2020 Season Preview
NCAA Presses The Nuclear Button
NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships: https://t.co/qzKAS4McEI pic.twitter.com/G6XreZx35E — NCAA (@NCAA) March 12, 2020 In the words of Jay-Z ‘it was all good just a week ago.’ Seriously, how did it come to this so quickly? What began as a virus on the other side of the world that most Americans were joking about has now completely infiltrated our livelihoods, temporarily suspended entertainment and pop culture entirely and could have major ramifications on our economic structure. As it pertains to sports, leagues went from ‘monitoring the situation closely’ and considering playing games with no spectators to hitting the nuclear button and canceling entire seasons within one day. Things have unraveled quickly since Rudy Gobert tested positive for co...
Seaford Enters 2020 With Veteran Group Of 15 Seniors
by Zevan Shuster For most high school and college coaches, consistency and continuity are the things they crave the most, yet have the least. However, for Seaford head coach Michael Milano, he has the luxury of having them en masse. “I don’t think it’s going to take us time to gel because we have 15 seniors. They are all in their 4th year of playing Seaford high school baseball. Well over five of them have been starting players since they were sophomores, and two juniors also played every day last year as sophomores. So I think this team is used to being around each other. They played four playoff games last year. Only one everyday player graduated,” Milano said. As big of an advantage as Milano’s squad may have, and as much of a proverbial head start they may be afforded when it comes t...
Wantagh Looks To Regain Postseason Magic of 2016-2018
From 2016-2018, Wantagh was the epitome of a team. Each year they went into the postseason with detractors, and each time they came out as the last team standing – not just in the loaded Nassau Class A, but on Long Island. They even captured the State Championship in 2016. Things didn’t go that way in 2019 – after they graduated five All-State players in a three-year span, they featured a much less experienced roster and it showed in the first-round of the playoffs in a 3-2 loss to Mepham. In any event, they are entering 2020 poised to make a deep postseason run and head coach Keith Sachs – who knows a thing or two about winning- sees some positive signs entering the season. “They have an insane level of commitment – 12 months out of the year,” he ...
Bellmore JFK Focused On Improving Each Day
Baseball isn’t always fair, sometimes it can be particularly cruel. When you play well, usually you are rewarded. In the case of Bellmore JFK in 2019, that wasn’t the case. They went 8-4 over their final 12 games but missed out on a postseason berth by 1/2 game. Additionally, they were poised for a breakthrough in 2020, but lost senior LHP Ryan Schechner, to Tommy John surgery, before the season even began. He was All-County last year and heading to Towson in the fall. In any event, coach Mike Gattus – now in his second year as head coach – is undeterred an confident in his group. They are fortunate to have three senior pitchers that are all capable of keeping the team in the game. Chris Costaro, who is also one of their top hitters, pitched 15 innings last year all...
Huntington Has All The Makings Of A Playoff Team
Although there was not postseason run, it was a season to be proud of for Huntington in 2019. And it could’ve been even better. They won nine games – just missing out on a playoff berth – which was their most in 15 seasons. Despite that, Bill Harris (fifth year head coach) came away a bit disappointed considering they lost six one-run games including their last game of the season, 2-1, against West Islip. “We got hit by the injury bug in the beginning of the year and the end and we missed the playoff by two games,” said Harris. It was a major step in the right direction, following a 2-18 season. They certainly have the makings of a playoff team in League III this year. Despite having no seniors, they are an experienced team since Harris called up nine guys in...
Brentwood Hopeful To Compete In League I
The success that Brentwood has had on the basketball court and soccer field is second to none. In fact, they are among the elite soccer programs in the nation. They have the largest enrollment on Long Island with 4,400 students which has allowed them to take advantage of their pool of talented athletes. That success has not translated on the baseball field as the best athletes in the school have simply not chosen the diamond. Fourth year head coach, Rich Gonzalez, was candid and admitted that their program is “a struggling one” namely because the “town really doesn’t have a little league.” “There’s really no particular year that there’s six kids coming from one grade”, and “we are building from the ground up,” he added. Addi...
