2024 Season Previews
Pete Blumenauer Ready for New Challenge as Suffolk CC Head Coach
by Max Edelman Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Jack Turner (Suffolk CC) sitting in the low 90s with his slider in the low 80s. Entered today with 34 strikeouts in 6 appearances which is 2nd in the HCBL. pic.twitter.com/6pcaXtjeb0 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 23, 2023 After spending the last seven years as head coach at St. Joseph’s in Brooklyn, Pete Blumenauer left the school in order to pursue a new opportunity coaching with the Suffolk County Community College Sharks. Blumenauer has a long career of coaching not just in the area, but on Long Island as well. Prior to coaching at St. Joseph’s, Blumenauer has had coaching tenures at Islip, Adelphi, and even a previous tenure at SCCC as an assistant coach...
Center Moriches Hopes to Build on Championship Appearance
by Mike Merolle Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the 7th against undefeated Babylon, Center Moriches has pulled off the improbable comeback and they scored 5 times with the walk-off hit coming off the bat of Gavin DeRosa Game 3 tomorrow ! pic.twitter.com/62mTZYUsgd — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2023 It was a bittersweet ending to 2023 for Center Moriches. The team made the Suffolk County Class B Championship and led for the majority of the game until Babylon scored on a walk-off, winning the championship 6-5. Nonetheless, it was still a successful season considering Center Moriches’ 10-8 league record and their strong playoff run. Head Coach Paul Gibson is entering his fif...
Newfield Poised For Bounce Back Season Following Sub .500 Record in 2023
by Aaron Diaz Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Newfield 11, Centereach 2 WP: Matt Hesselbirg Bartho: 3 hits, 2 RBIs Hesselbirg: 2 hits, 2 RBIs Whitbeck: 3 RBIs pic.twitter.com/6Qli1lYfjJ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 4, 2023 Following losing 26 seniors in the past two years, the Newfield Wolverines couldn’t capture the same success in a County Championship in the 2023 season as they did in 2021. An early injury to their number one pitcher set them back as they had a team filled with youth. Newfield finished 2023 with an 8-12 record despite a hard-fought year through the eyes of their coach Eric Joyner. “We lost our number one pitcher in week one, Joyner said. “That was a huge loss for us and somet...
Shoreham-Wading River Seeking to Start New Postseason Run
by Aaron Diaz Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series Shoreham-Wading River 7, Center Moriches 5 Joey Marchese walk-off 2 run homer Liam Bowes hit a 3 run shot to tie it earlier in the inning pic.twitter.com/TkuissE9iq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 4, 2022 2023 turned into a rebuilding year for the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats, but an unexpected one at that. Last season was the first time in 37 season years the team missed the playoffs. The Wildcats finished with a 6-14 record in that span. “We broke that streak which was always something we were proud of as a program and the consistency there,” said head coach Kevin Willi. “Last year, we had a perfect storm of us not having a playoff berth with some major inju...
After Graduating 14 Seniors, MacArthur Poised to Lean On Several Talented Juniors
by Max Edelman Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Nice playoff win today for MacArthur over Manhasset. 2 strike approach to tie the game early. @MACgenerals @axcessbaseball @_MYLIB @PBR_NY_LI #uncommitted #2025grad #baseball pic.twitter.com/CR2KBOjjEV — Dylan Tripi (HS 2025, C & 3rd, 3.9GPA) (@dylantripimac25) May 17, 2023 Last year was not a year that the MacArthur Generals were accustomed to. Legendary Head Coach Steve Costello (552 career wins), who is entering his 31st season as head coach of the Generals in 2024, looked back on last season, which consisted of an 11-6 record and a loss in the pool play round of the playoffs. “We were 11-6.” Costello said. “But then we got eliminated in the pool play round of the ...
Motivated by Last Year’s County Final, Plainview-JFK Hungry to Take Final Step
by Max Edelman Special thanks for Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Plainview JFK punches their ticket to the Nassau Class AA Finals against Massapequa with a thrilling 6-5 win over Farmingdale ! pic.twitter.com/cwDKpQ4dHb — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2023 Following a season with a heartbreaking ending is always difficult. But head coach John Givargidze’s team, they are facing that challenge head-on. Givargidze, who is entering his 11th season as the head coach of the Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK Hawks, looks to rebound after a strong season that didn’t end the way anyone imagined. “We finished 20-8. We lost in the county finals on a walk-off grand slam with two outs. So we really couldn’t have gotten any closer to our go...
