoke to 5 fathers who experienced the college recruiting with their sons. All five of them went through the Division-I recruiting process. It came to my attention, however, that all of these were pre-covid, and as we know that has changed the landscape considerably. So I sought out 3 parents that have not only dealt with the college recruiting process, but all three are current coaches that have had to adapt to the post covid era. The individuals being quoted in this story are Andrew Aschettino, Eric Strovink and Eric Reichenbach. Aschettino is currently an assistant coach at St. Joseph’s University. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Rocky Point for 18 seasons where he led them to their first County Championship in his final sea...
Up Next Powered by Eye Q Investigations: Jack Durso
Uncommitted 6’3 LHP Jack Durso (Kellenberg 2025). Fastball up to 86 MPH. Player to watch pic.twitter.com/h7iRKIEIAR — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 24, 2023 (This is the 13th installment of our weekly “Up Next Series Powered by Eye Q Investigations” in which we highlight the best underclassmen from across Long Island. Previously, we featured Miguel Sime Jr, Matt Cruz, Luke Coats, Michael Gardner, Tyler Scarry, Kenny Meliere, Jaiden Zoller, Max Donacea, Keegan McElligot, Lucien Saint Cyr, Jayden Gigante and CJ Alfano. Make sure to check out Eye Q Investigations by clicking here) When Kellenberg had their run of back-to-back CHSAA Championship in 2016 and 2017 they did so in large part to their dominant pitching staff. While there were certainly contributors all over the roste...
Up Next Powered by Eye Q Investigations: CJ Alfano
(This is the 12th installment of our weekly “Up Next Series Powered by Eye Q Investigations” in which we highlight the best underclassmen from across Long Island. Previously, we featured Miguel Sime Jr, Matt Cruz, Luke Coats, Michael Gardner, Tyler Scarry, Kenny Meliere, Jaiden Zoller, Max Donacea, Keegan McElligot, Lucien Saint Cyr and Jayden Gigante. Make sure to check out Eye Q Investigations by clicking here) The lifeblood of a successful Catholic League program is having talented players in the pipeline from the time they are in 9th grade. Being in the program for 4 years, as opposed to transferring for one year, getting great coaching, offseason training and plenty of playing time in JV are all factors that benefit players as they develop into upperclassmen. St. Anthony’s has b...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Jeff Towle
When Jeff Towle set the single-season HR record at Suffolk CC with 10 in 2018 it was an exciting moment for the Ward Melville grad. He was able to accomplish the feat in a mere 28 games. To make it more impressive, Towle graduated high school in 2015 with no intention of playing another game. He had been committed to Pace to play football and did not play even a summer ball game since the county championship against Connetquot. The Early Days Jeff was born and raised in Stony Brook to a sports-loving family. His grandfather coached varsity football at Newfield HS for 15 years, his uncle played baseball at Suffolk CC and his younger brother would grow up loving baseball. For Jeff, his favorite sport was football, calling it his “first love.” When it came to baseball, he grew up ...
Up Next Powered by Eye Q Investigations: Jayden Gigante
(This is the eleventh installment of our weekly “Up Next Series Powered by Eye Q Investigations” in which we highlight the best underclassmen from across Long Island. Previously, we featured Miguel Sime Jr, Matt Cruz, Luke Coats, Michael Gardner, Tyler Scarry, Kenny Meliere, Jaiden Zoller, Max Donacea, Keegan McElligot and Lucien Saint Cyr. Make sure to check out Eye Q Investigations by clicking here) It is incredibly rare that an 8th grader would be a starter at the varsity level – and even more so on a playoff caliber team. Carey was 15-2-1 during the regular season last year and took an undefeated record halfway into the season. Although there was contributors up-and-down the roster, a big reason was their leadoff hitter extraordinaire Jayden Gigante. The pesky leadoff hitter perf...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Danny Barnes
by Eddie Lennon Versatility is the ability to adapt and be useful in a variety of different functions or activities. Not just on the pitching mound, but for Danny Barnes, the 2007 Diamond Award winner and former Toronto Blue Jays, becoming versatile has created a unique journey through the different areas of professional baseball. After his years in the Port Washington league, he moved on to play for Manhasset High School for four years under coaches Rich Hess and Bruce Minerley. Barnes was known for his incredible work ethic that he developed from his pitching hero, the great Roger Clemens. He also wanted to be a workhorse that batters feared from 60 feet and 6 inches away. Danny Barnes is as versatile as it gets. He did not just know how to play the sport, but he has an understanding ...
Chris Diesso Ready to Put Injuries Behind Him for a Breakout Season
Chris Diesso hit a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 7th to give Hauppauge a 4-3 win over North Babylon pic.twitter.com/mldNedVh6H — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 18, 2022 Injuries are a part of the game of baseball, but sometimes they can be especially cruel. We always hear about the success stories in amateur baseball but sometimes we get desensitized to the real emotional roller coasters that high school kids go through during their prime recruiting years. Hauppauge catcher Chris Diesso is a tremendously talented player that has been hit hard with some bad luck but is now entering his senior year of high school and is fully healthy for the first time in a while. He will be an X-Factor for the Eagles as they look to make a deep playoff run this year with a talented roster tha...
Catching Up With Tyler Manez
When looking back on the last decade of high school baseball on Long Island, a number of players and games come to mind. When two of the more notable players match up in the Long Island Championship, it makes the moments even more indelible. In 2012, arguably the two best players on Long Island were Shoreham-Wading River’s RHP Mike O’Reilly and Plainedge’s LHP Tyler Manez. Those two locked horns in an unforgettable game at Dowling College. It’s a game that still gets brought up by those that were lucky enough to witness it. And for those that were key figures in the game – they will never forget it. Plainedge defeated Shoreham-Wading River, 3-1, in 11 innings with both pitchers going the distance. The game was scoreless into the 11th inning. Both pitchers were named first-team All-Long Is...
Exclusive Q & A With Ole Miss-commit Josh Knoth
Bottom 2: Knoth gets back to work in a scoreless game pic.twitter.com/i8Eg8wC06f — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 27, 2022 Long Island is a pitching-rich region, and right now there is nobody that possesses more talent and current pedigree than Josh Knoth. He won the Carl Yastrzemski Award given to the top player in Suffolk County. Since then, he has appeared in the Area Code Games, East Coast Pro, the PG All-American Game, Baseball Factory All-American Game and the MLB/USA All-American Game. He is projected to be a third-round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, but with an outside shot to go earlier if he matches or exceeds his 2022 season. He also signed his NLI with the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) – one of the top programs in the country. But despite all the atte...
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Luke Stampfl
Flying out to left field in your final collegiate at bat is not the Hollywood ending most imagine. Especially not when you were already 3-for-4 with a home run over 400 feet in that game. And it’s in an elimination game at Clemson in the NCAA Regional. But St. John’s grad student Luke Stampfl still smiled as he rounded first base. Partially because he said it was his hardest hit ball of the day – even factoring in the home run – and partially knowing that he gave absolutely everything that he had – and that included months of grueling pain that he endured from a cyst on his tailbone, which overlapped with his recovering from a deep bone bruise on his knee after fouling a ball off. Stampfl had a career that most players dream of – playing five years of Di...
