NEWS
Bethpage Has Their Eyes Set Towards A Shot At The Conference Title This Season
The most vital piece in a successful season is often experience. Returning several key players this year, the Bethpage Golden Eagles have their eyes on a shot at the conference title. For many reasons, they can be considered one of the two favorites in Conference A2. After the “catch of the year” in their play-in game against South Side and a win against the #4 seeded Clarke to start off their postseason in 2018, Bethpage seemed ready to shock the world. Unfortunately, they had a disappointing end to their season as they lost the next two games causing them to be eliminated. These seniors still have a bitter taste in their mouths, so expect them to come out firing and shine in big moments. In total, the Golden Eagles return seven starters from last year’s playoff team. In...
John Glenn Ready for Bounce Back Season
It’s tough to bounce back when you lose 13 seniors from your team. The John Glenn Knights learned just how difficult that could be last year. The good news? In coach Matthew Rocchio’s third season, they’re now ready to take the next step, as many players were able to get invaluable experience playing last year. Just two years ago, they won eight games, including one over Shoreham-Wading River–their only loss before the Long Island Championship. While the Knights are still a young team that is growing, they still have many areas of strength. One strength in particular is their pitching staff. Matt Polestino, who is a three-year starter for the varsity team, is a left-hander who mixes a fastball in the low 80s with the right off-speed pitches to keep hitters guessing. When he’s not pit...
East Hampton Looking to Continue Momentum into New Season
(Photo Credit: Craig Macnaughton ) With a young team, wins don’t come easy. But young teams bring more experience to the table the following season. After a three-win 2018 season, East Hampton High School baseball head coach Vincent Alvera said the youth of the team was the story line last season. “We had a pretty young squad,” Alvera said. “We only lost three seniors last year. Now we have four seniors.” “We were so young it wasn’t really going together,” he added. The team was on a 51-game losing streak before winning their final three games of the 2018 season. “It was nice to get away with a win,” Alvera said. “It was a good way to end the season and hopefully bring that into this year.” In 2019, the team is led by junior Elian Abreu, who spends time on the mound as well as in the outfi...
Calhoun Enters New Territory With High Expectations
In Class AA, Calhoun has been one of the more prominent programs as far as talent and consistency go. In 2017, they fell in the semifinals and in 2018, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Due to their success over the past few years and returning several impact players, all the arrows are pointing upwards towards a legitimate county championship run this year. However, there will be a change of scenery this season for the Colts. As a result of Class A expanding to 30 teams, Calhoun is one of four new teams. This means they will find themselves playing teams they are unfamiliar with, but capable of beating. They believe they can beat anybody in the newly adopted 30-team Class A. In past years, Calhoun has leaned on younger players to do most of the carrying. This season, Calhoun is l...
Carey Looking To Progress Towards A Deep Playoff Run
(Photo Credit: J. Heck/Herald) Led by first year Head Coach Doug Robins, Carey will be looking to take the next step as a program. In recent years, Carey has found themselves in the postseason but hasn’t made it very far into May. Last season, Carey beat Hewlett and Mineola in the first two rounds, but fell to a talented Division team in the quarterfinals. This year they will try to change their fortune. Conference A2 serves as a division with an equal amount of talented teams. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Carey fits in with their competition. In the past few years, Carey has been known for constantly being among the league leaders in home runs. The reason behind this is because of the big bats in their lineup, along with the short porch in right field. In 2016, Anth...
The Reigning Class B State Champs Enter 2019 With Target on Back
Center Moriches defeats Marlboro, 5-1, to advance to the Class B New York State semifinals pic.twitter.com/9h7Q3GRINq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 2, 2018 Losing the New York State Class B Championship was not something Center Moriches was interested in. Trailing by four runs in the sixth inning against Binghamton Seton Catholic Central, the Red Devils were staring defeat in the face and the prospects of a long bus ride back to Long Island as runner-ups. A seemingly innocuous at bat by DH Brad Sakellarides, however, mounted an improbable seven-run rally which featured a go-ahead hit by 1B Robert Copozzi. The Red Devils handed the ball to reliever David Franchi, who promptly slammed the door and delivered the first State Championship in program history. They had previously co...
