Axcess Baseball
2018 Axcess Baseball Cy Young Finalists Announced
There is never a shortage of high-end arms on Long Island. 2018 was no exception, but there were two college arms that stood above the rest. Typically, we have three finalists but adding a third would be a disservice to these two. John Rooney (Hofstra) : 8-2, 1.23 ERA, 3 CG, 95.0 IP, 51 H, 108 K, .166 AVG Rooney skyrocketed his value after a strong showing in the Cape Cod League during the summer of 2017. He continued that momentum and never looked back. The 6’5″ 225 lb southpaw was lights-out from day 1 of the season, not allowing a run until his fourth outing of the season. In his third outing, he fired the first six innings of a combined no-hitter and put himself on the national radar. During his March outing against UNC-Wilmington, I was in attendance and watched him silenc...
The Process of An At Bat
By Anthony Iapoce (Chicago Cubs Hitting Coach) (Editor’s Note: Anthony was previously the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, and was recently hired by the Chicago Cubs for the same role. This article was originally published in October 2017. The following words are his own.) There are three phases that take place for the hitter to prepare themselves before they are able to lay out their ‘A’ swing on the pitch they are hunting. From the time players walk into the stadium, they are ready for their daily routine to be ready for the game that day. Three Phases of At Bat: Pregame and Accountability In-Game and Attitude In Box and Confidence Pregame and Accountability is the foundation of any hitter’s success. The best hitters are the most accountable. They are the best at preparing for ...
2018 College All-Long Island Team
Below is our 2018 College All-Long Island team. The list will be segmented into First-Team, Second-Team and Honorable Mentions First Team: Catcher: Vito Friscia, Hofstra Key Stats: .353 AVG, 7 HR, 31 RBI, .431 OBP, .514 SLG 1st Base: Paul Britt, St. Joseph’s Key Stats: .404 AVG, 8 HR, 37 RBI, .491 OBP, .752 SLG, 43 R, 12-for-12 SB 2nd Base: Ramger Iglesias, LIU Post Key Stats: .351 AVG, 42 R, .443 OBP, 66 H, 39-for-51 SB Shortstop: Nick Grande, Stony Brook Key Stats: .377 AVG, 59 R, 6 HR, 28 RBI, .468 OBP, .560 SLG, 32-for-38 SB 3rd Base: Bobby Honeyman, Stony Brook Key Stats: .336 AVG, 25 R, 2 HR, 33 RBI, .387 OBP, .479 SLG, 8-for13 SB OF: Dave Brehm, LIU Post Key Stats: .364 AVG, 28 R, 1 HR, 28 RBI, .436 OBP, .457 SLG, 16-for-20 SB OF: Travis Zurita, SUNY Maritime Key Stats: .402 A...
Q & A With Joey Pena
It’s hard to have a better collegiate career than Joey Pena. The Brooklyn native just wrapped up an outstanding 4-year career with the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans, hitting .366 with 37 RBI and 50 runs scored this season. Joey was far from a singles-hitting shortstop. He had 26 extra base hits and stole 37 bases, while playing all 54 contests. Perhaps most impressive, he drew 45 walks and struck out only 14 times; which padded his OBP to a ridiculous .498 over 194 at bats. Earlier this year he broke the program record for hits in a career. They came up just shy of returning to Cary, N.C. for the Div-II College World Series after they were shutout 6-0 by Blue Point native Shane McDonald. Pena participated in our Axcess Invitational on Tuesday and he was one of the stars of the show. He...
The Importance of Vision in Sports
Andrew Sherman, O.D. | Arnold Sherman, O.D. Vision is much more than 20/20 eyesight. Seeing clearly is important, but it is only a portion of a well-functioning visual system. Athletic performance at a competitive level requires a host of other visual skills: eye movements, depth perception, focus flexibility, contrast sensitivity, visual reaction time, visual processing, eye-hand coordination, dynamic visual acuity; as well as static visual acuity (20/20 eyesight). Reading small fixed letters sitting in a dark room does not test most of the visual skills needed to hit a fastball or field a line drive. Sports optometrists believe that the eyes lead the body. Very often poor athletic performance results from not the incorrect movement, but from the correct movement being performed at the...
Deer Park Season Preview
Coming off one of their most successful seasons under 10-year Head Coach Ryan Argenziano, the Deer Park Falcons will be looking to duplicate that success in a new league. They were co-champs with Bellport and West Islip in league 4. With the re-classification of many schools, the Falcons will now be competing in League 5. The switch means they will not have to face West Islip, who was a real thorn in their side last season–responsible for five of their eight losses on the season including a 4-1 season-ending loss and also an epic 10-9 loss in the first round which featured theatrics such as a grand slam, game-tying hit in the sixth and a walk-off for the Lions. “We played them six times last year and we just couldn’t get past them,” said Argenziano. “We battle...
MLB Hall of Fame Voting: Who Belongs in Cooperstown?
(Photo Credit: Getty Images) One of the most polarizing conversations in the game of baseball right now is the matter of Hall of Fame voting. To be honest, I think much of it has to do with the lack of story lines this time of year. Being that we are in January and the hot stove is historically slow, this is the next best thing. I am a baseball junkie, so I truly enjoy the nature of the arguments. Baseball is traditionally slow to evolve so it seems there is a debate regarding almost every player. For me, 2016 was one of the most enjoyable Hall of Fame classes being that Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. were the only players inducted and they were my two favorite players growing up in the late 90s. The bottom line is that the voting has vastly improved since the number of voters decreased f...
Which Local College Players Could Be Drafted in 2018?
There is a ton of talent at our local colleges and universities. Far too little attention is given to the college players, my guess is because people constantly want to know who is the next child prodigy and that involves being not just exceptionally talented but exceptionally young. For purposes of this article, we will focus on the college players that are draft-eligible in 2018 only. There’s two categories; players that should get drafted unless they have a poor season and players that could get drafted but only if they have an exceptional season. Category 1: Reiss Knehr, RHP Fordham Knehr is a 2015 graduate of St. Dominic HS–that’s right he and Kyle Young were on the same stuff. That was prior to Kyle Young’s breakthrough season, and Knehr was the ace of that st...
Axcess Rookie of the Year Finalists Announced
We will be hosting our third annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 6 at Villa Lombardi’s. Among the several awards we will be handing out will be the Axcess Rookie of the Year Award to the top freshman college player on Long Island. The four finalists are: Brian Herrmann (Stony Brook): 4-3 record, 3.46 ERA, 80.2 IP, 54 K, .234 AVG Noah Lorenzo (LIU Post): 7-2 record, 3.99 ERA, 2 CG, 79.0 IP, 49 K, .275 AVG Vinny Rice (Farmingdale): .413 AVG, .488 OBP, .541 SLG, 45 H, 23 R, 15 RBI Phil Russo (Maritime): .359 AVG, .388 OBP, .394 SLG, 51 H, 14 R, 25 RBI If you would like to purchase tickets to the Awards Banquet, you can do so by clicking here!
