Archive
Q & A With Tom Strazza
2014 Sachem North grad Tom Strazza, chose to play his college ball at Eastern University in Wayne, PA. He saw significant time as an infielder and pitcher during his freshman season in 2015. Our reporter David Moskowitz had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… What was the college recruitment/process like? What made you choose Eastern University? The college recruitment process was exciting and nerve racking at the same time. Playing in front of college coaches meant you had to always be on your game, which added a level of excitement to every game, but also a few extra butterflies. There was also a good amount of research that had to be done on my part, which many high-school athletes don’t always think about. I chose Eastern University after I had visited...
Freshman Tyler Ivey Stymies Hofstra, Aggies Complete Sweep with 5-0 Shutout
Playing amidst a steady mist all day, the Texas A&M Aggies completed a season opening three-game sweep over the Hofstra Pride with a 5-0 shutout in large part to freshman Tyler Ivey’s outstanding performance. “For him to do what he did–as a true freshmen and in front of 4,000 fans–and to control his emotions, and to throw strikes was nice to see,” said pre-season right fielder J.B. Moss, who played a pivotal role in the victory with an RBI double. Ivey fired six shutout innings, struck out six and allowed only two hits. He was totally in control of the game and aside from the fifth inning when he allowed a single to Teddy Cilis and walked Nick Bottari, he didn’t allow the Pride to muster much offense. The Aggies offense came from a...
Day 3 in Texas: What’s on Tap for February 21
Yesterday was a very rough day for Long Island teams. Division-I: Hofstra held an early 3-1 lead in College Station, but it did not last long. Hunter Melton smacked two home runs and Ronnie Gideon hit a grand slam to put an exclamation point on a 15-4 victory for the Aggies. The two teams will try and get at least 5 innings in today before the rain comes. Forecast is calling for a 50% beginning at game time. Bowie Matteson will be on the hill for the Pride as they try to escape Texas with their first victory of the season. Stony Brook was leading 4-0 with converted closer Cameron Stone on the hill and 6-3 in the seventh against Wofford but a six-run seventh inning against Chad Lee and Bret Clarke contributed to a 9-8 win by Wofford. They will be back in actio...
Hunter Melton’s Two HR, Six RBI Leads Aggies in 15-4 Rout of Hofstra
College Station, TX-The Texas A & M Aggies put on offensive fireworks today at Blue Bell Park. They smacked three home runs, including two by cleanup hitter Hunter Melton (six RBI) and a fifth inning grand slam by Ronnie Gideon to break the game open at 11-3. They tacked on one run in the sixth and three in the seventh inning for good measure, and that was more than enough to ensure their second win is as many days over the Hofstra Pride. “Credit to the guys in front of me, Boomer (White) and Nick (Banks) for getting on base in front of me,” said Melton. He noted that the Aggies’ players noticed that the Pride’s gameplan was to pitch backwards and throw many change ups and breaking balls early in the counts. They made the necessary adjustments and began looking ...
Day 2 in Texas: What’s on Tap for February 20
The No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies will host Hofstra at 2:05 P.M in the middle game of their three game set. Chris Weiss will be on the hill for the Pride. The 2014 Longwood grad led the team in ERA as a freshman last season. He threw 17.2 IP, mainly out of the bullpen, and compiled a 3.57 ERA with 10 Ks. He will be opposed by sophomore Corbin Martin, making his first start of the season. He threw 18.1 innings as a freshman with a 2.95 ERA and 21 Ks against 12 walks. The Pride will trot out the same lineup as last night: Mat Anunziata, LF David Leiderman, 3b Steven Foster, CF Ryan Karl, 1b Vito Friscia, C Teddy Cilis, RF Nick Bottari, DH Brad Witkowski, SS Tom Archer, 2b If the Pride are to win, they will need to rely on their offense to do what they ...
Stony Brook Cruises Past Dayton 11-6
It’s always nice to open up the season with a smooth victory full of offensive production. The Stony Brook Sea Wolves began their 2016 campaign with just that in an 11-6 victory over Dayton in Spartanburg, S.C. With the Sea Wolves leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Johnny Caputo broke the game open with a monster three-run shot which opened the flood gates for a five-run frame. They added three more in the following frame–all with two-out and nobody on–thanks to a bases-clearing single by Casey Baker, who drove in six runs in the game. Baker had three hits, catcher David Real had two hits, along with Caputo’s two hits. Senior Tyler Honahan recorded the victory. He was plenty good enough–he went five innings, allowing two ER, five hits, one walk an...