Recap of Sharks Baseball Academy Winter Workout
2010 Cleveland Indians draft pick Henry Dunn on what outfielders from the northeast can do to prepare for the season pic.twitter.com/01vEgEgZWq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 3, 2019 If you’ve been one of our readers since the Baseball on the Island days, you are familiar with Jonathon Mulford, Rob Vani and Keith Couch. The trio, all graduates of Adelphi baseball, had outstanding collegiate careers. Mulford, who participated in our inaugural Battle of the Border in 2016 and was drafted shortly thereafter by the St. Louis Cardinals, had one of the most successful pitching in careers in program history. Same can be said for Couch, who was drafted in 2010 by the Boston Red Sox. Vani, who was not drafted, was twice named to our All-Long Island team, and was a standout 1B...
Led By A Strong Pitching Staff, Manhasset Ready To Cause Havoc In Conference A2
Two times in three years, Manhasset reached the semifinals in Class A. However, in 2017 they experienced difficulties as they finished 4-15. As seen in the past, Manhasset knows how to rebound after a tough year. If all goes right and everyone produces, they can easily make a postseason run in Conference A2. “If we are going to make a playoff run, our pitching is going to carry us,” Head Coach Mark Giardino stated. “We have a very strong and deep staff. If we stay healthy our staff can be dynamic,” he added. The Indians starting rotation consists of returning players that have previous varsity experience. They will be led by Hamilton-commit Jay Schlaefer, who will be the ace. He will be backed up by Will Allen and Cole Zaffiro on the mound. Aside from their returnin...
Valley Stream North Motivated By Last Year’s Controversial Decision
Very rarely are excuses valid, but we will let you be the judge of this one: Due to a rain out on a Saturday in the postseason, Valley Stream North was told by Section 8 that they would have to not only face Plainedge on a Sunday, but the winner would have to face MacArthur in the same day. Right away, that’s not entirely fair that in a varsity postseason game one team would be playing a double header and not the other team. You could make the case that the higher seed should have the advantage, but regardless it is not typically the case. Our @DigmiNation Player of the Game is Sean Rogers. The first baseman had 3 RBI in Valley Stream North’s 11-0 victory over Lynbrook. Eddie Ye was the winning pitcher. #TipYourCap pic.twitter.com/ivu1sRW6If — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbasebal...
North Babylon Looks Primed For a Huge 2019
With a solid Head Coach at the helm, you can bounce back quickly from down seasons. After winning eight games in 2017, the North Babylon Bulldogs improved to twelve last year including an incredible comeback victory in the postseason over Lindenhurst. This year, they’re hungry for more. North Babylon scores two in the bottom of the seventh to stave off elimination and defeat Lindenhurst 8-7 pic.twitter.com/yNkp7qi9kE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 17, 2018 It’s no surprise the Bulldogs expect big things this year. They’re a very experienced team led by Head Coach Steve Corrado. They did graduate all-league catcher Zachary Kolano and their All-League outfielder and leadoff hitter Paul Tchinnis. What they return to the team however, makes them more than dangerous. Two players in ...
Rocky Point Looks to Defend Their First Title in Program History Under New Head Coach Anthony Anzalone
Year after year, Rocky Point puts a strong, competitive team on the field, fighting their way to the playoffs. At long last, they won the Suffolk County championship in the 2018 season, the first in program history. In his first year at the helm, Anthony Anzalone, recently named Head Coach, looks to continue the tradition of success at Rocky Point. Anzalone is excited for the opportunity that lies ahead. He feels comfortable leading this team, attributing that to his many years of being around former head coach Andrew Aschettino, as well as Eric Strovink. He added, “It helps to still have Strov beside me on this journey. He’s constantly learning himself, and really allows me to elevate my coaching.” Although the Eagles graduated several starters from their championship season, such as Joe ...
MaX Effort Baseball Expands 7,000 Square Feet
Back in December 2017, we wrote about the state-of-the-art facility in Farmingdale that had recently opened called “MaX Effort Baseball“. Today we check back in after major renovations that added an additional 7,000 square feet to go along with their 25 ft high ceiling. Brad Jackson on the renovations at MaX Effort Baseball pic.twitter.com/lew9R6oeCs — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 24, 2018 Between the renovations and the training staff, it’s easy to see why they are booked solid through out the winter. Even prior to this year, they were gaining some traction due to the tremendous following of owner Brad Jackson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Johnson & Wales in ’15, and because of their use of some outstanding training devices. Some o...
