Game Recaps
Vinny Trovato Outduels Harrison Cohen, Clarke Wins 4-0
Anytime you are going against an opposition’s ace, you have to do the little things. Clarke executed well, stealing six bases in their 4-0 victory against Harrison Cohen and Cold Spring Harbor. Their starter, Vinny Trovato, fired a four-hit shutout with only 99 pitches. “He mixes everything, said Head Coach Tom Abruscato. “He did that in a playoff game for us last year. He throws three pitches every game for a strike on any count. When you can pitch backwards, it’s great,” he added. They knew they would have a difficult task against George Washington-commit Harrison Cohen, but they were able to benefit from some defensive miscues and aggressive base running to get on the board. “When you face a kid throwing 90, you can’t chase and we chased early i...
Farmingdale and Old Westbury Split a Tightly-Contested Doubleheader
Conference opponents Farmingdale State and SUNY Old Westbury split two vastly different–but dramatic–games in a doubleheader today. Farmingdale out-slugged Westbury 10-9 in game one, while Westbury won game two, a pitching duel by the score of 2-1 on a walk-off walk. Game one began as a pitching duel, Matthew Constantine and Trey Pizzutello shut down both side for three innings before the bats broke through. An error in the fourth allowed Farmingdale’s first two runs to come across, but a single by Christopher Reilly and a two-run homer from Domenic Palumbo got the Rams halfway to their final score. Westbury came right back scoring four in the fourth on singles from Paul Rapoli, Carlos Balmaceda and Jesse Matos. They even took a two-run lead off Rapoli’s third singl...
Nine-Run Sixth Powers St. John’s to 21st Win
When you’re hot, you’re hot. The St. John’s Red Storm overpowered the Hofstra Pride, coming away with a 14-3 win for their ninth consecutive victory. “It feels good when you win, it’s nice to see our guys start swinging the bat in the middle of the game.” Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer said after the win. “Another game, another step.” The Red Storm took the lead early on a single from Jesse Berardi scoring Michael Donadio. Later in the game the Johnnies tacked on another run on a single from Anthony Brocato, scoring Troy Dixon from second. The Pride scored their only three runs in the top of the fifth inning. They scored on an error, wild pitch and an RBI single by Nick Bottari to score Steven Foster. The Red Storm came up big in the 6th inning. They ripped nine hits and scored nine ...
Saturday April 1st Game Recaps
The collegiate baseball season is now in full swing and we are legitimately starting to see some improvement for the hometown clubs. After a 6-6 day on Saturday, the local teams are beginning to show significant improvement since the start of the year. With the weather getting warmer, these teams will look to throw their seasons into a full spin and heat up as we are now in April. St. John’s hits 20 wins with victory over Hofstra We had two of the top local programs competing on Saturday and the two kept it close as the Johnnies took the win 4-1 over Hofstra. St. John’s has not cooled down at all–ranking fifth in the nation sitting at 20-2 on the season whereas Hofstra has struggled getting their feet off the ground posting a 7-17 record so far. Hofstra took an early lead in the seco...
Pat-Med Wins Wild One Over Sachem East 12-8
If you like pitching duels this one was not for you. Pat-Med avoided a series sweep with a 12-8 win over Sachem East in a wild game that took over three hours and featured several lead changes. The story of the game was Albany-commit Brad Malm smacking a three-run HR in the first inning and also just narrowly missing another one in the sixth inning, that was ultimately a two-run double to put the Pat-Med Raiders up 6-4. “I felt like I was seeing the ball very well and my teammates and I put together a few great innings which helped, not only the pitchers but, the whole team,” said the senior SS. The game was far from over at that point, though. Sachem East bounced back and tied the game on a solo shot by Brendan Ryan before Pat-Med broke it open with four runs in the seventh in...
Joe Muchnicki Tosses No-Hitter in First Varsity Start
When the doctor took a look at the MRI, he recommended surgery right away. “He couldn’t believe I wasn’t in excruciating pain–he said the bone could break at any time,” said Joe Muchnicki recalling the low-point of last year. The injury, which is believed to have been caused by wear-and-tear, required five plates being placed in the knee joint, at the bottom of his femur bone. He was in a wheelchair for a week, followed by crutches for five weeks and no baseball activity for eight months. For a high school junior, that is crushing. He missed the crucial time for college recruiting–not to mention a summer of being a kid. While some people would sulk–the John Glenn RHP stayed focus and began his physical therapy. He finally threw off a mound for the ...