Hofstra Hangs Tough, Falls 5-2 to Texas A & M
Opening up the season on the road against the No. 4 ranked team in the nation is difficult enough, but having to do so in front of 6,806 screaming fans after having practiced outdoors one time is a task straight out of the Saw horror movies. Even so, the Hofstra Pride kept it close and even brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning with David Leiderman. He was struck out by hard-throwing Brigham Hill and the Aggies held on to win 5-2. Ryan Hendrix, pre-season All-American, came on in the eighth inning and completed the five-out save, consistently working in the 95-97 MPH range. “I thought they showed us great respect by bringing in the best closer in the nation in the eighth inning. They definitely feared our lineup,” said Hofstra Head Coach John Russo. The Pride...
Happy Opening Day
(Photo Credit: Stony Brook Athletics) Despite the season technically starting last weekend with a four-game set between LIU Post and Limestone, today feels more like Opening Day with two teams kicking off their season and two more tomorrow.. I am writing this from College Station, TX in preparation to Hofstra’s 6:30 PM (7:30 ET) first pitch against No. 4 ranked Texas A &M. The Pride will throw Alec Eisenberg (5-4, 5.83 ERA last season) and the Aggies will counter with senior Kyle Simonds (3-2, 2.39 ERA last season). Other Games: Stony Brook vs Dayton: 12:00 PM- This game will take place in Spartanburg, S.C. Dayton is coming off a 16-38 record last year. The Sea Wolves are fresh off winning the America East conference and finishing third in the regionals. They will have senior Tyl...
Live Blogging From College Station
Hofstra kicks off their 2016 season with a three-game set against No. 4 ranked Texas A & M. We will be bringing you live coverage of the entire series through updates on Twitter, video on Snapchat and post game recaps right here on the site. The Pride took batting practice this evening at Blue Bell Stadium and here are my thoughts: -The stadium is astonishing. It cost $30 million to build and opened in 2012. I’ve never seen a college stadium this extravagent. There is a Daktronics scoreboard that is equal to a big league stadium. There is a press box reminscent of Fenway Park. There’s a luxury suite, handicap accessible areas, concession stands everywhere, a playground beyond the right field fence, clubhouse for both teams including an underground gym. -The offense is scary...
NYIT Primed to Build off 2015
After a couple years in the doldrums, the NYIT Bears have begun to turn the corner as a program. Head Coach Bob Malvagna–who took over the program in July 2012–with his first recruiting year being the year after, had his eyes focused on turning the team around. “Definitely pleased with the improvement,” said Coach Malvagna. “I mean when I first took over the program my first recruiting year I brought in 15 freshman and that class is now the junior class. The guys have grown and matured tremendously both as young adults and certainly as baseball players.” 2016 comes with optimism as Coach Malvagna’s team improved by 10-wins from 2014 to ’15 and he brought in seven new pieces to fill in for the nine that packed their bags after 2015. The Bears graduated Michael Auriem...
Custom Cleats: How One Ballplayer’s Injury Launched a Brilliant Business
When Anthony Ambrosini heard his brother was having difficulty finding a pair of cleats that enabled him to play pain-free while he was dealing with a stress fracture in his foot, he did what any brother would do–try to help him out. One problem–where would you even begin to start? That’s how all great business ideas begin; identify a problem, find a solution. He started experimenting with some different types of cleat designs. He then realized the issue was in the design of cleats in general. What his brother needed was a wider and more comfortable shoe–he needed a regular pair of sneakers. The process took more than a year-and-a-half and during that time he found it frustrating attempting to keep the cleats to stay on the pair of sneakers. “I would test them...
Hofstra Ready to Compete With the Heavyweights
By Nakeem Grant Hofstra has not been to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament since 2012 when they finished second in the CAA with a record of 20-10. Coach John Russo has a lot of confidence, however, that his offense will provide the punch needed to deliver them back to the dance. “We missed the tournament in 2013 and 2014 by half a game,” said Russo. In 2014, they were eliminated on the season’s final day when Northeastern and James Madison University won their games. “This year, we have a great combination of hitting and pitching. We have the ability to be one of the top hitting teams in the conference.” Steven Foster (sophomore), David Leiderman (junior), and Brad Witkowski (junior) were the main cogs that drove the Pride’s offense last season. Each player had their ...
