NEWS
Bobby Hegarty Throws a Gem in Class A Long Island Championship
by Vinny Messana Being a sophomore, Anthony Fontana hasn’t faced too many pro-caliber pitchers yet. It took him just one at bat to adjust to Sam Kessler‘s stuff and he laced an RBI single to right field in the third inning which extended Wantagh‘s lead to 2-0 at the time, and proved to be the game-winning run that delivered their first Long Island Championship since 2010. “OH MY GOD–An experience I’ll never forget,” said the sophomore first baseman. Both teams went quietly offensively through the first two innings. Sam Kessler, who entered with eight wins, and will be headed to West Virginia this summer–if he does not get drafted next week–got the start for the Mustangs. He pumped fastballs in the high 80s and mixed it with a hellacious...
Wantagh Wins Class A County Finals on Walk-Off Single
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rqVci8Boeg by Vinny Messana Not even Martin Scorsese himself could script a more fitting end to a County Championship game. Bases loaded, two-out, bottom of the ninth inning with the clean up hitter up after Bellmore JFK manager intentionally walked two batters to load the bases and set up a force at any bases. On a 2-2 count with score knotted at 2-2, DH Will O’Brien laced the walk-off single to right field to score Charlie Interrante in front of an electric crowd and give Wantagh their first Nassau County Class A title since 2010. “It’s a feeling I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” said O’Brien. “All I wanted to do was get the ball on the bat and score the winning run and that’s what happened. Best ...
Dowling Shuts Its Doors
In an email sent to its students, Dowling announced that the school would cease all operations as of June 3rd, 2016. The news comes after months of speculation regarding financial troubles. The enrollment had plummeted 50 percent since 2009, according to Newsday. They had been seeking outside investment and appeared to have a suitor in March, but talks did not materialize. The school is more than $54 million in debt and were forced to close after 48 years–nearly cancelling their 2016 graduation. The news comes at an inopportune time to us as Baseball on the Island. Our Battle of the Border was among the several sporting events planned at the campus this summer that needed to be cancelled, in addition to the Long Island Championship for girl’s lacrosse. We will have a new venue ...
Northport Takes Advantage of West Islip’s Miscues, Forces Do-Or-Die Game Three
by Vinny Messana When the West Islip bus showed up at 3:45pm, or about an hour later than planned, it was a good omen for Northport. The Northport Tigers (20-7) took advantage of five errors by the Lions and were led by Nicholas Palmerini‘s complete game to force a do-or-die Game Three tomorrow at West Islip. They are looking for their first Suffolk County championship since 1983. “The energy from the crowd helps, and with my team behind me, I can throw whatever I want and feel confident,” said Palmerini. The crowd was highly energized and chanting on the Tigers at every opportunity and it certainly was a factor in this game. After the Lions took an early 2-0 lead from a wild pitch that scored Lou Antos and an RBI single by Nick Valenti that scored Ray Weber, Palmerini se...
Jimmy Mattera Throws Out Runner At Plate to Send West Islip to Class AA Finals
by Vinny Messana What. A. Finish. With West Islip clinging to a 3-2 lead, Smithtown East’s leading hitter, John Marti, came to the plate with the tying run on second base. West Islip had their ace, Albany-bound RHP Ray Weber, on the hill looking to send the Lions into the Suffolk County Class AA Finals. With first base open, they opted to pitch to Marti and he lined a single to left. The left fielder, Jimmy Mattera–who had pitched the first six innings–charged the ball and fired a strike to catcher Nick Valenti, who applied the tag for the final out and send the Lions into a frenzy. “I just got the ball and let it fly,” said Mattera, who recorded the victory in the clinching game. “I just came off the mound, so my arm was all warmed up so I knew if I had...
Chris Cappas Pitches Kellenberg into CHSAA Finals
by Vinny Messana At this stage of the season, all the teams in the CHSAA are very familiar with each other. For that reason, when tasked with facing a pitcher (Jimmy Conway) that shut them out earlier in the season, there was no reason to think gloom-and-doom. Kellenberg (17-5) defeated St. Dominic’s (16-9) by the score of 5-3 to advance to the CHSAA finals against the winner of St. Anthony’s-St. John the Baptist. “It’s been like this all year,” said Head Coach Chris Alfalla. “Every game is the same. Every team is tough. We’ve faced this guy before–he blanked us–so we knew we were gonna be in for it. He did a good job, but we did a little better job,” he added. Their junior southpaw, Chris Cappas, won his sixth game of the season ...
The Incredible Story Of Nick Bottari: Re-Learning How to Walk to Div-I Baseball
Shoreham, NY 2010— It was a standard Suffolk County varsity game between Shoreham-Wading River and Amityville. Up stepped freshman sensation Nick Bottari of Shoreham. He had made a name for himself the previous season by becoming the first eighth grader to play on the varsity team for legendary coach Sal Mignano. On this particular at bat, he fell behind 0-2 on the count when the pitcher tried to fool him with a change up. Bottari, fooled on the pitch, unleashed a vicious swing and was out in front. Strike three. The real story is what went on inside of Bottari’s body. He felt something pop in his back. Initially unfazed by the pain, the freshman remained in the game and went 4-for-5 with two HRs and set the program record with nine RBI on the day. Upon the completion of the se...
