Game Recaps
North Carolina Day 1 Recap
This weekend we are covering the “Division-II vs Cancer” Tournament at the beautiful Team USA Training Complex in Cary, NC. First off, the facility is unbelievable. I am shocked that I have never experienced it yet, and I encourage everyone to. As soon as you get off the bus, you see the rich tradition of high-quality ballplayers that have entered the gates. On the window of the Team USA team store are photos of Chris Archer, Kris Bryant and Carlos Rodon. Three players that showcased themselves on the global scene representing Team USA. Really breathtaking scenery as well for a first-time visitor. I was in attendance for NYIT vs. Franklin Pierce and Franklin Pierce vs. St. Thomas Aquinas. Below are much observations from each game. Franklin Pierce vs. St. Thomas Aquinas: This w...
Dylan Resk’s Clutch Hit Delivers Stony Brook Victory in Home Opener
The big hit came on a two-run double by Dylan Resk in the sixth inning to score Brandon Alamo and Nick Grande which erased a 3-2 deficit. “For whatever reason we seemed to be out of our approach early in the game,” said Coach Matt Senk. “Obviously we preach being aggressive but we were being over-aggressive. Dylan had a really at bat there and came up with a big swing for us to take the lead,” he added. They still needed to get some big outs from their relievers, which is exactly what happened. Freshman Brian Morrisey (Commack) came on in relief and fired 1.2 shutout innings, before giving way to the closer, Aaron Pinto, who made a great 3-2 pitch to strike out Matt Padre on a 93 MPH heater to end the threat. Pinto came back out for the ninth and fired a 1-2-3 ninth...
Thomas Colombo’s Walk-Off Single Propels Adelphi On Opening Day
WALK OFF: Adelphi wins it in 10 by the score of 4-3 ! pic.twitter.com/jG0DJN5k80 Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 3, 2018 Thomas Colombo took note of the previous few batters and noticed how Derek Duffy, Franklin Pierce‘s pitcher, worked aggressively early in the count. “I noticed that he was attacking with first-pitch fastballs, so I was looking for that. I just wanted to pick up Brett,” said Colombo moments after lining a single in front of Brad Roberto, who made a strong throw to catcher Stephen Octave but Jonathan Iadevaia was called safe on a bang-bang play. The single, Colombo’s first of the season after starting the day off 0-for-4, delivered the Panthers to a 4-3 victory in an exciting game at William J. Bonomo Field. Starting pitcher Ed Bar...
Seamus Brazill Fires No-Hitter for Hofstra
(Photo Credit: Hofstra Athletics) The big star of the day was Seamus Brazill of Hofstra firing the first no-hitter in program history in their 1-0 victory over Lamar. Regarding the historic performance he said “Today having a three-pitch mix was big. At times, I didn’t have all my pitches working at the same time but when I needed to make a big pitch I was able to rely on my catcher and pitching coach to call the right pitch and I trusted them. That’s my first ever no-hitter. I think this opening weekend is going to set the tone for us moving forward and we expect big things this year and we all know what we’re capable of, this was just the beginning. I’m very confident in every guy on this team.” Here are the other highlights from the day. Division-I Ho...
February 17 Recap
Saturday was the second day of the season for many teams in our coverage area, and was a pretty busy day. Five different teams played in six games and went 4-2 overall. Division-I: St. John’s: The Red Storm improved to 2-0 with a 1-0 road victory over Campbell University that took 10 innings. Kevin Magee and Joe Kelly dominated for St. John’s in this pitcher’s duel. The pitching duo combining to allow just three hits over 10 innings pitched with an astounding 18 total strikeouts and no walks. The few hits that Campbell mustered were all singles that came in different innings as their hitters were completely stifled. In a game with very little offense, it took a sac fly on a deep foul out for senior outfielder Jamie Galazin to score the games only run. The Storm’s pitching has dominated in ...
Recap of Antonia Agostinelli Memorial Tournament
Walk off hit gives Team Citius the championship 2-1 ! pic.twitter.com/m4tfxEvrVw Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 16, 2017 The 11th annual Antonia Agostinelli Memorial Tournament was a tremendous success. The two champions were Long Island Baseball and Team Citius. I bounced back-and-forth monitoring both games tonight. LIB put on a great offensive showing, defeating LI Storm by the score of 9-5, while Team Citius defeated Next Level Baseball 2-1 on a walk off hit by Adam Conte. Here are some other of my takeaways from the weekend: On Friday, Next Level defeated Motus Academy 4-1 behind a stellar performance by Ryan Martin (St. Francis Prep 2019) on the mound and another great offensive game from Aidan Larkin (Chaminade 2019). They played a clean game with strong defense an...