Garden City Returns 15 Players from 18-Win Team
by Max Edelman Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series SUNY Maritime RHP Frank Santeramo (Garden City 2021) back to full health following July 2022 TJ surgery. FB sitting 90-92 MPH pic.twitter.com/m84WxeiEzv — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 9, 2024 Running into the eventual league champions never ends well, and for the Garden City Trojans, that was their fate. Head coach Dave Izzo, who is entering his eighth year as Trojans head coach, led his team to an 18-7 overall record (15-3 league) as well as a semifinal appearance in the playoffs. However, that was the end of the road for Garden City, as they were defeated by Division in the semifinals. Izzo looked back on what he believed was a great season with an unfort...
Led by the Reigning Diamond Award Winner, Mepham Looks to Rebound from Tough Semifinal Defeat
by Max Edelman No stranger to high school baseball, Mepham Pirates’ head coach Eric Passman is entering his 25th season as varsity coach and 7th with Mepham. They had a great season last year that ended in unbelievably heartbreaking fashion. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, a grand slam sent the Pirates home. Are you kidding !! Trailing 5-2 and down to their final out, Joey Goodman crushes a walk-off grand slam to send Calhoun into the Nassau Class A Finals against Division! Calhoun 6, Mepham 5 pic.twitter.com/zSdoxrlY4S — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2023 “Last season was unbelievably good, with an unbelievably heartbreaking ending.” Passman said. “We had two outs in the last inning. We were up by three runs, and they hit a grand slam. So you can imagine th...
Talented Pitching Staff Makes West Islip Formidable Once Again
by Max Edelman Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. West Islip: 3 Walt Whitman: 2 Jake Romeo: 2-3, RBI Erick Burciaga: 2-3, 2 R Alex Burciaga: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER pic.twitter.com/OeQurUfNOX — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 20, 2023 The regular season was a strong one for the West Islip Lions in 2023. The Lions roared to a 20-5 overall record, a 17-3 league record, and sixth league title in seven years. However, the season did not end in a championship. Despite winning three of their playoff games, the Lions lost two games to Lindenhurst, which ended their season. Head coach Shawn Rush, who is entering his 14th season as West Islip head coach, looked back on last season and looked ahead to what should be an exciting...
Led by Power Arms, Connetquot Hungry to Avenge Last Year’s Playoff Exit
by Max Edelman Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. St. John’s-commit Ryan Kiendle closing out the 7-3 victory for Connetquot pic.twitter.com/pbwCsZSFP2 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 21, 2023 In a season in which the Connetquot Thunderbirds saw a near-perfect regular season with an overall 19-4 record, they were unable to carry that success into the playoffs. In what head coach Robert Burger, who is entering his fifth year as head coach, called a tale of two seasons. “Last year was a tale of two seasons.” Burger said. “We were the League III champs, number one seed in the Suffolk County playoffs. But then the second season started and we went 1-2. And at the end of the day, that’s what matters most.” Connetq...
Led by 3-Time All-County AJ Bardi, Wantagh Hungry to Make Playoff Run
by Max Edelman Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Final: Wantagh 2, North Shore 1 WP: Colin Crispyn (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 Ks) Wantagh improves to 12-3 pic.twitter.com/lsEYrfeXWo — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 5, 2023 Another spring means another season for Wantagh Warriors head coach Keith Sachs. He is entering his 30th season as head coach of the Warriors and looked back on last season. Despite finishing with a 16-5 record, they were eliminated from the playoffs by Calhoun. However, Sachs still considered 2023 a “solid season” for his program. “We had a solid season.” Sachs said. “We went to the semis. We won a couple playoff games, and we finished second in our league. Nassau A has always been some of th...
South Side In the Mix To Be Top Team In Nassau County
by Mike Merolle Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. South Side’s Sean Britt is the Axcess Baseball Player of the Game powered by @GCsports. He went 2-2 with 2 IB, an RBI double and a 3-run homer in the first that set the tone early for the Cyclones. pic.twitter.com/Bx5EpHUDGN — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 15, 2023 South Side finished another successful season last year with a record of 18-6, including the playoffs. Their season came to an end after a quarterfinals knockout by Garden City. Head coach Tom Smith looks to get across the finish line in his 11th year managing South Side. “There’s big shoes to fill,” said Smith. “For the last couple of years, I’ve had a [good] lineup. I graduated four All-County gu...
