NEWS
Dr. Luga Podesta: Coaches Are Finding Loopholes in Pitch-Count Rules
By Luga Podesta, M.D. Well it’s playoff time and the new high school pitch count rules have been in affect. As expected, coaches have figured out how to manipulate the state rules to their benefits. What we have been observing is that teams are having their ace pitch twice in the same week. The number one starter is used in relief on Monday and pitches only the exact number of pitches that would permit him to come back as the Friday starter. For example, if he pitches 66-95 pitches on Monday, he would be required to rest three nights allowing him to pitch again on Friday. This is all within the NYSPHSAA guidelines, but is it safe or in the pitchers best interest? Is that player getting adequate rest between outings? I doubt it and time will tell, especially since it is playoff time. The nu...
Brock Murtha, Sayville Thwart Rocky Point’s Seventh Inning Rally, Win 5-4
Big-time players love the high-intensity situations. Sayville freshman Brock Murtha has proven to be one of those players, and displayed that by nailing down the save with back-to-back strikeouts with runners on 2nd & 3rd, one out to preserve a 5-4 win over rival Rocky Point. “I love it,” said the freshman fireballer said in regards to having the ball in his hands in the high-leverage situations. “I love the feeling, I love everything. It’s a great feeling,” he added. Final: Sayville 5, Rocky Point4 WP: Anthony Martino S: Brock Murtha pic.twitter.com/WH8CSKoCTG — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2017 Sayville got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Murtha hit an infield pop up that was dropped by the second baseman with Ryan...
Maritime Wins First Skyline Conference Championship With 14-2 Win Over Mount St. Mary’s
When Charlie Barbieri was interviewing for the SUNY Maritime Head Coaching position, he was asked ‘when do you think you can compete for a championship?’ He responded with “three or four years.” Well, it turns out that statement was a foreshadow as they fulfilled his prophecy with a 14-2 victory over Mount St. Mary’s to win the program’s first Skyline Conference championship. Maritime has done it! They are the 2017 Skyline Conference Champs ! pic.twitter.com/XBjx81XtXs — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2017 “We believed,” said the third-year Head Coach, who has guided the Privateers to a 26-11 record after taking over for a program that was 14-18 in 2014. “It wasn’t false bravado, it was legit. They believe...
Nassau County Class A Power Rankings (Final Edition + Playoff Predictions)
The final week of the season has ended in Class A, which means chaos is underway. The “first four” of the playoffs feature the 4 lowest seeded teams battling for 2 spots to get into the round of 16. These games will take place on Tuesday afternoon. The round of 16 is scheduled to kick off on Saturday afternoon. After yet again a crazy week of baseball, here are the top 5 teams at the end of the season AND my predictions for the postseason. 5. MacArthur (12-3) (Last week: Unranked) MacArthur was hoping that Garden City would drop one game in the series against Manhasset in order for the Generals to capture a county championship. Unfortunately for them, Garden City swept Manhasset which means that MacArthur has the 6 seed heading into the playoffs and will face their cross town r...
Nassau County Class AA Power Rankings (5th Edition)
Everything went as expected this past week in Class AA, causing only slight alterations in the rankings–basically the top teams stayed hot . With a week of little to no surprises at all, let’s take a look to see if there was any mix up in this week’s power rankings. 5. Calhoun (10-5) (Last week: 4) Non-league games often are a chance for coaches to get inexperienced players playing time and have some fun. However, when you lose a non-league game against a team that’s 2-13 on the season, there’s no excuse for losing. Calhoun lost to Bellmore JFK 5-3 during their bye week, which could result in negative momentum riding into their last week of the season. Sophmore Jake Edwards will look to continue to dominate at the plate this week against Valley Stream Central....
New episode of Axcess Baseball
Check out our latest edition of aXcess baseball weekly featuring Peter Theodorellis (Commack ’17, Farleigh-Dickinson) and Logan O’Hoppe (St. John the Bapist ’18, East Carolina). Link below.
