Archive
Albany Quickly Becoming a Hot Spot for Top Long Island Talent
While Stony Brook might be the one in the 631 area code, it’s another team in the America East Conference that is attracting many of the top players from the island. Head Coach, Jon Mueller, now in his 17th season at the helm has done a great job at identifying the talented players and getting them to commit to joining the Great Danes. They open up their 2016 season on Friday against the University of South Carolina and Mueller noted that he is expecting to have five Long Island natives among his starters including pitcher Stephen Woods. The 2013 graduate of Half Hollow Hills East was selected in the sixth round of the MLB Draft by Tampa Bay out of high school, but opted to attend college. He is coming off a strong sophomore season in which he compiled a 3.98 ERA over 54.1 IP with 55...
Molloy Hungry to Return to Postseason Play
by Nakeem Grant The Molloy Lions have a lot to be excited for in the 2016 season. They have a revamped roster, a steadfast head coach and a familiar face returning for a new role. Lions head coach, Joe Fucarino cannot wait for the season to begin. He sees a lot of potential in this year’s team and he set their main goal: to clinch a spot in the ECC tournament. “Our first goal from day one is getting into the conference tournament,” says coach Fucarino. Molloy finished fifth in the conference with a 10-14 record. He explained that missing out on the tournament last season was a “humbling experience” for his team. Fucarino’s team has qualified for seven ECC tournaments in his ten years with the Lions. He did not hesitate to revere the other teams in the conference. He feels that the competit...
Furious Two-Out Rally Drops LIU Post to 0-4
With two outs and nobody on, the LIU Post Pioneers were well on their way to salvaging the fourth and final game of their set against Limestone College. Rather, the Saints mounted a furious two-out rally against closer Dillon Burke to tie the game at 11-11 on back-to-back-to-back singles. Head Coach Mike Gaffney chose to go to the bullpen and hand the ball to Div-I transfer J.P. Lipovac. With two strikes, he uncorked a wild pitch that scooted past Thomas Asbaty to score the winning run. It was a wild and hard-fought game on both sides. Freshman James Varela got the first start of his collegiate career. He struggled over 3.1 IP, allowing six ER on eight hits. The Pioneers had handed him a 6-4 lead thanks to a two-run single by Rob Andreoli, who continued his red-hot start to the season. Li...
Dowling Looks to Return to the Regionals for a Third-Consecutive Season
We don’t talk about awards and accolades, we are focused on how you show up everyday.
LIU Post Drops DH Against Limestone
LIU Post was the first Long Island team to kick off the 2016 season. It began in disappointing fashion, as they dropped both games of a double header to Limestone College in Gaffney, SC. In Game 1, Big Game Jake DeCarli got the call. He cruised through the first two frames–as he often does. The Pioneers got him a run to work with in their half of the second on a bases loaded walk by Matt Bowers. Unfortunately, it was not DeCarli’s best day. He allowed runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, before being lifted in favor of Dillon Burke. The Pioneers did not mount any more offense after the second inning, and only compiled five hits in the seven inning game–one by five separate players. They fell 4-1 in a brisk 1:44 game. The ball went to co-ace Dan Jagiello is Game 2....
Q & A With Skyline Conference Player of the Year Nick Girardi
"We have all the pieces to the puzzle of a championship season"
Loaded With Young Talent, Adelphi Ready to Take the Next Step
by Vinny Amodeo After the Adelphi University Panthers reached the Northeast-10 Semi-Final game in 2015, 2016 has promise for a deep postseason run with eyes on a conference championship. “The goals for this season remain unchanged,” said Junior captain Robert Vani. “First off is an NE-10 Championship and secondly an appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament.” Head Coach Dom Scala is entering his 13th season at the helm for the Brown and Gold with 11 postseason appearances in his first 12 seasons. The squad graduated eight players from 2015’s roster including perpetual starters in Donato Signore, Vincent Sharkey, Rich Cambria and Nick Zito. The remaining four were apart of the staff and featured the likes of John Bivas, Mike Cranston, Ricky Van Allen and Nikolas Batas. Each of these player...
LIU Post Looks to Claim the ECC Led by an Army of Aces
By Nakeem Grant The 2016 season is nearing for Long Island University’s Pioneers. Head coach, Mike Gaffney has several goals in mind for his team this season, but their No. 1 goal is to overtake Dowling and win the East Coast Conference title. Last year, the Pioneers finished fourth in the ECC with an overall record of 18-18. They fell short of their ECC title goal by losing to the Bridgeport Purple Knights in the semifinals, 4-1. This, however, is a team nobody wants to face. They won’t have to score many runs. They are returning Baseball on the Island’s Cy Young Jake DeCarli–who compiled a stellar 0.76 ERA and .148 opponent’s AVG over 71.0 IP. He will be joined by Dan Jagiello, who compiled a 3.75 ERA but is now armed with a 96 MPH fastball that has turned heads i...
Farmingdale State Begins Season in Unfamiliar Territory–As Underdogs
by Danny Gatta The Farmingdale State Rams will begin the season in unfamiliar territory; not defending a Skyline Conference title. In 2015, the Rams lost in the conference championship to Old Westbury, ending their run of seven consecutive conference championships. The Rams run of dominance in the Skyline conference was impressive, and even with the recent loss, they are still expected to be perennial contenders. They are graduating seven seniors, including All-American Outfielder Michael Marino. Marino was a leader on last year’s team and the main catalyst for the offense. When asked about Marino, head coach Keith Osik said, “He’s just a class act and a great leader. It’s great to see when kids buy into what we do as a program and improve each year and that’s what he did.” Marino had an i...
Learning From the Pros: Episode 3
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytVa5-eW9SM] In this week’s episode we get a lesson from Milwaukee Brewer’s catcher Charles Galiano on the proper technique to block pitches in the dirt. Galiano was selected in the 40th round of the 2015 MLB draft out of Fordham University. He was previously selected in the 36th round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Commack HS. Episode 1: Steve Marino Episode 2: Tyler Badamo
St. Joseph’s Is Ready to Roll
"These guys are a very close knit bunch and have bought into the system"
