Archive

Photo Credit: Vinny Messana In a pitcher’s duel, it’s always a matter of one play that will be the difference. In the bottom of the seventh, Troy Daverne hit a grounder that was misplayed by the shortstop to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Nick Rizzi, who was pinch-hitting for pitcher Joe Barbieri smacked a single to right center field to score the only run of the game and lead Ward Melville to the 1-0 victory over East Islip. Barbieri was phenomenal. He threw a CG shutout, he struck out seven batters, allowed four hits, one walk and hit one batter. He threw only 93 pitches to improve 8-1. “It’s hard to hear about him (Barbieri) when nobody gives any respect to Ward Melville,” said Head Coach Lou Petrucci.  Barbieri also recorded the victory in relief ...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReCJjUcgqkw] By Jim Ferchland Smithtown East hosted Half Hollow Hills West in a sensational playoff match up between two terrific teams that resulted in the Bulls triumphing 8-6. Hills West put up six runs in the first inning which certainly put a damper on the home crowd but the home town nine responded immediately with the bats. Hills West dominated the first half inning scoring with patience and persistence. Smithtown East’s struggled with his command and was lifted after one out was recorded. Coach Ken Klee decided to go towards his solid left-handed pitcher senior Greg Maitles who came in and put out the fire. He did allow Josh Wende to smack a double over the head of Smithtown East’s junior outfielder Shawn Kelly and drove in two runs to give t...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt5aCzo7zqA] Stony Brook will begin their quest to re-claim the America East title today against No. 4 seed Hartford at 1 pm. The tournament was pre-determined to be hosted by UMass-Lowell. The Sea Wolves ran through the conference during the regular season with a record of 31-14-1. They lead the conference in AVG (.294) and OBP (.387). During the regular season they actually lost two of three to Hartford from May 2-4. They won 4-3 but lost 12-10 and 10-9. In the victory, Cole Peragine smacked a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh to score Andruw Gazzola. The Sea Wolves will be looking to avenge last season’s loss in the conference playoffs to Binghamton and return to the glory of their 2012 season. Today red shirt sophomore Daniel Zam...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuduALfP5Rg] Today is big. It’s the Elite 8 for the AA schools. Here’s what the schedule looks like: AA Bracket: No. 10 Hills East @ No. 1 Connetquot No. 5 Hills West @ No. 4 Smithtown East No. 6 East Islip @ No. 3 Hauppauge No. 9 Smithtown West @ No. 2 Ward Melville C Bracket No. 2 Pierson @ No. 1 Southold

When looking for a sports drink to keep you hydrated and provide great flavor, I stumbled upon BODYARMOR. The bottle alone got my attention due to its vibrant and eccentric colors, much more attention-grabbing than that of other notable sports drinks. What makes it great is that it is infused with electrolytes, coconut water and vitamins. This means that it is much healthier than drinks that are laced with sugar simply to taste good. Then, you take a sip of the drink and you’re amazed how soothing it is. The first time I tried the beverage, I had Fruit Punch. It is not thick and filling like other sports drinks or extremely sweet. It makes it the perfect soft drink for athletes or bodybuilders. There are seven flavors: Fruit Punch, Orange Mango, Strawberry Banana, Tropical Punch, Gra...

Yesterday was a lively day in the Suffolk County playoffs. Three more teams were eliminated; Pat-Med, Commack and Sachem East. The AA schools will have today off as they prepare for the ‘Championship Round’ of the tournament but the A, B and C schools will still play today. A Bracket No. 5 Shoreham-WR @ No. 4 Westhampton B Bracket No. 4 Port Jeff @ No. 1 Mattituck (Best of 3 Series) No. 3 Southampton @ No. 2 Babylon (Best of 3 Series) C Bracket No. 2 Pierson @ No. 1 Southold (Best of 3 Series)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYSZ_dbO8uM] Just about the only thing that could stop the offense of Hills East today was a rabbit that caused a brief delay in the game. Aside from that, however, the Thunderbirds smacked the baseball in their 11-2 victory over Sachem East in the single-elimination round.“Each member of our team contributes equally to our success,” said sophomore Mike Palazzolo. “Age is really not a factor for us,” he added. “We’re playing like it’s game seven of the World Series, becasue we never know what game will be our last as a team.” The T-Birds wasted no time getting the bats going in the first inning.  Palazzolo, already committed to playing at Stony Brook, began the game with a double into deep right field. ...

