NEWS
Herricks Enters 2019 Excited To Compete In Class A
After a promising regular season in 2018, Herricks postseason run came to an abrupt end as they lost 10-0 to Freeport in the first round. Evidently, this one still stings. For several reasons, Herricks believes they can learn from last year’s struggles and turn it into success. However, this year will be much different for them. Due to the new conference alignments, Herricks will now compete in Class A. This means they will be facing new competition, resulting in new rivalries along the way. Herricks new opponents consist of MacArthur, Calhoun, Great Neck South, Valley Stream Central and Mepham. Entering a new conference means a fresh start, and a chance to turn things around. This season, Herricks returns several seniors who will play baseball at the next level. On the mound, they h...
Fueled by Painful Playoff Ending and a Strong Young Core, Harborfields Ready to Make Noise
Making the playoffs with three starting freshman is no small task for any team. That doesn’t mean it can’t have a painful ending, though. Just ask Harborfields Head Coach Casey Sturm, who watched his young team reach the postseason with a .500 record. They led 3-2 in the 7th inning with ace Jack Greco on the hill to slam the door. Robert Iadanza, however, had other plans. He hit a walk-off, two-strike grand slam to cap the 6-3 comeback victory for East Islip to end Harborfields’ season. “It was a painful way to go out,” said Sturm. “But I think that’s what’s motivating this group, it’s hard to replace 11 seniors, but their contribution to the program will help guide the up-and-coming crop of players,” he added. Leading the pack is...
Coming Off 18-1 Season, Great Neck South Ready For Challenge of Conference A1
The Great Neck South Rebels dominated last year, wining the county wide league with an 18-1 record, which was also the best record for any varsity team in Nassau County. With that considered, this year, they were ready to take a step up in competition. The coaches were ready, and the players wanted the challenge. This year the Rebels move up to the A1 league, where they will find the competition they were looking for. They have the talent to compete and win this year. Coming back for this year’s team is senior and all county catcher, Brett Figelman. He has already committed to Ithaca. He hit a ridiculous .529 last year, with 23 RBI’s. Another leader from last year’s team is junior and all conference pitcher Phil Menist, a left-hander who went 6-0 last year, with an insane two earned runs i...
Connetquot Coming Into 2019 Looking Like A Title Favorite
Our @DigmiNation Player of the Game is Joey Savino who fired a 2-hit shutout over Newfield in a 3-0 victory. He needed only 75 pitches. They will face Bay Shore tomorrow #TipYourCap pic.twitter.com/kTvsHkthLo — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 14, 2018 After a loss in the county semifinals a year ago, Connetquot enters 2019 hungrier than ever, especially having their season end on their home turf, 3-2, to Eastport-South Manor. Not only are they eager for a chance at revenge, but they come into the season loaded. They return arguably the top pitching staff on the island with a pair of Division-I commits and a couple others with scholarships in their future. “The elimination to Eastport-South Manor still hurts and it is a rallying cry for a team that’s loaded with talent,...
College Power Rankings: Week 2
It was a fascinating weekend in many ways. First-and-foremost, there was actual baseball played on Long Island for the first time this season and that will never get old. That first live action at Baseball Heaven just lets you know you’re alive and for a few minutes, all is well in the world. Secondly, it was fascinating because Frank Catalanotto‘s team has come out of the gates firing and off to an incredible 4-0 start. LIU Post, who started off with the dreaded 0-4 have made a furious run and won their last four games. On the downside, it’s been the Division-I teams that have been lethargic and none of them are currently over .500. In Week 2’s Power Rankings, we stick to Division-I and II as Old Westbury (0-2) and SUNY Maritime (3-1) are the only teams to have ope...
