2025 Season Previews
Oyster Bay Hopeful to Return to the Top
Final (Game 1): Oyster Bay 9, East Rockaway 8 WP: Chase Lordi (4.2 IP in relief, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 Ks) Alex Karpavicius: 3-4, 3 RBIs pic.twitter.com/CXdoK8nvsp — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 15, 2024 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman After a lengthy stint as an assistant coach, Jeff Schiereck has seen both sides of the coaching spectrum. Now in his ninth season in charge of the Oyster Bay Baymen, Schiereck has created a consistent winning culture in Oyster Bay, and his 2024 season proved just that. “We went 14-1 in the league last year.” Schiereck said. “We ended up making it to the County Finals, but unfortunately we lost there. It was a good team. We had some very good senior leadership and a lot of young guys ...
Manhasset Enters 2025 With High Hopes Following Promising Season
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Tucker Terranova The 2024 edition of the Manhasset High School baseball program served as a stepping stone in the right direction. In his second year as head coach, Anthony Serrapica led the Indians back to the Class AA postseason as the seventh seed. The team defeated Calhoun, 1-0, in the first round before falling to second-seeded Bellmore-JFK in the quarterfinals. After coaching one of the youngest teams in the county during his first two seasons, Serrapica now has an upperclassmen-heavy roster with significant postseason experience—an ideal scenario for any coach. The Indians have embraced a gritty underdog mentality and intend to maintain that mindset in 2025. Manhasset RHP Trey Zaffiro fired a...
Shoreham-Wading River Ready to Compete in Loaded League VI
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Tucker Terranova When one examines the landscape of Suffolk County baseball, the history of the Shoreham-Wading River baseball program is impossible to ignore. The Wildcats have long been one of the most successful programs on Long Island, securing 13 league titles and eight Suffolk County titles throughout their storied history. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement in the program’s history is the 37-year playoff streak, where they earned a postseason bid every year from 1986 to 2022. After an uncharacteristic season in 2023, finishing 6-14 and missing the postseason, Shoreham-Wading River bounced back in 2024, posting an impressive 17-6 record, a performance much more indicative of the program’s...
Bellport Looking to Make Headway After Difficult 2024 Season
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas The Bellport Clippers went 10-10 in 2023, leading many to believe that they would begin to take the next step with a young roster in 2024. However, things went completely sideways for head coach Joe Murphy, as the Clippers went just 1-19 in a difficult year for the program. Bellport did not have any seniors last year and did not field a JV roster for the second time in three years. “The enrollment in our program has been down for several years,” Murphy said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “We have a lack of numbers so that definitely puts us behind the eight ball. Our goal last year was to forget about wins and losses. We wanted to play hard and try to compete in every single ...
Longwood Enters 2025 With Heavy Hearts
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Tucker Terranova Longwood has been a model of consistency under head coach Ryan McSherry, now entering his 10th season at the helm. Since taking over in 2016, he has built one of Suffolk County’s premier programs, consistently knocking on the door of a championship. His expectation for this season is clear: “The goal is to win a Suffolk County Championship.” McSherry’s confidence stems not just from talent but from the culture Longwood has built. This group has played together since elementary school, developing side-by-side and fostering a program built on family. That family faced a tragic test this offseason. Nolan Horn, a member of the Longwood baseball program, passed away last December, adding...
Friends Academy Ready to Make a Statement in 2025
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Adrianna Armani After a challenging 2024 campaign, Friends Academy is set to take the field with renewed energy and a deeper roster under second-year head coach Nick Attardi. With key players returning and new talent emerging, the Quakers are aiming to turn last season’s struggles into a playoff push in Class B. Reflecting on his first year at Friends Academy, Coach Attardi acknowledged the ups-and-downs but emphasized the team’s love for the game. “We had some positives and negatives throughout the season, but we have a great group of kids who love the game and want to learn. Last year was a big stepping stone for what’s in store this year,” he said. The Quakers finished with just two...