Yesterday was a slow day by the standards of high school playoffs. The highlights of the day included Mike Demarest‘s three-hit shutout of Bay Shore in a 1-0 victory, Ryan Doerschug‘s six-inning outing that led Commack over West Babylon and Joe Enea‘s three-hit shutout of Seaford to lead Manhasset to a 4-0 victory. Today will be heavy on games. Here’s a quick rundown of Suffolk’s games: AA Bracket No. 9 Smithtown West @ No. 8 Pat-Med 4 pm No. 11 Commack @ No. 6 East Islip 4 pm No. 10 HHHE @ No. 7 Sachem East 4pm A Bracket No. 7 Mount Sinai @ No. 3 Bayport-Blue Point 4 pm No. 5 Shoreham-WR @ No. 4 Westhampton C Bracket No. 2 Pierson @ No. 1 Southold

With the early morning rain on Saturday, two playoff games were cancelled. Both of those games will be played today. Here is the complete schedule of Suffolk County playoff games today. AA Bracket No. 17 Bay Shore @ No. 6 East Islip 4pm No. 12 West Babylon @ No. 11 CommackA BracketNo.7 Mount Sinai @ No. 6 Sayville

Photo Credit: Garden City Athletics Only a handful of people get to exit baseball under their own terms. Generally, there comes a time when somebody tells you that you are no longer the person for the job. It’s been 49 years with the program and that time has still not come for Garden City lifer Rich Smith. “God willing.I still have the passion to keep coming to the ballpark everyday,” said Smith, who has no plans to retire in the future. After his six years with the JV club, Smith has been coaching the varsity team for the past 43 years. During that time, he has led the Trojans to 14 conference titles, three county titles, one Long Island Championship and one New York State Championship. The latter two both occured during 2000. He noted that it was one of his biggest thr...

Photo Credit: Dowling Athletics The book is officially closed on Division-II baseball on Long Island. Dowling was the last team standing, and stood tough against a team on a 27-1 run, but fell 1-0.The pitching did a terrific job of holding a .320 hitting offense at bay. Starter David Montiverdi allowed just one ER over 4.1 innings (sac fly in the third inning) and was taken out in favor of senior Brendan Butler. He was even more effective–throwing 4.2 shutout innings.Unfortunately, the offense just did not get anything going off starter Miles Sheehan, who threw a CG three-hitter with nine strikeouts to improve to 9-0 on the season. He has allowed two ER over 71 IP.Dan Parisi, Tyler Hardison and Tyler Piccolo recorded the only hits off Sheehan. It is not entirely clear whether he is a...

Photo Credit: Vinny Messana The fun season officially begins! The high school playoffs are set and here is what’s going on with Suffolk County’s AA Teams: Today, Bay Shore will travel to Eastport-South Manor in a play-in game with the winner qualifying for the double-elimination tournament. Here is the schedule for tomorrow: No. 15 Northport @ No. 8 Pat-Med 12 pm No. 14 West Islip @ No. 9 Smithtown West 2 pm No.17 Bay Shore/No.18 ESM @ No. 6 East Islip 10 am No. 12 West Babylon @ No. 11 Commack 12 pm No. 16 Bellport @ No. 7 Sachem East 11am No. 13 Riverhead @ No. 10 HHHE 12 pm The top four seeds will have off until Thursday. As for the A teams, No. 7 Mt. Sinai will face No. 6 Sayville tomorrow at noon with the winner advancing to play No. 3 Bayport-Blue Point.