Saturday’s College Recap (2/24) Presented by The Schwarz Institute
A terrific day of baseball yesterday featuring walk-off home runs, a no-hitter and a dramatic late-inning grand slam. To read the recap of our coverage of SUNY Maritime, click here. Let’s just right into the rest of the action. Division-I: As always, let’s start with Division-I. After falling yesterday, Stony Brook came out on top Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana, escaping with a 7-4 victory. Heading into the 5th inning, Stony Brook was trailing 3-1. Fast forward to the 6th inning and they held a 6-3 lead, thanks to a five-spot in the 5th. The five-run inning featured another Michael Wilson home run, as he delivered with a grand slam to put the Seawolves in a comfortable position to win the game. From this point forward, Stony Brook only allowed one more run over five in...
Maritime Sweeps Southern Vermont to Begin Season
Adam Mosca on his walk-off home run to give SUNY Maritime a 6-5 victory over Southern Vermont pic.twitter.com/4q1NmE7odZ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 23, 2019 Massapequa grad Adam Mosca crushed a walk-off HR to give SUNY Maritime a dramatic 6-5 victory over Southern Vermont in the season opener at Baseball Heaven. It ended a back-and-forth affair in which the Privateers erased an early 2-0 deficit. Ryan Serrato (3-for-3) hit a two-run shot off Privateers’ ace Travis Bruinsma in the first inning to open up the scoring. Bruinsma settled in after that, firing shutout ball for the next three innings which allowed his offense to come back. In the second inning, Jake Vera grounded out to score Shane Sullivan to cut the deficit to 2-1. An unearned run in the third inning ...
Super Friday Recap (2/23) Presented by The Schwarz Institute
In total, seven different colleges on the island played down south on Friday, with St. John’s getting postponed. It comes as little surprise that we continued to see Long Island teams struggle against schools who have been practicing outside all year long. There was, however, two bright spots that came in the form of double sweeps for the Long Islanders. With that being said, here’s a look at Friday’s results. Division-I: Coming off a strong series win a week ago, Stony Brook struggled on Friday as they fell to Southeastern Lousiana, 7-2. Although Stony Brook collected 10 hits, they couldn’t get things going with runners in scoring position. Chris Hamilton launched a solo home run in the top half of the 2nd to give Stony Brook an early 1-0 lead, but that was the onl...
Ward Melville Ready to Compete for a Class AA Title
Many teams would consider a 15-8 season–including a playoff win–a success. However, this is not the case for Ward Melville. As one of the most successful programs on Long Island over the past decade, any season that ends short of a championship is short of their ultimate goal. After their worst season in seven years, the Patriots are ready to compete for a title once again. The main obstacle Ward Melville faces this season is their strength of schedule. Not only is League I arguably the most talented league on the island, but all teams return a significant amount of impact players from last season. Their opponents include Longwood, Sachem East, Brentwood, Pat-Med, William Floyd and Central Islip. Evidently, Ward Melville will have their hands full. Fortunately for them, they re...
Oceanside Hoping To Take the Final Step
For the past couple years, Oceanside knows they’ve had arguably the best team in the county. After finishing 16-2 in the regular season and winning their first four playoff games, it seemed destined for the Sailors to win it all last season. However, they came up short as they were swept by Massapequa in the County Championship. After appearing in the County Championship four out of the last five years and walking away with zero championships, Oceanside will be hungrier than ever this year to change their fortunes this season. How will they do so? Through experience and leadership. Led by an extremely talented group of seniors, Oceanside will use their past as a lesson to try and prevent defeat from happening again. Offensively, Oceanside will be led by a group of seniors that posses...
Hills East Ready to Begin New Era
The Hills East Thunderbirds know what it’s like to have success in their league. After all, they have made the playoffs the last four years in a row. While that is an accomplishment in its own right, the Thunderbirds are looking to advance further in the playoffs this year. To do so, they’re going to have to replace a few big names from last years roster. Starting with Matt Hogan (now at Vanderbilt), who won the Carl Yastrzemski award, which goes to the top player in Suffolk County. Also gone from the team is first baseman, Joe Litchhult (now at Cortland). The good news for the Thunderbirds is that they return plenty of players to this year’s team. Fourteen to be exact, including nine seniors. That kind of experience could be helpful for a team looking to make a deeper run in the playoffs....
