2023 Season Previews
Clarke Returns Several Key Players From County Finalist Team
.801. That’s the winning percentage (474-118) of Clarke HS since Tom Abruscato took over in 1999. They have been the model of consistency in Nassau County and last year was yet another deep playoff run. Including winning the 2019 Nassau County A Championship, they have appeared in the County Finals in each of the past 3 seasons. They were defeated in a best-of-three by Calhoun at Farmingdale State College. From that team, they graduated three All-County players; Sean Welsh (Molloy), Nick Giardino (Miseridcordia) and catcher Jacob Dandic. That will be difficult to replace. Welsh was the Conference MVP – he batted .489 which included 46 hits. That number is second in program history for a single season. Giardino notched 40 hits – which was fifth all-time. They also graduate...
Manhasset Will Be Relying on Young Core for First Year Head Coach Anthony Serrapica
by Andy Smith Manhasset LHP Theo Zacharia on his CG 11 K performance over Division pic.twitter.com/rMvfIjLWH7 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 20, 2022 Manhasset finished with a 9-14 record last season. The young Indians team is looking to take the next step in their development. First year head coach Anthony Serrapica is prepared for the challenge and is looking forward to putting his stamp and style on the program. Serrapica has been associated with Manhasset for many years now. Serrapica coached the middle school team while in graduate school. His teaching career moved him around to many different schools, but Serrapica always remained connected to Manhasset in some fashion. When the opportunity came up, Serrapica described it as an “easy transition.” “I am extremely excit...
Center Moriches Enters 2023 As Reigning Class B Long Island Champs
by Andy Smith Center Moriches captures the Class B Championship with a 2-1 win over Mattituck Riley Morris, Jack Rupe, Leyton Pulsipher combined on a no-hitter pic.twitter.com/1BXTbcLGfa — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2022 Head Coach Paul Gibson described last season as “the most rewarding one in my baseball career.” Center Moriches entered 2022 as a very young program. “We had some instances where our defense failed us early on, and we also didn’t have the quality at bats that we had hoped for. As the season progressed the boys really came together and bought into the system, and started to understand their roles and the ways they can make a positive impact.” The Red Devils finished with an 11-9 record but went on a playoff run, which resulted with a Long Island Class B ...
Kings Park Looks to Take Next Step In Coach Abreu’s 4th Season
by Andy Smith Hunter Colagrande (Kings Park 2024) threw a no-hitter (1 walk) in the Elite 8 @ PG WWBA Upperclass Nationals. Pitching against players two years older pic.twitter.com/DyOMR26vkz — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 11, 2021 Kings Park made major improvements in 2022. The Kingsmen finished with a 9-10 overall record, which is a major improvement from winning just four games in 2021. Entering his fourth season as the head coach, Andrew Abreu reflected, “We put an emphasis on the ball in play, hard contact in offensive counts and team swings in 2 strike counts, as well as being aggressive on the bases to force defenses to make plays.” The Kingsmen saw their batting average jump by .55 points, scored 35 more runs and swiped 15 more bags in comparison to 2021. Abreu, ...
St. Mary’s Poised for Improved Year
by Andy Smith 2022 was a transitional year for St. Mary’s. Head Coach Christopher Estrada was hired beginning with the 2020 season. That season was abruptly canceled due to the pandemic. In 2021, the Gaels were not able to play a season, and instead just played three scrimmages. Following these tasking seasons, the Gaels finally completed their first season in almost five years last year. Coach Estrada, a former college baseball athlete, made appearances at Monroe College, Coppin State, Missouri Western State University and even had a stint with the Indy Ball League (Desert League). Estrada reflected on this challenging 3-year journey at St. Mary’s, and how he learned from it. “Last season was an introduction and learning experience for the players and staff, since it was the first time ...
Connetquot Primed For Another Deep Postseason Run
Connetquot rolled to the League III title last season but was defeated by Smithtown West in the Class AA playoffs. Still, they finished with an overall record of 20-4. They had a pretty young team – although one of the seniors, Ryan Waring, was named the League MVP after going undefeated and is now at SUNY Poly. First year Head Coach Dwayne Page, a 2014 graduate of Connetquot had high praise for Waring. “He really embodied that role of an ace. It’s a testament to his character. It really helped when the senior group is light to have a player like him,” he added. This year, they will have a small army of seniors on the team – 16 to be exact. Several of those players are three or four-year varsity players. That type of veteran leadership usually bodes very well ...
