Andy Smith
Riverhead Looks to Take the Next Step with First Year Head Coach
by Andy Smith The Riverhead Blue Waves finished the 2022 season with an 8-10 record and missed the playoffs by just one game. Entering his first season as the head skipper, Kevin Kerman looks to carry on the legacy of Rob Maccone. Kerman explained, “I’d like to start by thanking Rob Maccone for his almost 20 years of being at the helm of Riverhead Baseball.” Kerman first began his coaching career as a varsity assistant with Floyd. Maccone then brought Kerman into the middle school catching staff in March of 2020, when Kerman was hired as a physical education teacher at Riverhead. The new head coach may be familiar to fans of Dowling College. The infielder was a member of the team from 2009-2013 under Tom Caputo. During this time, Dowling captured two Conference Championships and two Ea...
Locust Valley Ready to Build off County Championship Appearance
by Andy Smith Locust Valley 3, Oyster Bay 2 WP: Matt Gallo (5 IP, 3 H, 5 Ks) S: Jack Baker Christian Corey: 2 RBIs Locust Valley will face Wheatley in the Nassau B Finals in a best of 3 series beginning on Monday at SUNY Farmingdale pic.twitter.com/SFVSq5cBfr — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 21, 2022 The Locust Valley Falcons are coming off a strong year in 2022. The Falcons finished with twelve wins and made a deep playoff run. However, their season was ultimately ended by Wheatley in the County Championship. Locust Valley will be entering 2023 with a new skipper. Brian LoRusso, a former college baseball player at SUNY New Paltz and college coach in Maryland, looks to continue the success of the Locust Valley program. The Falcons are starting their campaign without some key ...
South Side Enters 2023 with Strong Senior Core and High Expectations
by Andy Smith Final: South Side 13, Manhasset 1 WP: TJ Maher Maher also hit a grand slam Game 3 tomorrow at Manhasset pic.twitter.com/qea8TMnybU — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 17, 2021 South Side had a very successful 2022 – which followed up winning the County Championship in 2021. The Cyclones finished with an outstanding 16-2 record, but their playoff run did not go as planned. They suffered a couple of big injuries that made them vulnerable, and it unfortunately ended their season. Entering his eleventh season as the head coach, Tom Smith reflected on how the campaign ended. “We were playing teams in our bracket in the round robin who were in our conference. The more you see a team the easier it is to find ways to beat them especially without key players.” Two rece...
Saturday College Recap (3/11) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by Andy Smith With the dismal weather that hit Long Island yesterday, it’s amazing that some teams were able to get their games in. Fortunately, many of the teams were already way, thus unaffected by cold, windy and rainy conditions. Here’s how it went down… Division-I: Game 1: Hofstra, 7, Delaware, 18 Game 2: Hofstra 6, Delaware, 3 Catcher Kevin Bruggeman got the Pride on the board in the opening frame with an RBI double. Delaware responded with a six spot in the bottom half of the first inning. The Blue Hens’ scoring was highlighted by three RBI doubles, one each by left fielder Andrew Amato, center fielder Jake Dunion, and right fielder Brett Lesher. Delaware piled on seven more runs in the fourth. Home runs by designated hitter Bryce Greenly, third baseman Joey Lo...
Lynbrook Takes Field in 2023 Under First Year HC Jon Zaccaro
by Andy Smith Lynbrook took some steps in 2022. Newly appointed head coach Jon Zaccaro, who served as the assistant coach for six years under Al Marrazzo reflected on last season and what improvements were made. “Last year was tough, but we felt we were finally bouncing back from losing one of our best teams we have had in years from the canceled COVID season.” The Owls were “in a very tough league and were in every series except one (South Side).” Lynbrook finished with a 4-15 record but four of these losses were just by one run. “We had a great group of seniors that came to play hard every day and grew more confident against the toughest competition. We did not make the playoffs, but we also didn’t lay down for anyone.” The Owls will be without a few strong players who had a...
Smithtown West Poised for Success following Conference Finals Appearance
by Andy Smith Final: Smithtown West 2, Centereach 0 WP: Ryan Conk (CG shutout) Dom Crema sac fly and DiBlanda RBI single Smithtown West will play Smithtown East in the Conference II Finals tomorrow pic.twitter.com/BwVAWgWL4O — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2022 The Smithtown West Bulls had a very successful season last year. 18th year head coach Al Nucci reflected on the 2022 campaign. “We had a very nice start beginning the year with a 9-3 record. We then went into a funk losing five of our next six games. That tough stretch forced us to soul search and refocus. Our team had to show that it could deal with the adversity of a very rough two week stretch. We answered the bell and won our last two league games to finish 12-8 overall and 12 and 6 in league play. We earned a 5 ...