Ryan Martin Dominates, Next Level Cruise Past Motus Academy 4-1
Next Level gets on the board first on an RBI single by Aidan Larkin pic.twitter.com/yVA7qqSTFU Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 13, 2017 by Hailey Julian Tonight kicked off the 11th annual Antonia Agostinelli Memorial Tournament at Baseball Heaven. Next Level Baseball 2019 took on Motus Academy in a match up of two star-studded teams, but it was Next Level who came away with a 4-1 victory thanks to a three-run first. The first three batters reached base for Next Level and they cashed in when Aidan Larkin (Chaminade 2019) ripped an RBI single to left field. They added two more runs on a steal of home by Will Kennedy (Smithtown East 2019) and a sac fly by Roman Dorosh (Sachem East 2019) who just narrowly missed an opposite field grand slam. The offense was more than...
Recap of WWBA Underclass World Championship
This weekend I was in Fort Myers for the immensely-popular WWBA Underclass World Championship. There were five Long Island-based teams competing; Motus Academy, MVP Beast, Body Armor Titans, Next Level Baseball and the East Coast Lumberjacks. Here are some of my biggest takeaways from the weekend. With 202 teams in the tournament and college coaches from everywhere–including Power 5 conferences, this is a must-attend event. The facilities of the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins are absolutely gorgeous. If you love baseball as I do, it really reminded me of why I fell in love with the game. With no Major League game being played, I was able to walk around the ballpark and it made me appreciate the rudimentary aspects of the game such as that feeling when you walk through the rotunda...
Motus Academy Ride Hot Bats to an 8-0 Victory Over Ontario Terriers
Well-struck double by Boston College-commit Travis Honeyman pic.twitter.com/tlJp4MpSiG Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 7, 2017 The bats of Motus Academy came out hot in their early afternoon victory over the Ontario Terriers, scoring five runs in the second inning. Lou Annunziata got it started with a single to left, and advanced to second when Frankie DiMartino was hit by a pitch. Brady Doran hit an RBI single to score Annunziata and Jason Vasil followed with a single of his own to score DiMartino. Boston College-commit Mikey Florides ripped a two-run single to extend the lead to 4-0 and Carlos Hidalgo followed with an opposite field RBI triple to right center to make it 5-0. “The guys really had a great approach,” said Head Coach Bryan Goelz. “They work...
Next Level Baseball Takes First Two Games of Tournament
Final: Next Level 4, Cangelosi Sparks 2 WP: Ryan Martin pic.twitter.com/oZMbw6KlOK Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 6, 2017 Strong pitching, great defense and a red-hot bat of Aidan Larkin (Chaminade 2019) was the key to a pair of victories today for Next Level Baseball. Game One Pat Cullinan got the start, but struggled with his command and was lifted with the game tied 1-1 with bases loaded and one out in the third inning. William Kennedy (Smithtown East 2019) came on in relief and put out the fire in a big way. He fanned the cleanup batter and induced an infield pop out from the following hitter. Next Level wasted no time taking the lead in the top of the fourth when Kennedy walked and stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Larkin hit a sac fly to medium-ran...
MVP Beast Cruises Past Premier Baseball 8-0
Final: MVP Beast 8, Premier Baseball 0 (5-inning mercy) WP: Jake Krzemienski Ristano: 3-for-3, 2 RBI pic.twitter.com/YR8LpE6hIP Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 5, 2017 It is not uncommon for Long Island teams to struggle in national tournament against elite teams, especially in a tournament such as Perfect Game‘s WWBA Underclass World Championship. Someone forgot to tell MVP Beast that, as they mercied Premier Baseball, a team from Texas, by the score of 8-0 in five innings. Head Coach Pete Kritikos was not surprised one bit by his team’s performance. “The guys that have been with us since they were 11-years-old just know what to do,” said Kritikos. “And to be honest with you, we’ve been there before. Whether we’ve won or lost, we&...
Marcus Stroman Notches Career-High 12th Win of Season
Although the Toronto Blue Jays have suffered through a dismal season in 2017, it has not been the fault of their ace–and Long Island native–Marcus Stroman. Last night, he defeated the Kansas City Royals, 5-2, to notch his 12th win of the season. He fired seven innings, allowing just one ER with five strikeouts. The victory surpassed his 2014 win total of 11 during his rookie season. Additionally, he lowered his ERA to 3.01 and is closing in on his career-high in strikeouts of 166 set last season. Stroman is closing in on another milestone. He has thrown 191.1 IP. He set a career-high last season with 204.0 IP. This is critical in his arbitration case, because pitchers are deemed to be more durable and valuable when they can routinely eclipse 200.0 IP. He dodged a major bullet l...
