Archive
Damien Fanduiz Flirts With No-No, Bay Shore Wins 6-3 Over Northport
by Vinny Messana With first place on the line, junior Damien Fanduiz went out and flirted with a no-no. Not that he even realized it, though. “I didn’t even know I had a no-hitter until, like, the sixth inning,” said Fanduiz, who helped his Bay Shore Marauders to a crucial 6-3 victory over rival Northport. “I went out there in the seventh and tried to do my best and put my team in position to win.” He certainly did that. While he did not complete the no-hitter–Nick Curcio lined a single to left field with no out in the seventh–he did strike out nine batters and allow two ER over 6+ innings. At one point, he fanned five of seven batters and four in a row. The offense got on the board right away off Northport’s starter Nicholas Palmerini. Kevin...
John Marti’s Two-Run Double, Mike Ruggerio’s Arm Leads Smithtown East over West
by Vinny Messana Winning against your crosstown school is always a point of pride. So, when Smithtown West won the first two games of the series, it was crucial Smithtown East responded with a victory. That’s just what they did, coming away with a 5-0 shutout. Lafayette-bound John Marti smacked a big two-run double in the bottom of the fourth and their junior pitcher, Mike Ruggerio, fired 5.2 shutout innings to secure his second win of the season. “It was a huge mental victory for us,” said Marti. “He (Nicholas Trabacchi) came out with some good stuff the first time we saw him and we were happy to learn from our mistakes. We still have to beat West one more time to tie the series but as of right now, we’re pumped,” he said. East came out with a game plan...
What’s On Tap for This Week
by BOTI Staff Last week was a wild and crazy one for the local teams. Lots of shake ups in the Power Rankings, but still plenty of ball to play. Here’s what’s on tap for the college teams this week: Division-I: Stony Brook will travel to New Rochelle on Tuesday to take on the Gaels of Iona. They are struggling and sit at 7-25. This weekend they will face a much greater challenge when they play a three-game set against Bryant University, who is currently 24-7. Friday will be 3pm, Saturday and Sunday will begin at 1pm. Hofstra will look to stay hot this week. They have a Wednesday match up at LIU-Brooklyn, who enters with a 10-21 record. This weekend, they will travel to North Carolina to face a CAA for in Elon University. They will play on Friday at 6:30pm, Saturday at 4pm and S...
Power Rankings Volume 5
by Vinny Messana This week there is a changing of the guards at the top of the rankings. After occupying the top spot in the previous four Power Rankings, the Molloy Lions have been unseated by a familiar Long Island powerhouse. 1.Stony Brook (Record 17-14, Stock UP) As I’ve mentioned the past couple weeks, April has been their best month over the past couple years. It seems like Coach Senk figures out the ingredients and tests his players during February and March and by April they have it figured out. They are 11-1 at home, and just won two of three from UMass-Lowell. Earlier in the year, the offense was being carried by Toby Handley and Andruw Gazzola, but recently Jack Parenty, Dylan Resk and David Real have joined the party. Chad Lee has been superb–he has emerged as the ...
Molloy Loses Rubber Game Against Queens in Weekend Series
By Nakeem Grant Calvin Luk went the distance as he and Queens College took down their conference rivals, Molloy, by a score of 5-1. Luk struck out six batters, allowed no walks and gave up just one run in today’s outing. He showed great control of his fastball and curveball which turned out to be a winning recipe against the top-hitting team in the East Coast Conference. Queens had some great at-bats against Molloy’s starter, Seth Noreman. Four of their seven hits were for extra bases, highlighted by Matt Dawkins’ solo home run in the top of the third. Joseph Pidoto ignited the offense for Queens in the first inning with a two-run double to deep left. Angelo Navetta, the top-hitter in the East Coast Conference went hitless in his three at-bats against Luk. As for the rest of Molloy’s lineu...
Farmingdale Wins Two Pitcher’s Duels, Sweeps Rival Old Westbury
by Vinny Messana After starting the season 0-6, many had written off the 2016 season as a rebuilding year for the Farmingdale State Rams. Just don’t tell that to the players who have won 9 of 11 and just finished off a well-earned series sweep of rival Old Westbury. It was an afternoon of tremendous pitching performances, but it was the youthful Rams who came out on top both games. In Game One, the Old Westbury Panthers took an early 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Zeigen. The Rams tied it up in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Brandon Ernest. After that, Rams’ starting pitcher, Matt Seelinger settled down and dominated. He began mowing throw the Panthers’ lineup allowing only six hits, walking two and striking out nine. Seelinger was pumping high 80s fast...
