Game Recaps
Southampton Breakers Kick Off HCBL Season With a Win
by Gabe Zoda In the top of the 4th, the Breakers pour on the runs. 5 in the inning and 7 in the game as the Breakers extend their lead to 7-0. pic.twitter.com/5RJ7ylHgMK — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 15, 2021 To start off the 2021 season of the Hamptons League, the Riverhead Tomcats opened up at home. It was the Southampton Breakers, though, who were able to take home the W to jump start their season. Jake Babuchak, the starting pitcher for the Tomcats set the tone on the mound, striking out two batters and getting a quick 1,2,3 inning. Mike Volgende returned the favor and did the exact same thing in the bottom of the inning, striking out two and setting the side down in order. It was in the top of the second that the Breakers would start to put some runs on the board. Babu...
Jordan Babbo’s Double Sends Calhoun Into Nassau Conference II Finals
What a wild day of baseball it was. Walk-offs, game-tying grand slams, lights-out relief performances and yes, even some fan ejections. Yesterday had it all. Here’s a breakdown of the double header between Mepham and Calhoun. Mepham had taken Game 1 on Saturday and they did not play on Sunday due to prom so it was a 10:30am start yesterday. Mepham had ace Tyler O’Neill on the hill and Calhoun was without their stud SS, Patrick Sanchez, who was ejected on Saturday and had to serve a one-game suspension. It was one of those games where Mepham felt like they were going to run away with it – but just didn’t get the big hit. In the second inning, Mepham opened up a 4-1 lead and had the bases loaded with one out. Calhoun coach Art Canestro made the call to take out starti...
Dylan Banner’s Two-Run Blast Keeps Plainview JFK Alive For Another Day
Never let the best player beat you. That’s one of the mantras of high school baseball. For 7 innings, Syosset lived by that code. They walked Plainview JFK’s most dangerous hitter, Dylan Banner, in all four at bats. In his fifth at bat, though, they opted to pitch to him and, boy, did he take advantage. The junior smashed a go-ahead, two-run HR easily over 400 feet to left field to give the Hawks a 6-4 lead in the top of the eighth. They would hold on by the skin of their teeth, 6-5, to force a do-or-die Game 3 today at Plainview. There was many twists-and-turns to this game. The stands were packed and emotions were spilling over as this game crossed the three-hour threshold. And there’s no commercial breaks – that’s just how much each team was working the opp...
Walk-Off by Justin Murray Propels LI Storm to 8-7 Win
by Aaron Rothschild Walk Off double completes the comeback for the Long Island Storm! Great finish 8-7 win. @EcybTournaments pic.twitter.com/trRXlSNcYQ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 13, 2021 When I woke up this morning to see a 10u baseball game I was expecting to see some fun, talented kids who were looking forward to playing some ball. But my words cannot do justice to just how impressed I was with both the level of play and coaching on both sides of the game between the Junior Ducks and the Long Island Storm. This morning at Plainedge Park the Long Island Storm pulled off an impressive comeback capped off by an exciting walk-off double. PJ Dwyer took the mound for the Long Island Storm and got off to a bit of a rocky start, after walking the leadoff batter, and a single ...
Sacks and Strong Take Two from Beast Black
(Photo Credit: NSS Photography) by Nick Cipolla Interview with Game One winning pitcher Ben Sacks. pic.twitter.com/OaibzAZr7U — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2021 Game 1 Ben Sacks took the mound Saturday and made a statement that he can go out there and strike anyone out. Sacks was dominant from the moment he stepped out on the field in game 1. Striking out 6 batters in the first two innings of play. He was fired up and seemed to be extremely confident from that moment on. He ended up finishing his day after 5 innings striking out 12 batters and only allowing two runs to score on four hits. Offensively, Brad Sakellarides had himself a day. Sakellarides was 2-for-3 with a double, single and two RBIs. His teammate, Elian Pimentel, also hit an RBI triple later in the game and ...
Nick Piazza’s Bases-Clearing Hit the Difference in 3-2 Victory
by Ben Diamond Post Game Interview: Nick Piazza pic.twitter.com/btuVTDYDaQ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2021 The Batting 1.000 Seminoles and the LIB Tides played a close low-scoring game. Both starting pitchers set the tone of the game early. For the Seminoles sending out right hander James Weedon to start the game and the Tides sending out Robert Wagner. To start, it looked as though both starters could go far into the game. Wagner started by striking out 4 of the first 5 batters to come to plate. But it didn’t last long, in the fourth inning Wagner got into a jam where he ended up surrendering an earned run on a Richie Apollo single. That was all he would give up as the Tides coach decided to bring reliever John O’Hannon. His final line was 3.1IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K and 1 ...