Maritime Mauls St. Joseph’s 21-8, Advances to Skyline Conference Championship
SUNY Maritime wasted no time in their Skyline Conference Tournament match up against St. Joseph’s this morning. The Privateers jumped on St. Joe’s pitching from the start and never relinquished the lead. The first run of the game came across on a double down the left field line by Steve Semler, who won yesterday’s fifteen inning marathon with a walk-off sacrifice fly. Thirteen Maritime batters came to the plate in the first, and besides Semler runs were driven in by Brian McLaughlin, Phill Russo, Connor Alwan, Aaron Schiavoni, Antonio Diaz and Matt Costleigh. With an opening frame like that it felt like St. Joe’s was done for before they even had a chance to bat. Head coach Charlie Barbieri said after the game: “We were trying to maybe shoot for two or three r...
Lou Doria, St. Joseph’s Power Past Mount St. Mary
Led by the scorching-hot bat of junior Lou Doria, the St. Joseph’s Golden Eagles took the Skyline Conference tournament game by storm as they posted a commanding 18-4 victory against Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday. Everything was going right for the Golden Eagles as they put up 22 hits offensively and their pitching was efficient. They will move on to play Maritime at 11 am on Sunday morning. The Golden Eagles took control of this one early as they put 11 runs in the first two innings batting through the lineup twice. They sent ten hitters to the plate as they scored six runs in the first inning due to consecutive hits through the middle of the order. The big story, however, was Doria. This kid just flat out rakes. He smacked a pair of two-run homers in his first two at-bats in t...
Maritime Wins Marathon vs USMMA in 15
SUNY Maritime and the United States Merchant Marine Academy tested each other’s endurance, playing nearly two game’s in one in Patchogue today. It was their first game of the Skyline Conference Championship and it certainly was one to remember, particularly for Stephen Semler who won it for the Privateers with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 15th inning. Semler drove in first and the last runs of the game, he knocked in the first runthe bottom of the first with a ground out to second. Maritime then added a second run that inning on a sacrifice fly by Brian McLaughlin. USMMA had two baserunners erased in the first, but were able to get on the board in the second thanks to an RBI sacrifice bunt from Alex Gambino. However, Maritime came back with three more runs in the bottom of t...
Charles Galiano: My Letter to the Game of Baseball
(Editor’s Note: Charles Galiano was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2012 MLB Draft out of Commack high school and again by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Fordham University. He recently announced his retirement from the game of baseball after two seasons in the minor leagues due to a persistent shoulder injury. The following words are his own, as he bids farewell to the game he loves) Dear Baseball, Sitting here on the plane right now back to New York thinking about what baseball has done for me, I have nothing but immense gratitude and love towards this game. This game has given me damn near everything since I picked up a ball and a bat heading to my first tee ball game at Commack South Little League. I remember sitting on the floor with my brother nervous as can be about ...
Joe Francisco: Who Are the Top Hitters on Long Island Right Now?
(Editor’s Note: Joe Francisco is the owner of Performance Factory where he works with many of the top hitters on Long Island of all ages. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 32nd round of the 1999 MLB Draft out of Wagner College. The following words are his own.) by Joe Francisco Top Hitter in SUFFOLK COUNTY Brian Morrell Height: 6’1” Weight: 195 Bats/Throws: R/R Poistion: SS/RHP High School: Shoreham Wading River College Commitment: University of Notre Dame (ACC – NCAA Division I) Profile: The reigning Yastrzemski Award winner and Newsday Player of the Year hasn’t skipped a beat coming off of last years .405 AVG, 12 HR, 28 RBI performance. He’s hitting .500 with 5 HRs despite being pitched around all season with (8) intentional walks. Morrell is explosive in the batt...
Joe Cottone’s RBI Single Propels Plainedge to Wild Comeback 7-6 Victory
Rob Pinto got really nervous when the ball was in the air, as did the rest of the home crowd. Cleanup hitter, Mark Rossini was already 3-for-3 on the afternoon and the fans had already endured the emotional rollercoaster of the past eight-and-a-half innings. The ball was caught just shy of the fence and he retired the final two batters including a strikeout of Pete Schimmel to put an end to a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory for Plainedge over Bethpage. Final: Plainedge 7, Bethpage 6 WP: Rob Pinto pic.twitter.com/fnXpbNoDR1 — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 4, 2017 “I shook his hand when he was running in and said ‘good hit, you scared the hell outta me,” he added. Pinto fired two shutout innings of relief to record the victory in a nine-inning game on&nbs...
