Archive
Despite Solid Performance, Adelphi Drops Twinbill to Franklin Pierce
By Vinny Amodeo Adelphi drops both ends of the double header to power house Franklin Pierce Game 1 Franklin Pierce made their way to Garden City in an attempt to pick up a few road wins against another team in the NE-10 and came out successful. Pierce took game one of the double header by a score of 4-0 on the back of senior pitcher Miles Sheehan. Sheehan threw eight scoreless innings, recording 11 strikeouts and surrendering just two walks. The Ravens scored all of their runs from the sixth inning on as Adelphi brought the heat from the bump on this cold and gloomy afternoon. Senior captain Jonathan Mulford didn’t disappoint as he gave up just two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings pitched for the Panthers. Mulford struck out nine and only walked two in his second start of the season. He made h...
Ron Bauer Flirts With No-Hitter, Molloy Wins 4-0
by Vinny Messana It’s no secret that Ron Bauer will be one of the lynch pin players for the Molloy Lions this season. If he pitches like this every time, they’ll be just fine. The junior flirted with a no-hitter, despite six walks, and was three outs away after coaxing a bases-loaded DP to end the eighth inning. The Lions came away with the 4-0 victory to improve to 5-3 on the young season. “I was just trying to challenge them, get them to put the ball in play and let my defense work because we have a very good infield and I gave them a chance to make a great play and help us get the win,” Bauer told our reporter Nakeem Grant after the game. The leadoff batter grounded one in the hole between SS and 3b but the play wasn’t able to be converted into an out. Neve...
Nassau Ready to Return to World Series
Nassau Community College has built up a strong reputation for being a perennial powerhouse in the ranks of JuCo baseball. They made their third trip in the past four seasons to the JuCo World Series in 2015 after a record of 18-11. As is always the case with the program, several of the starting sophomores are now playing elsewhere. Many of the players parlayed their success into playing Div-I or Div-II baseball. Outfielder Connor Powers is now playing at the University of Albany, LHP Matt O’Connor is playing at Adelphi University, RHP Danny Aguilo already has two victories for Old Westbury in the early going of the season. Fortunately, the team will be returning a handful of starters from last year. Catcher Nic Milata will be back after hitting .390 and being named tournament MVP of ...
Jericho Ready to Make Noise in 2016
by Vinny Messana When it comes to programs on the rise, one team to keep an eye out for is Jericho. One of the tell-tale signs of a program ready to make a step forward is a) how they ended the previous season and b) how many veteran seniors they have. They certainly fit the criteria. They graduated only four seniors, the most prominent of which was All-Conference Matt Caputo, who is now at St. John’s University. Ninth year Head Coach Dan O’Shea is very high on his crop of 14 seniors. Last season, after starting the season 1-5, they dug themselves quite a hole. Still, they rattled off an impressive run of seven wins in their next nine games. They fell one game shy of qualifying for a playoff berth, and that makes them a hungry program on the rise. “This group has played t...
Prime Infield Clinic Has a Big Turnout
By Vinny Messana Over the past 16 weeks, a bevy of kids between the ages of 9-17 have been coming down to LI Indoor Sports Zone in Ronkonkoma for Prime Infield Clinic held by Chris Sipp, Chris Phelan and Jon McGibbon. Sipp is a graduate of MacArthur HS and Stony Brook University (’07), where he finished just shy of 200 career hits. He was a part of the America East conference winning team in ’04. McGibbon, a 29th round draft pick out of Lindenhurst HS in 2010, had a solid collegiate career at Clemson University. He was a two-year captain for the Tigers and compiled a very solid .355 OBP over his four-year career. With Sipp’s background at Stony Brook, he’s incorporated many of the drills that are taught at the program by Head Coach Matt Senk...
Bellport Enters 2016 With a Wealth of Talent
by Vinny Messana If you could buy stock in high school baseball teams, your financial advisor would tell you to be all over Bellport. Coming off a 10-win season in which they started a bevy of underclassmen, they appear ready to make serious noise in, not just League V, but Suffolk County. Head Coach Bill Batewell, who has been coaching high school since 1970 and Bellport since 2008, is very high on his crop of 11 seniors. The ever-humble coach is not one to make bold proclamations. “We have a chance to do reasonably well,” said the man who has won 532 games and two Suffolk County titles. Among the impact seniors will be Michael Veit, a CF and pitcher, who will most likely hit third or fourth in the order and is somewhat of a physical specimen. The 6’1″ senior runs ...