Smithtown West Poised for Playoff Run
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Joe Bello Al Nucci is entering his 20th year as head coach of the Smithtown West Bulls. After winning their league for the first time since 2016 last spring, they will look to build upon that and have another great season in 2025. “We competed in every game and played very consistent and fundamentally sound baseball from March to May.” Nucci said. “We had major contributions from a wide variety of players on the pitcher’s mound, in the batters box, on the base paths, and defensively in the field. The playoffs didn’t go according to plan, as we lost to a Comsewogue team in game one, who we swept earlier in the season, which put us in the losers’ bracket. We were then able to beat a very s...
‘Unfinished Business’ for the Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Top 4: Bayport-Blue Point has broken through with 5 runs via 2-R single by Tyler McKillop and a 3-R shot by Nick Karafantis pic.twitter.com/Msbcv8WFFm — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 29, 2024 When you bring a new head coach to your program, it’s hard to expect an immediate impact. Few could have expected the new head coach of the Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms, Victor Manzella, to have the remarkable success he had in his first season in charge, leading his team to a 15-3 record. “Last season went great.” Manzella said. “We were League VII Champs and Suffolk County runner-ups. When I was in West Babylon, I beat Blue Point in the Suffolk County Championship. But coming her...
Plainedge Geared Up For Another Deep Postseason Run
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Joe Bello FINAL (7 innings): Plainedge 1, MacArthur 0 WP: Matt Rosenberg – 5.2 IP, 7 K LP: Tyler Bonsignore – 6 IP, 12 K pic.twitter.com/mAAQRuN17b — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 1, 2024 Colin Fratrik is getting ready to enter his 13th season as the head coach at Plainedge High School. After a solid 2024 season, the Red Devils are ready to make some noise in 2025. “Looking back on our season, I thought that we had a good season.” Fratrik said. “We were extremely competitive throughout the season, finishing in 2nd place in our conference, and lost in the semi’s to a really good Wantagh team. We felt like we had chances to win that game 3, but didn’t make enough p...
Young & Talented Core Should Bring Success to Riverhead
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Joe Bello The Riverhead Blue Waves are looking to improve from last season as we quickly approach the 2025 season. Kevin Kerman is entering his 3rd year at the helm of the Riverhead baseball program, and is excited for what this season has to offer for the Blue Waves. The Blue Waves finished with a record of 4-16 last year in a tough League 1. “Obviously not the result we wanted but we are still very much in a retool mode.” Kerman said. “We saw improvement from the year prior and got varsity experience for a lot of our younger guys. At some points of last year we had an 8th grader and 3 freshmen in the lineup. We are looking for those guys to take a nice step forward this year.” A key piece of the t...
Hills West Looks to Return to the Postseason After Missing by One Game
LeGuernic with his eighth strikeout in the fourth inning pic.twitter.com/4oGJ1moZUO — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2023 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman When you have been a head coach as long as Tom Miglozzi, who has been at the helm for the Hills West Colts for the last 31 years, you see the ebbs and flows of high school baseball. Unfortunately for Hills West, the 2024 season was a down year for the program, falling just one game short of their goal of making the playoffs. This came a year after they won 14 games including two in the playoffs. Last year’s Colts team featured seven seniors, three of which are playing baseball at the college level, including Arthur Green, who is pitching at Molloy...
Deer Park Looks to Rebound With Large Returning Class
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Deer Park 5 Bellport 0 Brian Ugalde threw a 2 hit complete game shutout striking out 12. He was also 2-2 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 6, 2024 After missing the playoffs by a game in the midst of an 8-10 season, the Deer Park Falcons are bringing back a large chunk of their roster as they hope to improve in 2025. Head coach Ryan Argenziano expects nine players from that roster to return, creating a much more experienced core at the forefront. Of the nine returners, the Falcons are returning six seniors that Argenziano expects to lead the way. “We’ll have some younger guys but it’s really going to be those six seniors that we rely on,” Arg...