AIC Takes the Series Over Adelphi in a Wild One
by Vinny Amodeo Offense beat offense in today’s contest as American International College won the scoring battle against Adelphi in a 10-7 victory this afternoon. The scoring, although, was started by the Panthers in the first as they shook up any confidence that starting pitcher Jason Coscio had coming into this game, or though it seemed. The bottom half of the first inning featured five straight hits from the two through six batters in Adelphi’s lineup, leading to four runs in the inning. The inning was highlighted by a two-RBI triple from senior Alex Zykoff that snuck into the right center gap. AIC didn’t wait long to answer back as the designated hitter, Karl Kapinos, hit a sky-high home run that cleared the right field fence by a long shot. This set the tone for a productive day at th...
Stony Brook Splits Double Header With UMass Lowell
by Danny Gatta On Saturday afternoon, Stony Brook and UMass Lowell got together for an in-conference double header. UMass Lowell took game one 2-1, while the Seawolves dominated game two with a score of 5-0. Not much offense materialized in the first game, as Stony Brook’s Chad Lee and UMass Lowell’s Andrew Ryan both provided strong pitching performances. Lee ran into some trouble in the fourth. An error followed by a single and a walk loaded the bases. Mark Tumosa delivered an RBI infield single to give his team a 1-0 lead. The Seawolves answered in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Jack Parenty and Dylan Resk put runners on the corners. Casey Baker lined a single to shallow center to score the tying run. Andrew Ryan was excellent for the River Hawks. He finished the day allowing one r...
John Rooney Tosses Gem, Ryan Karl’s Bat Lead Hofstra to 3-1 Win
by Vinny Amodeo After a day of walk-off heroics from David Leiderman, Ryan Karl took the show in today’s match-up driving in all three runs in a 3-1 victory over the 15th ranked team in the nation, the College of Charleston. Two doubles flew off the bat of Karl, with one hitting off the top of the right field fence after hanging in the air for virtually the length of that half of the inning. David Leiderman and Kevin O’Connor both added to the offense, as they were perfect at the plate going 2-for-2 and 3-for-3 respectively. Vito Friscia was also the beneficiary of Karl’s two doubles scoring on both of them. “I think more than anything it was just the team believing that they had the talent and the ability to beat another team,” said head coach John Russo. “We played well, we pitched well,...
David Leiderman’s Walk-Off Home Run Gives Hofstra Dramatic Comeback Win
by Vinny Messana Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the 11th, the Hofstra Pride knew they needed a comeback against a 21-win Charleston team if they had any hopes staying in the CAA race. Brad Witkowski drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch and Nick Bottari reached on a fielder’s choice to bring up David Leiderman. The redshirt junior, who won the 2012 Diamond Award, smacked a walk-off home run–his fourth HR of the season–to score Bottari and send the Pride into a frenzy. Freshman Andrew Mundy, who threw two innings of relief, recorded his first college win. “It felt great to be able to screw up in the top of that inning and come out with the win,” said Mundy. “It just proves the determination of my team to get a win and the need to turn this season around. Overal...
Introducing the No. 9 Prospect on Long Island
(Photo Credit: Natalia Revere) by Vinny Messana When you get a scholarship offer from one of the most respected baseball schools in the northeast based on one inning of relief in a summer tournament, you’re doing something right. It was the summer of ’14 and Fordham‘s Head Coach, Kevin Leighton, saw enough in Oceanside‘s sophomore Kyle Martin to pursue him and make him a focal point of his team’s future. It’s hard to question his decision. Martin was coming off an All-State selection, having led his Oceanside Sailor’s to the county championship, where they were looking for their first title since 2004. They ultimately lost to Massapequa, but that was to no fault of the 6’3″ SS/P. Martin was more than happy to commit to the prestigious u...
Kyle Martin Flashes His Brilliance in 15-K Shutout of Massapequa
by Vinny Messana It was the type of performance that gets people talking about you. Oceanside‘s ace, Kyle Martin–who will be headed to Fordham in the fall, put together a legendary pitching performance in a game against a perennial powerhouse in Massapequa. The sailors won 1-0 in eight innings. “I was preparing for this game all day,” he said. “I have off the last four periods of my school day so I went home and got focused,” he said. He focused enough to pitch a complete game (eighth innings) with 15 strikeouts, allowing only three hits and walking three batters. The biggest test was in the third inning when the Chiefs loaded the bases with 0 outs and the middle of the order due up in a 0-0 game. He beared down and struck out the next three batters usin...