Mepham Ready To Make A Playoff Run
Gianni Macchio walks it off with a 2RBI double and Mepham eliminates Wantagh!!!!!! FINAL: Mepham 3 Wantagh 2 WP: Tyler O’Neill (CG) Gianni Macchio: Walk off pic.twitter.com/KWbKBq1QJ9 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 14, 2019 by Zevan Shuster Coming off another playoff appearance, one that featured an exciting walk-off against Wantagh, Mepham is poised for another playoff appearance. “We have two thirds of our outfield coming back. We have our star pitcher coming back. The only thing that’s up in the air right now is the rest of the pitching and the catching, that’s all,” Mepham head coach Eric Passman said. The mix of certainty and comfort, to go along with uncertainty and unknowns, makes for an interesting start to the year for Passman’s club. While the head coach is getting a...
Bay Shore Looks Like Playoff Team Entering 2020
Missing out on the playoffs is unfamiliar territory for Bay Shore, who has made a habit of overachieving and even pulling off playoff upsets, as they did twice in 2018 season. It wasn’t a rough year, but they did finish one win short of a postseason berth in the loaded League 2 led by Connetquot and Commack. This year’s team appears to be loaded with offensive firepower. “I think we have a heck of an outfield – one of the best around,” said head coach Mike Herbst. Leading the charge is Ryan Brewer. The Johns Hopkins-commit is coming off a huge season in which he batted .439 with 2 HR, 20 RBI, 12 runs scored, .571 OBP and .649 SLG. “He’s a heck of a hitter and he’s clutch – that’s always key. He’s going to hit fourth in the l...
Mineola Leaning On Offense For Bounce Back Season
by Zevan Shuster If Mineola is to have a bounce back season in 2020, it will have to come from within. “We have ten players returning from a roster in which we won four games,” Mineola head coach Helms Bohringer said. “We graduated our best players, but we’ve got a lot of players who were sophomores last year, who should develop as juniors this year. They will need to step up and be significant for us so we can be successful,” said Bohringer. The top of the lineup production, and the leadership is indeed gone from last season, and will need to be replaced for this upcoming season. Bohringer, with just a week to go before the season gets underway, isn’t sure where his most reliable productivity is going to come from. High-level execution will be paramount, and though dominance is unlike...
Island Trees Relying On Pitching Staff To Return To Postseason
When they started out 9-0, it appeared Island Trees was destined for a deep postseason run. Once the second half of the season began, unfortunately, things took a nosedive as they lost their first round playoff game to South Side by the score of 4-2. They finished with an overall record of 12-8 on the season. Head Coach Joseph D’Auria, now in his 16th season as head coach after seven seasons as assistant, noted that they began to struggle once their competition got stiffer from teams like Clarke, the eventual Class A Champion. Facing off against Clarke is nothing new for them, as they have had some classic showdowns over the past 15 years. Coach D’Auria noted that they defeated them in the County Finals in 2007, but were on the opposite end of it in 2009. They also made the fin...
William Floyd Looks to Build On Last Year’s Playoff Appearance
It was a year to be proud of for William Floyd, as they qualified for a postseason berth for the first time in eight years. They finished with a regular season record of 13-7, and won their first-round playoff game against rival Sachem East along the way for a total of 14 wins. Head Coach Keith Kobasiuk, entering his third year as head coach, but 12th with the program, felt his players performed well last year but they face the challenge of replacing a big group of seniors. They had eight seniors last year – seven were starters – and three were starting pitchers. Replacing all those innings could be an obstacle. “We’re going to try to piece it together on the mound,” said Kobasiuk. Replacing All-League southpaw A.J. Verga will be difficult. They also graduated...
Lawrence Re-Ignited With Excitement
By Tony Genualdo On paper, 8-8 is an average season. But considering Lawrence’s track record in the last decade, 8-8 was a successful season for them last year. They finished a season with more than 2 wins for the first time since 2010. They set a new school record for runs scored in a season with 104. Injuries throughout the season cost the team from possibly getting to double digit wins. Regardless, coach Tommy Beirne says that Lawrence baseball is back. “To re-ignite the excitement of the baseball program in Lawrence was great to see.” Beirne said. The preparation for the next season started in the fall. Beirne wanted his players to focus on the mental side of the game and educate his players on certain situations. But when asked about how the players are physically preparing, he says t...
