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LIU Post Drops Home Opener 7-2 to AIC
by Vinny Messana It was not the type of home opener that the LIU Post Pioneers had in mind. With the reigning ECC Pitcher of the Week, Jake DeCarli, on the hill, the Pioneers were defeated 7-2 by American International College. DeCarli struggled out of the gate, allowing two first inning runs and another in the third and fourth innings. He went 4.0 IP, allowed seven hits, four runs (three ER) with three strikeouts. “I think he’s got to go back to what he was doing last year,” said Head Coach Mike Gaffney. “Where he was pitching instead of trying to overpower, because he’s not that guy–he’s not an overpowering guy. He’s gonna start it down the middle and let it dance,” he added. The bright spot was redshirt freshman Robert Paccione comin...
Facing a Scary Diagnosis, Brennan Strovink Re-Invents Himself
(Photo Credit: Marison Topinio) by Vinny Messana If there’s an adjective to properly describe the level of commitment that Brennan Strovink has towards the game of baseball, I haven’t heard it yet. It would’ve been understandable if he would’ve walked away from the game of baseball after fracturing the L5 Vertebrae in his spine–for the first time–prior to his senior year at Rocky Point HS; a serious injury that required surgery immediately when doctors feared the worst for him. For Brennan, that wasn’t a consideration even when he described the pain as “fire running down my legs”. He did, unfortunately, have no choice but to miss the wrestling season. He was ranked No. 2 in the state pre-season, but he knew that it was not possible to b...
Deilyn Guzman Smacks Five Hits, Molloy Wins 21-9 Over Lynn
The past two games, the Molloy Lions have been putting up offensive numbers similar to the Detroit Lions. After today’s 21-9 rout of Lynn University, they have scored 38 runs in two games. “The players put the work in on a continual basis with Coach Holden and stick with the approach and game plan from game to game,” said Head Coach Joe Fucarino. They got out to a 7-0 lead in the first innings, thanks in large part to the wildness of Alejandro Caballero, who walked four batters with the bases loaded. He also threw a wild pitch to bring in a run and allowed an RBI single to Deilyn Guzman (5-for-6, 4 runs scored). Lynn actually tied up the game in the second inning off Kevin Hiss and Sean Gordon. The Lions broke it open with a six-run fourth inning. Another bases loaded wal...
What’s On Tap for This Week
by BOTI Staff *underline denotes we will have game coverage Division-I: Stony Brook will host Iona on Tuesday at 3pm. They will then travel to UMBC for a three-game weekend series beginning with a DH on Saturday and a single game on Sunday at 12pm. Hofstra will travel to Farleigh Dickinson tomorrow for a 3pm game, host Fordham on Wednesday at 3pm and then travel to Ohio State for a three-game set this weekend. They will play single games on Friday at 5pm, Saturday at 3pm and sunday at 1pm. NYIT will travel to UMass-Lowell to play a three-game set this weekend. They will play a DH on Saturday at 12pm and a single game on Sunday at 1pm. Division-II: Molloy will close out their Florida trip with a 3pm game against Lynn University today and an 11am game tomorrow morning against Caldwell. This ...
Dowling’s Bats Come Alive, Sweep New Haven
by Danny Gatta Dowling got back on track with a DH sweep of New Haven on Sunday by the scores of 3-2 and 8-1. Dennis Buckstein got the start for the Golden Lions, while New Haven sent out East Islip grad David Palmer. The Chargers got on the board first in the top of the second inning. After a Jack Zagaja single, Joe Caico launched an RBI double over the head of the right fielder to give New Haven a 1-0 lead. The Golden Lions would answer in the third. Chris Russo started things off with a one out single to right. Timmy Going hit into a fielder’s choice, putting him on first and Russo out at second. Rob Costanzo lined a double down the first base line, scoring Going from first. Vinny Orlando followed with a single up the middle, scoring from second and putting Dowling up 2-1. Buckstein and...
March 13 Recap
We had our reporter Danny Gatta on the scene for the Dowling-New Haven double header at Golden Lions’ Field. Here’s the rest of the day’s recap… Division-I: Stony Brook was defeated 6-1 by Fordham, thwarting their hopes of a three-win weekend. They led 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth but the Rams put up a six-spot to take a command lead. Tyler Honahan was tagged with his second loss of the season, allowing five ER over 3.1 IP. Aaron Pinto came on in relief and was stellar–throwing 4.2 shutout innings with eight Ks against one walk. The bright spots was Toby Handley continuing his hot hitting, smacking three more hits in four at bats. Andruw Gazzola had two hits and Dylan Resk had two hits and drove in a run. They will host Iona on Tuesday. NYIT defeate...
