2022 Season Previews
Westhampton Beach Looks to Return to Playoffs Following 1-0 Heartbreaker
By Thomas Cregan Despite the loss of many key players from 2021 Westhampton Beach coach Asa Grunenwald is looking for another strong season out of his group in 2022. Westhampton posted a 9-9 regular season record in 2021 which propelled them to the playoffs. They would lose to Hills West 1-0 which coach Grunenwald called a heartbreaking way to end the season. However, he said that overall, it was a good year in which his team kept themselves in many close games and even their losses were close and always thrilling. The 2021 team was driven both offensively and on the mound by seniors and this year coach Grunenwald is looking to his group to step up and fill in the production that was provided by those players that graduated. Grunenwald mentioned four major contributors from the previous...
Led by One of the Top Power Pitchers on the Island, Cold Spring Harbor Hungry for a Title
By Michael Malaszczyk Coach Richard Greeney of Cold Spring Harbor is looking to lead his team to a championship in 2022. Cold Spring Harbor made it to the playoffs in 2021, an impressive feat considering the amount of field time the players lost to the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with Axcess Baseball, Coach Greeney was happy to share his thoughts on 2021. “2021 ended with a loss in the County Finals,” said Greeney. “We had a lead with 9 outs to go in the game and coughed it up. I was pleased to see the guys push themselves during the COVID played baseball season, but wish we could’ve held onto the game for the guys.” Despite that last game, Cold Spring Harbor should be proud that they made it as far as they did under the circumstances. Come-from-behind wins and losses happe...
Led by Strong Junior Class, Islip Poised for Improved Year
Islip fielded a very young team in 2021 – they graduated three impact players – Connor Ruland (Mercy College), Matt Flood (Farmingdale State) and Nick Classie. The benefit of that is that their younger players took their growing pains and that typically bodes well for the future. Head Coach RJ Going is optimistic about their program considering their talented young players that earned valuable experience last year – specifically the 2023 class. RHP/OF Dylan McKenna was named All-League last season after batting .380, but he is also a talented pitcher and he should be an impact player for them. OF Ethan Ferrera was up on varsity last year as well and he batted .300 during his time. Today we will have coverage of Harborfields @ Islip Here’s sophomore George Trimiglioz...
Wheatley Ready to Defend Title
Bryan Mccleary go-ahead hit in the top of the ninth to give Wheatley the 4-3 win over Cold Spring Harbor pic.twitter.com/hhAk43kCjE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2021 Wheatley is coming off another championship season. They defeated Cold Spring Harbor to capture the League VI Nassau County Championship. They followed that up with a victory over Pierson in the Long Island Championship. Head Coach Paul Paino is no stranger to winning. He has led Wheatley to eight County Championships – including six in the past decade. He won his 400th career game last season and is back for 2022. His first season as head coach was 1983 and has been at the helm every year since. The format in 2021 was much different than previous years. They began the season in League 5 which consisted...
Hills East Looking to Bounce Back in 2022
by Daniel Lopes After a season defined by COVID and the scheduling changes that it caused, Hills East head coach Tim Belz is hopeful that his team can bounce back from their 3-15 year in 2021. “Rebounding from a bad year last year, we’ve got some significant players coming back, and a lot of growth coming back with age and experience,” Belz said. “We’re definitely looking forward to getting back into the playoffs again, as a two-year drought for us hurts. So we want to get back into the playoffs.” Prior to that, they had reached the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. While the team did graduate some seniors from last year’s team, Belz believes that the core of the team remains intact. Hills East 2, Lindenhurst 0 WP: Ari Gluck (CG shutout) Nick Farnacci (video) and Kyle Cavataio ho...
Led by Outstanding Pitching Staff, Kings Park Ready to Make Noise
By Michael Malaszczyk Final: Kings Park 14, Miller Place 11 WP: Declan Cumming S: Jason Sacks pic.twitter.com/bTNWXUyeXz — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2021 Coach Andrew Abreu is ready to take his team to new heights in 2022. Long Island baseball suffered immensely from the coronavirus pandemic. All sports did, of course, but baseball was in a uniquely unfortunate position as a premier spring sport. LI Baseball didn’t get a season in the 2019-2020 academic year, unlike fall and winter sports, and had to come back for the 2020-2021 season with all that time off the field. With all of these factors in consideration, Kings Park played a great season in 2021. Coach Abreu felt strongly about this in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “After losing the year prior due to the pand...