East Meadow Prepared to Build off Final Four Appearance
by Andy Smith East Meadow is entering 2023 following a very strong 2022. The Jets finished in second place in the AA2 with a league record of 13-4. They went on to defeat Baldwin in the quarterfinals, but fell to the eventual LI Champion Massapequa in the semifinals. Now entering his second season as the head coach, Vinny Mascia reflected on his debut season. “I felt we had a good season last year. Any time you get to the Final Four is a positive season.” Mascia continued, “ Even though it was my first year as Head Coach it was not a new experience as I have been the Head Coach at EM Football for 20 years as well, so I had some experience in that area. I also was prepared for the job as I worked under two great Head Coaches in the legendary Ken Sicoli (501 Wins) and John Marciante. Bot...
St. Anthony’s Hungry and Motivated to Compete for CHSAA Title
Jason DeCaro following his complete game shutout pic.twitter.com/ST5eBcXaQN — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 26, 2022 When you look at some of the qualities of teams that have won the Catholic League in recent years – it starts with pitching and veteran leadership that can get it done when the chips are down. During a recent conversation between St. Anthony’s head coach Paul Parsolano and senior Jason Decaro, the two discussed which game of the series the North Carolina-commit would pitch. In no uncertain terms, Decaro said, “I’m starting on Tuesdays, and we win on Tuesdays.” It’s that level of confidence that has allowed Decaro to skyrocket up rankings by national publications like Baseball America and become a possible 2023 MLB Draft pick. ...
Oyster Bay Enters 2023 With Strong Returning Cast
by Andy Smith Oyster Bay trailed 7-3 in the fifth before scoring 17 unanswered runs for the 20-7 win and series sweep over Carle Place pic.twitter.com/OTJ5idJlBq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 1, 2022 Jeff Schiereck has been associated with Oyster Bay baseball for over a decade. First as an assistant coach under Jay Davis, Schiereck became the head coach after Davis’ retirement. Schiereck has been the skipper for the past five seasons. Oyster Bay had a very successful 2022 season. The Baymen finished with a 15-5-1 and qualified for the playoffs. However, their season ended in the County Semifinals against Locust Valley. This was a hard fought three-game series, but it ended with the Baymen falling short in the rubber match. The Baymen will be without a very talented pit...
Eastport-South Manor Looks to Reload After Graduating 11 Seniors
Eastport-South Manor 5, Westhampton Beach 0 WP: Jake Deslauriers (6.1 IP, 8 Ks) Tristan Gatchalian: 3-for-4, RBI Deslauriers: 1-for-3, 2 RBI pic.twitter.com/V4R7KN67jZ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 31, 2022 It’s fair to say that Eastport-South Manor flew under the radar last season as they finished the regular season with a record of 14-4 and even won two of three from league champ and eventual County Champs, Rocky Point. In the postseason, ESM lost their first game to East Islip before beating West Babylon to advance to face East Islip, but they had their season cut short by them. Head Coach Jim McGowan said, “It was an emotional ending. We had 11 seniors. Seven of them I had since 8u on the Sharks. It was a special group; the way they carried themselves and pra...
Led by Reigning Carl Yastrzemski Award Winner, Pat-Med Ready to Go
by Nick Cipolla Last year was a memorable one for the Raiders as they continued their winning ways, finishing 13-5 in League I and clinching another playoff berth in the process. Pat-Med looked like a contender to win the County Championship, but unfortunately they were bounced from the playoffs by Floyd, ending one of their best seasons in recent memory. We were able to talk with head coach Anthony Frascogna about the season and the upcoming season. “Solid season with a disappointing ending”, said Frascogna, “We have to make fielding the ball a priority this season. Have to be able to overcome some of the external forces that weigh in on the game sometimes.. making errors didn’t allow us to do that”. The Raiders will only be losing two guys from their core in 2022, Outfielder Tyree ...
Bridgehampton Returns Every Player From Last Year; Poised for Improved Year
Last year was the first season in which Bridgehampton fielded a baseball team in 43 years. The team, however, was five years in the making since Lou Liberatore got a job in the school district five years ago. It took passion and a whole lot of patience as the school did not have enough interested players to field a varsity team until 2022. While they took their lumps going 6-12 in league play, it was far from an embarrassment. Under the tutelage of Liberatore, who comes from a great baseball family and played collegiate ball at Molloy, and their winter workouts at the Hub 44 in East Hampton, the team has really made some strides. They also work with hitting instructor Henry Meyer, and Liberatore said, “we are really excited about the progress they’ve made.” Excited is an ...