Jordan Falco Fires Two-Hit Shutout To Keep Center Moriches’ Hopes Alive
Final: Center Moriches 3, John Glenn 0 WP: Jordan Falco (CG, 2 H, 3 BB, 11 K) Playoff picture still to be determined depending on result of Babylon game pic.twitter.com/12hqVIP4cC — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2021 In 2018 and 2019 when Center Moriches were at the peak of their powers, senior day was a celebration of the players that contributed to the program over the previous years and helped build the program up to one of the best Class B teams in the region. This year, it was a celebration for the senior player (singular) that was a part of both of those teams. But it was no time to celebrate, as they had a game to win. The Center Moriches Red Devils, winners of the Class B New York State Championship in 2018 and ’19 entered the final day of the regular season n...
Chaminade Captures 19th NSCHSAA Championship
Chaminade has captured the 2021 CHSAA Championship with a 4-1 win over Kellenberg ! pic.twitter.com/jmozQfolci — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 10, 2021 Under normal circumstances, you would get anxious when the potential tying run steps to the plate in Game 2 of the CHSAA Finals but with a team like Chaminade that lives and dies with pitching and defense, somehow the base runners just don’t feel that likely to score. The Chaminade Flyers defeated Kellenberg, 4-1, to capture the 19th championship in program history. They outscored the Firebirds 14-2 over the two game series and won four of five games against them this season. And this was with a team that was considered inexperienced by coach preseason and vulnerable by many. This game did have a much different vibe than G...
Jack Temple’s Heroics Propel South Side to Semifinals
by Andrew Connors Jack Temple’s 7th inning, go-ahead 3-R HR to propel South Side to the dramatic 8-7 win over Carey pic.twitter.com/ezbTx0uUnA — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2021 There are two magic words around this time of year and those two words are playoff baseball. The game between the South Side Cyclones and Carey Seahawks on Thursday night was the embodiment of those magic words as it was a back-and-forth dogfight the entire game that resulted in a dramatic 8-7 victory for South Side. Both sides had taken and lost the lead multiple times by the end of the game, but only one was strong enough to come together when it truly mattered. Daniel Russell was the starting pitcher for South Side and he quickly realized that the intensity for this game would be through...
Chaminade Barreling Towards Another CHSAA Championship
If you thought this was the year that Chaminade was going to be vulnerable – you were sorely mistaken. After capturing the CHSAA in 2019 and graduating that entire team in ’19 and ’20, they are now one game away from repeating as champs. They briefly struggled earlier this season as they stumbled out of the gate with a 3-3 record but now they have found their cruising altitude at the right time. The Flyers defeated Kellenberg in Game 1 of the NSCHSAA Championship Series by the score of 10-1 behind an all-around team effort and dominant pitching – which has been the hallmark for the program for decades. Coach Mike Pientkos’ squad excelled not only on the mound, but also in the field and on the base paths today; outplaying Kellenberg in every regard. They even g...
Chaminade LHP John Downing Fires Gem To Advance to CHSAA Finals
Chaminade LHP John Downing on his complete game gem to send Chaminade in the Championship series pic.twitter.com/Q4XMnYbwWg — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 7, 2021 Pitching and defense is the name of the game in the CHSAA and Chaminade has always thrived in that category. In the ultra-competitive Catholic League, the difference between a win and a loss is sometimes a defensive miscue or failed bunt attempt. That was the case as No. 2 Chaminade edged No. 3 St. John the Baptist, 2-1, to advance to the CHSAA Championship Series against Kellenberg on Wednesday. Chaminade knew they had a tall order in facing St. John the Baptist ace RHP Kyle Chase (St. John’s-commit) who has the ability to shut down any opponent. What he can’t control, though, is what happens once the ba...
Biederman, Whitman Hold On in a Defensive Battle Against Smithtown East
by Nick Cipolla Post game interview with Walt Whitman’s Grant Biederman. pic.twitter.com/McOfxSBvVV — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 7, 2021 Grant Biederman (Walt Whitman 2021) has had a dominant senior season. He has pitched a perfect game against Hills East and his last start saw him throw a complete game, four hit shutout against the very same Hills East. Biederman showed how dominant he can be against Smithtown East In the first inning, Whitman capitalized on two errors made by Smithtown East leading to Whitman’s only two runs in the game. The first run came in on an RBI single which was followed by a ball hit deep to left by sophomore Tyler Mezadurian that hit off of the left fielder’s glove, allowing the second run, and ultimately the deciding run, to cross the plate...