After Reaching County Finals Against Bethpage, Plainedge Ready for Rigors of Nassau A4
by Daniel Lopes And the floodgates are open early for Plainedge, Pat Reyes hits a homer over the left field wall to push the lead to 4-0! pic.twitter.com/lEJrFNP8cw — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 16, 2021 Heading into the 2021 season, Plainedge entered a new era of baseball after losing 14 graduating seniors. Despite the losses, head coach Colin Fratrik’s team had a very successful season, going 13-3 and making it all the way to the county finals before losing in a game three to Bethpage. “The game came down to basically the last inning in the top of the seventh. We had the tying run on second base and we just were unable to get the big hit to get the game tied in that position,” said Fratrik. “We played some really good baseball and I was very proud of the team and the season...
Led by 7 Seniors, Bellmore JFK Looking to Return to Playoffs
by Daniel Lopes After a 6-10 season that landed Bellmore JFK a playoff spot, head coach Mike Gattus is excited to see what the added year of experience will bring to his team. Last year, the team was made up of mostly underclassmen who were able to get plenty of at-bats and innings at the varsity level. “We had three sophomores consistently in the starting lineup. One of our better pitchers who started every week for us was a freshman last year, and the lineup was mostly composed of underclassmen,” Gattus said. “I was pleased with the work that my guys put in, and I really look forward to this upcoming season.” While the team did receive plenty of contributions from underclassmen, they did lose multiple seniors from last years’ team, with outfielder Jake Sherman, pitcher Sam Ostroff, catch...
Hauppauge Looking to Build on Last Year Despite Big Graduating Class
by Mike Anderson Hauppauge High School varsity baseball sought out to defend their 2019 league title in 2020, but ultimately never got a shot. Taking the field as a team for the first time in nearly two years, the 2021 Hauppauge Eagles did not disappoint, making the playoffs with a 12-6 record and finishing in third place in League III, only behind West Islip (13-5) and Newfield (15-3). Varsity head coach Josh Gutes shed light on his team in an interview with Axcess Baseball, talking about what worked for them last season and what they look like right now coming into this season. He attributed his strong core of seniors from last year as the driving force to their successful 2021 season. “We had four sophomores on that league championship team in 2019 that got a ton of time. So, even thou...
After losing in County Finals, Plainview Poised to Take Next Step
By Michael Malaszczyk Dylan Banner just crushed a go-ahead, 2-R HR in the eighth to give Plainview JFK a 6-4 lead over Syosset pic.twitter.com/xNZOHPnXmm — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 13, 2021 Coach John Givargidze of Plainview is gearing up for another playoff run in 2022. Plainview had a terrific season in 2021. They finished with a 14-7 overall record, and went as far as the county finals; they ended up losing the county finals to a great team in Massapequa. Givargidze had nothing but praise for how his team performed in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “I am so proud of the way the boys came into the season last year with focus and a little chip on their shoulders,” said Givargidze. “It was a great group of kids who had fun together and most importantly, played for eac...
Deeper Staff, More Experience Fueling Higher Hopes for William Floyd in ‘22
by Mike Anderson Playing in League I of Section XI is always a tall task, and the 2021 season saw no exception to that. Five teams won at least 12 games last season from League I, which held back some younger teams, such as William Floyd High School. Floyd’s varsity baseball team had an up and down year, finishing below .500, yet still being able to show their competitiveness by winning seven games in a very competitive league. Head coach Keith Kobasiuk, now entering his fifth year as varsity head coach for William Floyd, gave an honest assessment of his team’s performance last year, citing a lack of experience as the main reason for their losing season. “We graduated two seniors who were on the field playing full-time. Everyone else was a junior or sophomore. And with the Covid season, so...
Loaded Kellenberg Primed for Another Great Year
by Michael Anderson Kellenberg first year head coach Pat Miles led his team to a 12-3 record and the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs pic.twitter.com/fwF8YMS89e — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2021 Pat Miles left a great impression in his first year as head coach of the Kellenberg Memorial High School varsity baseball team. The Firebirds finished 12-3 and clinched the top seed in the CHSAA. Of course, it wasn’t really his first impression; at least not with his players. “I had those kids on JV… I’ve coached all those kids before. In a shortened season, it wasn’t much of a learning curve regarding my players because I’ve had them for two years for the most part. I knew exactly the kids’ weaknesses and the kids’ strengths,” said Miles. It wasn’t just the continuity from a coa...