March 12 Recap
It was a busy day on the island with 8 of the 12 local teams in action. Here’s a quick rundown if you missed any of the action… Division-I: Stony Brook defeated Villanova by the score of 9-3. Dylan Resk had two hits and drove in two runs for the Sea Wolves. David Real had two hits as well, driving in one run. In addition to their eight hits, they also drew seven walks in the game. Starter Cameron Stone went 4.1 innings, allowing three ER but not qualifying for the win. Chad Lee came in relief and threw three shutout innings, despite allowing five hits and striking out one. With the victory, the Sea Wolves improve to 5-7 and will look to inch closer to .500 tomorrow when they travel to Fordham. Hofstra was swept in their DH by Longwood down in Virginia. In Game 1, Alec Eisenberg...
Josh Outsen Fires Second Career No-Hitter in DH Sweep of Yeshiva
As Tim Lincecum is to the San Diego Padres, Josh Outsen is to the Yeshiva Macabees. St. Joseph’s junior right-handed pitcher fired his second no-hitter against Yeshiva in as many years. Last year’s was a perfect game. This game was a 16-0 shutout, in which he struck out nine batters and walked two. This followed a 15-0 shutout, Nick Girardi struck out 10 batters over four innings and the Macabees were held to one hit. The Golden Eagles offense compiled 25 hits on the day. Dennis McAllister had three of those in Game Two with three runs scored. Joseph Lynn and Anthony Schuler also had two hits in the second game. Matthew Burnett had three hits and four RBI in Game One. Nick Girardi and Joseph Calabrese had two hits apiece as well. With the two victories, the Golden Eagles improv...
Harborfields Fueled by Anguish of Last Year’s One-Run Losses
by Eric Moskowitz Harborfields is coming off a rough five-win season in 2015. They are confident, however, that this year will be much different. Our reporter Eric had a chance to speak with Head Coach Casey Sturm, and here’s what he had to say… How did you feel last year went? Last year things didn’t go the way we envisioned. We ran into a few injuries and I think inexperience caught up with us a little bit. We finished 5-15 with 8 of those losses being 2 runs or less, including 3 games against Comsewogue who went on to win the League VI crown. Now listen, to me, good teams win close games and we didn’t do that, so we were exactly what our record said we were. With that said, I think that record, and those close losses, have fueled a fire in the program as a whole....
Timely Hitting, Strong Outing by Bret Clarke Helps Stony Brook to 7-3 Victory
by Vinny Messana There’s a reason they regularly work on the mundane task of base running. It can be the difference in ballgames, and today it set the tone early on. Leadoff man Toby Handley smacked a single to right center, advanced two bases on a wild pitch and came around to score on an RBI single by first baseman Andruw Gazzola. The Sea Wolves never looked back, and defeated St. Peter’s 7-3. “That’s what you clearly want out of your leadoff guy,” said Head Coach Matt Senk. “Somebody that’s going to be a catalyst for you and he was that today. He came back from 0-2 count to start the game, ran the bases well. We need more of that from Toby. He’s actually coming off a 4-for-4 game down in Elon. Toby is going to be important for us,” ...
MacArthur Enters 2016 Looking to Protect the Nassau County Crown
by Vinny Messana When the conversations turns to Nassau County baseball powerhouses, the conversation usually ends with MacArthur baseball. Head Coach Steve Costello, now in his 23rd year at the helm, has coached the generals to 19 League Championships, three Nassau County titles, two Long Island Championships and one New York State championship in 1994 (29-0). They are coming off another tremendous season in which they defeated Oceanside to win the county championship. They ultimately lost to Connetquot in the LIC by the score of 3-2. “It was not an off-the-charts talented team, but they just fit together well,” said Costello. He noted that the team had an exceptional ability to run the bases and that was evident by being successful on 90 of 97 stolen base attempt. They will h...
Dave Brehm’s Walk-Off Single Caps Ninth Inning Comeback
The Pioneers of LIU Post capped a successful Florida trip with a dramatic 8-7 victory over Bloomfield College. Freshman Dave Brehm beat out an infield single between shortstop and third base for the winning run, which was their fourth win in five games in Florida. Coach Gaffney sent freshman James Varela to the hill, who had gotten off to a very strong start to his career. He struggled today, however, allowing four ER in five innings and left with the Pioneers trailing 5-2. Reliever Dillon Burke allowed two runs to score in the seventh to increase the deficit to 7-3. At that point, it appeared unlikely they would head home on a positive note. The offense went to work in the eighth inning, though, beginning with an RBI double by first baseman David Groeneveld to score Joe Spitaleri. Kyle Fa...
