FEATURES
Where Are They Now: Mike Belfiore
USA Today Sports Growing up in the 1990s during the peak of the Yankee dynasty, Commack native Mike Belfiore was fortunate enough to be in attendance for not one, but two World Series clinching games. Like many New Yorkers, he became infatuated with the game after watching homegrown players like Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte transform into icons. “It became sort of an annual thing going to the playoff games at Yankeee Stadium with my dad,” said Belfiore. Little did he know at the time, that he would later be in the big leagues with an AL East division rival of the New York Yankees during the final season of Mariano Rivera‘s career. The early years Belfiore was always talented for his age, but he credits the time spent with private instructors for taking his game to the next level. “Al Chan...
Where Are They Now: Chris Pike
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on January 10, 2020 Fear never crossed Chris’ mind. Not in the minor leagues, not at the Division-I level, not in the Long Island Championship. Not even when he was 7-years-old playing on a 9-year-old travel team playing 3rd base just 45 feet away from the batters. It’s not clear how Chris developed his fearlessness but he did admire and adopt the grittiness of the late 90s Yankees; although his favorite player may come as a surprise. “My favorite player growing up was Chad Curtis,” he said citing the 10-year veteran that batted .264 in his career. Just about every Yankee fan from that era cites Derek Jeter as their favorite player, but Pike preferred the player that had to fight tooth-and-nail for his chance. It was a sign of things to...
Up Next Powered by the Yard Sports Academy: Max Kessler
(This is the eleventh installment of the popular series “Up Next” Powered by the Yard Sports Academy in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Centereach OF Logan Norman, Garden City LHP Gabe Beschloss , Connetquot INF Ryan Kiendle, Clarke MIF Nick Berasti, Miller Place SS Alex Strickland, Pat-Med OF Robbie Melo, Holy Trinity 1B Kyle Kozlowski, West Babylon 1B Jace Alvino, Chaminade SS Mikey Cervoni, Massapequa LHP Erik Paulsen MacArthur LHP Tyler Bonsignore. Make sure to check out the Yard Sports Academy here.) 2021 was a major step forward for a Syosset baseball program that was under .500 in 2019 and 2018. They fought tooth & nail with Plainview JFK in both games of the conference semifinals; losing two one-run battles. They will enter 2022 ...
Brandon O’Neill Commits to Central Connecticut State University
Sachem North has come out swinging in the first Back-to-back doubles by Billy Bullock and Steven Kiendle followed by a 2-R shot by sophomore Brandon O’Neill and the Arrows have a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/kWIsRgWq9f — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2021 One of the top hitters in the 2023 class has found a home. Sachem North 3B/C announced his commitment to Central Connecticut State University. O’Neill is an athletic player that is a baseball junkie. We featured him as part of our “Up Next” series back in December 2020. He had a terrific sophomore season for the Arrows and even crushed a homer against Charleston-commit Josh Knoth late in the season. Below is our conversation from last season. Who are some people that have had a positive influence on your...
Up Next Powered by the Yard Sports Academy: Tyler Bonsignore
(This is the tenth installment of the popular series “Up Next” Powered by the Yard Sports Academy in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Centereach OF Logan Norman, Garden City LHP Gabe Beschloss , Connetquot INF Ryan Kiendle, Clarke MIF Nick Berasti, Miller Place SS Alex Strickland, Pat-Med OF Robbie Melo, Holy Trinity 1B Kyle Kozlowski, West Babylon 1B Jace Alvino, Chaminade SS Mikey Cervoni and Massapequa LHP Erik Paulsen. Make sure to check out the Yard Sports Academy here.) MacArthur has a rich history of baseball and is in the upper tier of programs on Long Island. That is a mix of the talent pool in the Levittown area but also the outstanding coaching of longtime coach Steve Costello. If you ask him, he will credit the players which, of c...
Rewind: Lindenhurst’s 2010 State Championship
(Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy) It’s been 11 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 here’s what he ...
Q & A With Robbie Mascia
In most cases, stats at the 12u level are not indicators of future success. The fields are small, the competition is weak, the players are not physically mature and there’s simply too many variables to predict what’s real. On the flip side, sometimes players simply rise above and their play is impossible to ignore. In the case of 12-year-old Robbie Mascia out of Commack, NY – it just might be real. The catcher for the Long Island Rebels had a season that is hard to comprehend. This is just his Perfect Game tournaments, which is higher-end talent than any league. 12u Robert Mascia (Commack, NY) continues his hot weekend with this absolute 💣 to dead center. Line drive straight over the batters eye. @PGMidAtlantic #AllStateGames pic.twitter.com/QjRomX001A — Perfect Game Yout...
Catching Up With Ryan Smith
It’s hard enough to play Division-I baseball but doing so while dealing with the workload of Princeton University is no small task. But not only was Garden City native Ryan Smith able to complete that difficult four-year journey, he came out on the other side with not only a degree but a contract to pitch in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Angels. The southpaw is blessed with an arm that generates fastballs in the mid-90s, and he has worked his way through the organizational rung all the way to Triple-A. Smith pitched in the grueling Pacific Coast League this season as a 24-year-old. Overall, he compiled a record of 7-7 with a 4.24 ERA over 129.1 IP. He was able to strike out 153 batters and compile a WHIP of 1.15. He will enter 2022 with an outside shot to get the call to...
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 wer...
Up Next Powered by The Yard Sports: Robbie Melo
Please consider signing up for our monthly membership to ensure you don’t miss any of the latest content! This is the sixth installment of the popular series “Up Next” Powered by the Yard Sports Academy in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Centereach OF Logan Norman, Garden City LHP Gabe Beschloss , Connetquot INF Ryan Kiendle, Clarke MIF Nick Berasti and Miller Place SS Alex Strickland. Make sure to check out the Yard Sports Academy here. Robbie Melo is one of the sweet-swinging lefties you’d hear about in previous generations where the emphasis was on employing a level swing that produced line drives. As a freshman at Pat-Med – a large school that typically does not need to call up 9th graders – Melo more than held hi...
Chris McHugh Commits to VCU
Please consider signing up for our monthly membership to ensure you don’t miss any content! 2021 was an incredible season for Commack. They ran through Suffolk County on their way to an appearance in the Conference I Long Island Championship against perennial powerhouse Massapequa. In a well-played game at St. Joseph’s College, the Cougars prevailed to capture their first LIC in program history. What made the accomplishment even more impressive is that they were able to do so knowing that their Head Coach, Bryan Bonin, was battling cancer. The boys were able to rally behind their coach on their way to the best season in program history and their second county title since 2017. While they definitely had some impact seniors like staff ace Craig Pihlkar, SS Connor Pedersen and CF ...
Up Next Powered by the Yard Sports: Nick Berasti
This is the fourth installment of the popular series “Up Next” Powered by the Yard Sports Academy in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Centereach OF Logan Norman, Garden City LHP Gabe Beschloss and Connetquot INF Ryan Kiendle. Make sure to check out the Yard Sports Academy here. For whatever reason, some programs on Long Island are powerhouses. Clarke is at the top tier. Their list of accomplishments reads like the the villains in a 1990s film – 35-time Conference Champs, 18 Final Four appearances, 11-time County Champs, three-time Long Island champs and two-time NY State Champs. This past year, they got an All-American caliber season by OF/RHP Tyler Cox who will be receiving the Axcess Silver Slugger Award this week. But fan...