Ward Melville Enters 2016 as the Hunted in League I Once Again
by Vinny Messana Coming off another League-I title in which they won 21 games and came within one win of a Suffolk County championship, the Ward Melville Patriots will have to defend their crown minus two integral parts of last year’s terrific rotation. One of which was a staple of the program for four seasons. “Joe Flynn is the type of player you can’t replace,” said Lou Petrucci, now in his 10th year at the helm. “He started from day one as a freshman, he won 15 games on the mound and he played 98 games for us,” he said. The Patriots record in those 98 games? 74-24. “As Anthony Frascogna said–‘Having a player like him is like having a coach on the field.’ We’re going to miss him but players like him pass on more than bats ...
Old Westbury Stuns Olivet With Five-Run Ninth to Win
by Vinny Messana Trailing 7-3 in the ninth inning, the Old Westbury Panthers mounted a furious rally and Mike Cardino capped the comeback with a bases-clearing walk-off double to win it 8-7. They faced deficits of 4-0 in the sixth, 5-1 in the seventh and 7-3 in the ninth, but had the resolve to chip away every time. Panthers starting pitcher Trey Pizzutello had a rough outing, allowing four ER on nine hits and two walks over 4.2 IP. Nick Schoen came in relief and fired 2.1 shutout innings to keep the Panthers in the game. That’s when their offense went to work. Kevin Lao smacked an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-1. Tommy Zeigen drove in Luis Sileno and J.J. Lindgren with a single to make it a 5-3 game. Justin Mize allowed three hits and walk without retiring a batter to increase ...
Young Hurlers of Smithtown East Faced With Tough Task
We are returning only four of last year's 149 total innings
Long Island Catching Development Camp is a Success
by Vinny Messana Dan Parisi, who was named to Baseball on the Island’s All-Long Island team this past season, has begun a camp for catchers called “Long Island Catching Development”, which was attended by some of the top local backstops. The first year was a success, in both the eyes of Parisi and his students. “Each player improved significantly,” he said. “They were there to get better and that’s exactly what they did,” he added. Current Dowling catchers Dwayne Page, Chris Russo and Michael Rizzitello helped to provide instruction and impart their wisdom on the young athletes. Mike Badala, a sophomore at West Islip was thrilled with his experience: Every time I came to the camp, I would walk out feeling like a much improved catcher. From th...
Calhoun Leaning Heavily on Talented Senior Rotation
by Vinny Messana Losing to MacArhur in the playoffs is nothing to be ashamed of. Many talented teams have had their title hopes dashed by the Generals in the past. The 2016 Calhoun team had a very successful campaign that ended with a 5-1 loss in the quarterfinals to MacArthur. Despite losing Luke Scoggins and cleanup hitter Joe Grossane, the team has much to be excited about in 2016. For starters, the team will be led by an all-senior pitching rotation. “The pitching staff will be the crux of the team,” said second year Head Coach Art Canestro. 6’4″ RHP Dylan Hughes will lead the rotation. “He underachieved as a junior,” said Canestro. “But he could be one of the best pitchers on the island. He had some lapses in location and command, but we expec...
Hauppauge Looks to Reload Without Fanti and Contreras
by Vinny Messana In many ways, 2015 was a banner year for Hauppauge. They easily ran through League V with 17 regular season wins in 18 games. Nick Fanti took Suffolk county by storm with a ridiculous year on the mound (7-1, 0.67 ERA in 52 IP) and at the plate (.541/.571/.689 27 RBI at the plate), that culminated in becoming the first player in school history to be awarded the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award. The team consisted of much more than him, though. P.J. Contreras won the Golden Glove Award for best defensive catcher and was named All-County for the second time. He is now leading New Haven in hitting through the first two weeks of the season. Those two players had a tremendous impact on the Hauppauge program during their high school careers. “On top of the fact that they were...