Patch Dooley Fans 15, Fires One-Hitter in 2-1 Victory over Smithtown East
It was a phenomenal pitching duel between Hills East ace Patch Dooley and Smithtown East’s Doug Goodwin this afternoon. Both starters dominated, but Dooley was the star–fanning 15 in a one-hitter and leading the charge in a 2-1 victory. Dooley threw a complete game, the one run he allowed came on the only hit allowed, a home run down the left field line by Andrew Canino to lead off the fourth inning. However, he came back strong recording 11 of the game’s final 12 outs on strike outs, and finishing with 15 Ks. After the game he said, “My curveball was working, I was spotting my fastball and my team did a great job of toughing out two runs to get the win.” Hills East only mustered four hits themselves, but smart base running helped put those who did get on get ...
Wantagh Routs Bellmore JFK in Rematch of Nassau Class A Finals
Jimmy Joyce stated that the reigning New York Class A champs wanted to send a message today. That message was sent with a seven-run first inning. The hard-throwing Hofstra-commit struck out nine over four shutout innings in the season opener, while touching 92 MPH with his heater in the first inning. Wantagh put up seven runs in the first inning highlighted by an RBI single by Joyce, two-run double by Anthony Fontana and two-run double by Trevor Fagan. They added five in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth. Leadoff man Anthony D’Onofrio ripped a single, double and triple in the first two innings. Joyce battled command issues in the first two innings, but settled down and found his groove. He allowed only a single in the third inning and made quick work of his final tw...
Shoreham-Wading River Smacks Three HRs, Morrell Fires Four No-Hit Innings in 8-3 Win
Shoreham-Wading River began their redemption tour in dominating fashion in today’s season opener against Mount Sinai. Miles Kelly, Dean Stalzer and Vinny Uzzi smacked HRs and Brian Morrell fired four no-hit innings with six strikeouts in their 8-3 victory. Head Coach Kevin Willi stated that the reigning Carl Yastrzemski Award winner was on a strict 75-pitch limit this afternoon and he hit that after four innings due to the strikeouts and four walks. He was also pleased with their at bats. “We had 11 hits and drew eight walks in our six innings, so guys were working at bats, which is nice to see,” said the third-year Head Coach. Stalzer, a potential X-Factor for them, had a terrific afternoon. The senior ripped a double and drew two walks in addition to his home run. He mi...
A.J. Verga Lights-Out in Varsity Debut, Floyd Wins 6-0
Floyd sophomore A.J. Verga fired a one-hit shutout in his varsity debut today against Longwood by the score of 6-0. Head Coach Paul Longo stated that he was “very proud” of his LHP for stepping up and performing that well in his first start of the season. He struck out five Longwood batters. Niko Rodriguez smacked a two-out two-run double in the fifth and that provided all the offense he would need. His pitching coach, Neal Heaton, stated that he has vastly improved since his time working with him and he threw very well this winter. Floyd is coming off an 8-win season, but they now have a potentially dynamic 1-2 punch in the rotation with Verga and senior RHP Robert Brust, who was the catcher today. They will play again on Wednesday as Floyd looks to win the series.
Dan Gdanski Comes Within One Out of No-Hitter, Massapequa Wins Opener 6-0
Massapequa RHP Dan Gdanksi could not have scripted this one any better. The Cortland-commit came within one-out of throwing a no-hitter in his first varsity start. He allowed a double with two outs in the seventh but struck out the final batter to finish off a masterful 6-0 one-hit shutout in the season opener against Syosset. “A win is our first priority,” said the senior RHP. “I pitched pretty well–I was hitting my spots today. My defense did a great job behind me. We just played together as a team today,” he added. It was a pitcher’s duel early on. Syosset’s Griffin Laine pitched very well through four innings, allowing just a single to DH James Zupo. Massapequa Head Coach Tom Sheedy knew the team would be very excited on Opening Day and did not...
St. John’s Takes Two From Maine
by Troy Mauriello The St. John’s Red Storm showed that they can win games in a number of ways with a sweep of a doubleheader over Maine Saturday in Queens. St. John’s home opener saw Red Storm starter Sean Mooney toss the program’s first complete game since 2015. The Johnnies used that effort to cruise to a 3-0 victory. “Pretty much all four pitches were working,” Mooney said on his afternoon. “Fastball on both sides was working, changeup down in the zone was working, curveball to my glove side was really moving and cutting, said the hurler. Mooney was masterful on the afternoon, allowing just four hits in nine innings of work. Although he struck out only three, Mooney did not walk a batter and threw just 99 pitches. He was frequently ahead in the count and pitched to contact, which ended ...
