Andy Smith
Garden City Eyes Playoff Run in 2023
by Andy Smith After finishing in second place in Conference A-1 with a 14-4 record, Garden City’s season was abruptly cut short. The Trojans had a surprising and unfortunate “2 and out” postseason run following losses to Seaford and Island Trees. Entering his 7th season as head coach and 25th season with Garden City, David Izzo discussed what the highlight of the season was. “The highlight of the season was a 3 game sweep of previously unbeaten MacArthur in the final series of the year.” Izzo played college baseball at the College of Saint Rose and his assistant coach Ray Chaputian played Division-I baseball at Towson. The Trojans will be without many graduates who have played major roles during their playing time. Leading this group is Pat Heber. Now pitching at Bentley, Heber struck o...
Wantagh Looking to Bounce Back After Down Season
by Andy Smith Wantagh had a down year by their standards The consistently successful program missed the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Head Coach Keith Sachs, who has been the head coach of the baseball team for over 28 years reflected on the 2022 campaign. “It was the perfect storm. A very tough league, a lot of tough losses. We learned a lot.” Sachs, a former collegiate athlete at Hofstra elaborated, “We do not have to be a championship caliber team to have a good experience. The kids still grew and enjoyed themselves. They still cried during the last game.” Wantagh finished the season on a high note defeating Clarke during the final game of the year. Wantagh will be without Andrew Bonanno, who played a major role throughout his time on the team. The recent graduate starte...
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...
Saturday College Recap (2/25) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
It was a very busy day for the local teams. Even some Division-III action got underway on Long Island. Here’s how it went down… Division-I: St. John’s 7, Tulane 3 E8 | 7-3 SJU Make it 12 Ks for Red Storm pitching tonight! @nickcirelli pic.twitter.com/zNSKCr0dCW — St. John’s Baseball (@StJohnsBaseball) February 26, 2023 The Johnnies won their second straight over Tulane led by 13 strikeout by the pitching staff. Joe Mascio started and struck out 10 over 4.1 innings, allowing 3 ER. He was lifted in favor of Tommy Finnegan who threw 1.1 innings of relief. The heavy lifting was done by Nick Cirelli who fired 3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit and 3 strikeouts. The offense was led by Paul Orbon, who went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Marty Higgins had two...
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, ...
Friday College Recap (2/24) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by Andy Smith It is week two of the college baseball season for all of the Division-I programs, and the Division-II programs are in action as well. Here’s how it went down… St. John’s WE HAVE THE LEAD! Paul Orbon does it AGAIN!! pic.twitter.com/SQKmcyB2g0 — St. John’s Baseball (@StJohnsBaseball) February 25, 2023 The Johnnies overcame a late 5-3 deficit on the road at Tulane and came away with an impressive 6-5 comeback. Aaron Mann, who was a triple shy of the cycle, got the Johnnies going offensively with a 2-R HR in the fourth inning to give them a 2-1 lead. The lead did not last long as Tulane tied it up against Fauci in the home half of the fourth. Catcher Brennan Lambert gave Tulance a 4-2 lead with a 2-R double in the fifth. St. John’s inched closer on a...
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 ...
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...
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...
Young, Loaded Stony Brook Prep Team Ready to Take Major Leap
by Andy Smith Jordan Serrano of the Islip Owls put this ball into orbit! He crushes a 3 run home run over the high wall in left field to make it 3-0 Owls in the bottom of the 1st. pic.twitter.com/WnedKQSAXu — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 15, 2022 After beginning the 2022 season 1-12, Stony Brook School was struggling to find their way. With a young team, and a first year head coach, the growing pains were there At the midpoint of the season the culture change finally began to take shape. The young team came together and won 14 out of their last 16 including defeating Vanderbilt-commit Thomas White, 2-0, with Johan Franco firing a complete game 3-hit shutout. Following this amazing stretch, the Bears punched their ticket to the NYSAIS Tournament and then earned their sp...
Saturday College Recap (2/18) Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by Andy Smith It was day 2 of the college baseball season, and although the local Division-I programs have gotten off to slow starts, it was the reigning ECC Champs that provided the bright spots for Long Island baseball. Here’s how it went down… Division-I: STONY BROOK It was another rough day for Stony Brook as they dropped the second game of the series against California State Northridge by a score of 14-4. The Seawolves could not keep up with the potent Matadors offense who jumped out to a five run lead in the first inning. The Matadors registered 17 total hits and two home runs. Despite the loss, first baseman Brett Paulsen was productive at the plate once again, this time with an RBI double. Senior Brandon Lashley was dominant in relief, throwing a scoreless 3.1 inni...