Friday College Recap (3/10) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by Andy Smith We enter Week 4 of the NCAA College Baseball season and the local Div-I teams are starting to get their legs underneath them. The Division-II teams and some D-III teams are on their Spring Break trips down south enjoying the beautiful weather and a handful of games. Here’s how yesterday’s action went down. As always, thank you to Orlin & Cohen for sponsoring this weekly segment Division-I: St. John’s 5, University of Albany 9 Final: Albany 9, St. John’s 5 Freshman Dylan Banner earned the 6 out save with 3 strikeouts pic.twitter.com/l8i0hIpkZm — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 10, 2023 Both offenses exploded in the opening frame. Albany tallied three runs in the first inning, off two RBI doubles by right fielder Dan Tauken and catcher Chris Fisher. T...
Mepham Looks to Return to Postseason
by Andy Smith Mepham 6 Clarke 5 WP: Leo Asta (CG) Bryce Bowers: 2-3 BB, Go ahead 3 run HR in top 7 Leo Asta: 3-4, 2 runs Trey O’Neill: 2-4, 1 run pic.twitter.com/y9yNymW7a2 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2022 Mepham had another successful regular season, and carried their momentum into the playoffs. The Pirates had a playoff run that was ultimately cut short by Clarke. They finished the regular season with a 10-8 record. Fifth year head coach Eric Passman reflected on the lessons that were learned. “They hit the ball in places that got to us. We just could not make the plays we had to make.” A major part of the team’s success over the past few years have been Tyler O’Neill and Billy Kender. Both O’Neill and Kender are now sophomores at Bucknell University. O’Neill was a dom...
Valley Stream North Looking to Bounce Back After Tough 2022
by Andy Smith 2022 did not go as planned for Valley Stream North. The Spartans had a difficult season, winning only five games in a challenging league and wound up missing the playoffs for only the second time in the past 15 years. Entering his 13th season as the head coach, Phil Sanfilippo reflected on the challenges that were faced and what lessons were learned. “We had victories over most teams in the league, including league champion South Side. However, most weeks we couldn’t get over the hump for the second win to take the series. We lost a junior starting pitcher for the season prior to league play, and we were young at some key spots, with two sophomores in the starting rotation and two more at SS and 3B. The starting pitching was inconsistent, as was the lineup’s ability to pu...
Saturday College Recap (3/4) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by Andy Smith There was plenty of action around the diamond on Saturday as most of the local programs were in action ! Here’s how it went down…. Division-I: Stony Brook 5, University of North Carolina 7 Series = won ✅ Back for the sweep tomorrow at 1 pm! pic.twitter.com/uc5Pkp5TX1 — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) March 4, 2023 The Tar Heels came out hot and jumped on Stony Brook pitches early. Third baseman Mac Horvath has been crushing the ball this season, and launched a solo blast in the first inning. UNC added to their lead in the third inning off an RBI single by designated hitter Alberto Osuna, doubling their lead. The Seawolves got on the board in the fourth inning via a sacrifice fly by second baseman Johnny Pilla. The Tar Heels responded right back by launching ...
Friday College Recap (3/3) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by Andy Smith It has not been a memorable start to the season for the local Division-I programs although it certainly was a great week for a couple of the Division-II and III schools. Here’s how the action on Friday went down. Division-I: Mac Horvath 💣 Walk-off Edition 😎#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/75z2lbQd4o — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) March 3, 2023 Stony Brook 2, University of North Carolina 3 UNC opened the scoring in the fourth inning off an RBI single by shortstop Colby Wilkerson. Stony Brook evened the score off a solo home run by left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring in the sixth inning. Jared Bellissimo delivered a strong start by holding the Tar Heels to just one run through five innings and struck out five batters along the way. UNC got back on top in the seventh inning with ...
Ward Melville Ready to Continue Winning Tradition
by Andy Smith The captain delivers! Tom Ribaudo crushes a 3-R HR to give Ward Melville a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth pic.twitter.com/llOyO2d6th — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 5, 2022 Ward Melville is coming off another successful season. The Patriots finished with a record of 16-9 and qualified for the playoffs once again. The Patriots season came to an end after losing to Longwood in the Long Island Class AA Semifinals. Head Coach Lou Petrucci reflected on what lessons were learned during the season. “We learned how to battle through adversity and the importance of concentrating on every pitch.” Petrucci is entering his 17th season as the head coach of the Patriots. Petrucci, a native of Connecticut, played college baseball before taking on the responsibilities of ...
