NEWS
Vinny Trovato Outduels Harrison Cohen, Clarke Wins 4-0
Anytime you are going against an opposition’s ace, you have to do the little things. Clarke executed well, stealing six bases in their 4-0 victory against Harrison Cohen and Cold Spring Harbor. Their starter, Vinny Trovato, fired a four-hit shutout with only 99 pitches. “He mixes everything, said Head Coach Tom Abruscato. “He did that in a playoff game for us last year. He throws three pitches every game for a strike on any count. When you can pitch backwards, it’s great,” he added. They knew they would have a difficult task against George Washington-commit Harrison Cohen, but they were able to benefit from some defensive miscues and aggressive base running to get on the board. “When you face a kid throwing 90, you can’t chase and we chased early i...
Analyzing the Incredible Class of 2017 Crop of Shortstops
It’s not often that an All-Star Game involves intriguing decisions as to who will start or even make the roster. The 2017 Grand Slam Challenge will require those decisions. And that has everything to do with the amount of superior talent on the island at the shortstop position–specifically the class of 2017. In a typical year, any one of the following players would probably be starters–but obviously the decision will be much harder when you consider all the Div-I talent. Try this one on for size. Here’s a rundown of the top guys in alphabetical order with their college commitment in parenthesis: Joe Barbuto, North Babylon He hit .306 last year with an absurd .521 OBP. His Head Coach stated that he provides stability from the SS position that the team has not had in ...
Power Rankings Volume 6
It was a thrilling week for the local college baseball teams. There is plenty of shake up towards the top of the rankings. Like the previous two weeks, we will separate the teams into tiers based on their momentum and performance. Tier 1:The Elite St. Johns (Record: 21-2, Stock UP) They had no problem dealing with prosperity now that they’ve hit national acclaim. After getting ranked fifth in the nation, they went out and won all three games this week. Freshman Sean Mooney improved to 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA. Ryan McAuliffe is not far behind with a 3-0 record and 1.08 ERA. Something special is brewing in Queens Tier 2: Trending Up 2. Nassau CC (7-3, Stock UP) What a week for them–they are riding a four-game winning streak. The stats are pretty absurd. Elijah Tavarez is fifth in the...
aXcess Baseball Weekly
Check out the latest edition of aXcess Baseball weekly with special guest Dr. Luga Podesta in which we discuss the effect of pitching year-round, the danger of playing in cold weather and the newly-implemented high school pitch count. Our reporter Tyler Marko also discussed his observations from today’s Old Westbury-Farmingdale State DH and Hills East-Smithtown East match up earlier in the week.
Farmingdale and Old Westbury Split a Tightly-Contested Doubleheader
Conference opponents Farmingdale State and SUNY Old Westbury split two vastly different–but dramatic–games in a doubleheader today. Farmingdale out-slugged Westbury 10-9 in game one, while Westbury won game two, a pitching duel by the score of 2-1 on a walk-off walk. Game one began as a pitching duel, Matthew Constantine and Trey Pizzutello shut down both side for three innings before the bats broke through. An error in the fourth allowed Farmingdale’s first two runs to come across, but a single by Christopher Reilly and a two-run homer from Domenic Palumbo got the Rams halfway to their final score. Westbury came right back scoring four in the fourth on singles from Paul Rapoli, Carlos Balmaceda and Jesse Matos. They even took a two-run lead off Rapoli’s third singl...
Nine-Run Sixth Powers St. John’s to 21st Win
When you’re hot, you’re hot. The St. John’s Red Storm overpowered the Hofstra Pride, coming away with a 14-3 win for their ninth consecutive victory. “It feels good when you win, it’s nice to see our guys start swinging the bat in the middle of the game.” Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer said after the win. “Another game, another step.” The Red Storm took the lead early on a single from Jesse Berardi scoring Michael Donadio. Later in the game the Johnnies tacked on another run on a single from Anthony Brocato, scoring Troy Dixon from second. The Pride scored their only three runs in the top of the fifth inning. They scored on an error, wild pitch and an RBI single by Nick Bottari to score Steven Foster. The Red Storm came up big in the 6th inning. They ripped nine hits and scored nine ...
Saturday April 1st Game Recaps
The collegiate baseball season is now in full swing and we are legitimately starting to see some improvement for the hometown clubs. After a 6-6 day on Saturday, the local teams are beginning to show significant improvement since the start of the year. With the weather getting warmer, these teams will look to throw their seasons into a full spin and heat up as we are now in April. St. John’s hits 20 wins with victory over Hofstra We had two of the top local programs competing on Saturday and the two kept it close as the Johnnies took the win 4-1 over Hofstra. St. John’s has not cooled down at all–ranking fifth in the nation sitting at 20-2 on the season whereas Hofstra has struggled getting their feet off the ground posting a 7-17 record so far. Hofstra took an early lead in the seco...
Neal’s Knowledge: What is ‘Pitching Backwards’ and Why Should You Do It?
If hitting is timing, then pitching is disrupting timing. There is no better way to do that than to be unpredictable as a pitcher. Hitters are taught to look for fastballs in particular counts–0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2. They sit back and look for a pitcher’s fastball. If they have any doubt what type of pitch is coming–they lose a little bit of confidence. That can be just enough to get him off his game. Throwing breaking balls and change ups in these hitter’s counts is called ‘pitching backwards’ and it is a very important for a young pitcher to eventually develop this skill in order to get to college because that’s when hitters will really make you pay for your mistakes. At the lower levels, it’s really not as important to pitch backward...
Sal’s Hitting School: Direct Line to the Baseball
We are proud to release our first episode of Sal’s Hitting School. Sal Agostinelli, Director of International Scouting for the Philadelphia Phillies, is a Long Island native that has signed 31 Major League baseball players. He was an All-American player at Slippery Rock University, where he held the program-record for single-season average at .466. In the first episode, he discusses the importance of having a direct line to the baseball. Enjoy.
WATCH: Infiniti Performance Rx Recovery Room
Infiniti Performance has developed a reputation for training the best athletes on Long Island. Check out the below YouTube video on their new Rx Recovery Room for athletes after their games. Athletes from all over are making their way over to Infiniti knowing that they are committed to keeping athletes on the field.
Pat-Med Wins Wild One Over Sachem East 12-8
If you like pitching duels this one was not for you. Pat-Med avoided a series sweep with a 12-8 win over Sachem East in a wild game that took over three hours and featured several lead changes. The story of the game was Albany-commit Brad Malm smacking a three-run HR in the first inning and also just narrowly missing another one in the sixth inning, that was ultimately a two-run double to put the Pat-Med Raiders up 6-4. “I felt like I was seeing the ball very well and my teammates and I put together a few great innings which helped, not only the pitchers but, the whole team,” said the senior SS. The game was far from over at that point, though. Sachem East bounced back and tied the game on a solo shot by Brendan Ryan before Pat-Med broke it open with four runs in the seventh in...
Joe Muchnicki Tosses No-Hitter in First Varsity Start
When the doctor took a look at the MRI, he recommended surgery right away. “He couldn’t believe I wasn’t in excruciating pain–he said the bone could break at any time,” said Joe Muchnicki recalling the low-point of last year. The injury, which is believed to have been caused by wear-and-tear, required five plates being placed in the knee joint, at the bottom of his femur bone. He was in a wheelchair for a week, followed by crutches for five weeks and no baseball activity for eight months. For a high school junior, that is crushing. He missed the crucial time for college recruiting–not to mention a summer of being a kid. While some people would sulk–the John Glenn RHP stayed focus and began his physical therapy. He finally threw off a mound for the ...
