Babylon
GAME RECAP: Wheatley Captures Class B Long Island Championship Against Babylon
by Tucker Terranova Final: Babylon 1 | Wheatley 3 Wheatley wins their first Class B Championship since 2021! pic.twitter.com/GmFQzf2qnF — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 30, 2024 Since Coach David Burke took over the Wheatley program in 2023, one thing has been certain: in big games, Connor Quinn gets the ball. After today’s contest, Burke described Quinn as “the kid who, as a coach, you dream of having. You know when you put the ball in his hands in pressure situations that he will reward you.” Quinn, in the biggest game of his career at Wheatley, backed up Burke’s trust in him with yet another stellar performance. The right-hander, who will be heading to SUNY Brockport this fall, ensured that today would not be his last time in the white and red. Quinn went the dista...
Babylon Enters Season as Reigning Class B Long Island Champions Following Magical Run
A stunning comeback by Babylon as they overcame a 5-2 deficit in the Class B Long Island Championship with the winning run coming in on a walk-off walk Babylon 6, Seaford 5 pic.twitter.com/dN02nDZ6RG — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2023 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. In a way, last year was many years in the making for Babylon, as the team took their lumps the first few years under head coach Michael Birnbaum, but with the understanding that it would eventually be worth it. When he took over 2020, the season was cancelled, but there was a core of several freshmen that were going to be up on varsity. That team faced a challenge in 2021, playing in a difficult league against teams like Mount Sinai and Sh...
Babylon Pulls Off Dramatic 9th Inning Comeback to Stun Seaford and Capture Class B LIC
A stunning comeback by Babylon as they overcame a 5-2 deficit in the Class B Long Island Championship with the winning run coming in on a walk-off walk Babylon 6, Seaford 5 pic.twitter.com/dN02nDZ6RG — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2023 In a season of magic for Babylon, it makes sense that something so improbable would happen in the Class B Championship. Two teams with just 1 loss on the season squared off at St. Joseph’s University, and there was a number of twists & turns in this one. Ultimately, the Babylon Panthers trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of the 9th, and were also down to their last strike trailing 5-3 with Daniel Madsen, whose been at the center of all their magic this season. Madsen lined an 0-2 pitch to center field against Adelphi-commit Billy Kind,...
GAME RECAP: Daniel Madsen Fires Two-Hit Shutout, Nick Crone Delivers Go-Ahead Hit in Fifth
Daniel Madsen fired a 2-hit CG shutout against rival Center Moriches as the Panthers improve to 7-0 on the season. Madsen is our Player of the Game @GCsports pic.twitter.com/r5Shr1NQpZ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 19, 2023 Hanging prominently from the center field fence are two massive banners highlighting Center Moriches incredible back-to-back New York State Championships in 2018-2019. During that time, Center Moriches was absolutely loaded with the talent and determination that we may never see again from a Class B team. Opposing teams step onto the field and sometimes get an extra jolt as they would love nothing more than to defeat a team with the track record of the Red Devils. We saw that on display as Babylon is looking to chase history themselves – the Panther...
Babylon Looks to Build off Top Seed Performance
by Andy Smith Babylon had major bumps in the road to begin their 2022 campaign. The Panthers suffered two crucial injuries to players that head coach Michael Birnbaum deemed “hard to replace,” early in the season. The center fielder did not recover from his injury and the third baseman was only able to return to the mound at the end of the season and was not allowed to field or swing a bat. Going into the year defense was going to be a major strength, but losing these players put a damper on those expectations. Despite these early bumps in the road Babylon stayed the course and qualified as the top seed in the B school division and made the playoffs. Head Coach Michael Birnbaum is entering his fourth season as skipper. Birnbaum gave a shout out to an assistant coach he will be working wi...
Babylon Enters 2022 With Valuable Experience
by Mike Anderson League V brought some of the best baseball teams in Suffolk County to light last year, as four teams won at least 11 games, and three of them won at least 15. That top-heaviness hid some of the scrappy, middle-of-the-pack teams, such as Babylon High School. Their varsity team, led by head coach Mike Birnbaum, showed that they were no pushover school in 2021 and will look to take the next step this upcoming season. They finished the year in fifth place, finishing under .500 at 8-10. However, they had several bright spots throughout the season. They notably beat second place Shoreham-Wading River in an exciting 11-inning game, handing them one of only three losses from the regular season. They also snapped Center Moriches’ 32-game winning streak dating back to 2018, and late...
Bobby Molinaro, Babylon Defeat Center Moriches and Mike DeFilippo Outduels Ventimiglia
It was another entertaining day of baseball at Moriches Complex in day 3 of the Town of Brookhaven tournament. As I suspected, this quickly went from a recreational summer tournament to an intense revisiting of deeply rooted rivalries and I love it. The passion that was on display yesterday is not typical for a tournament in July that includes several players that have already graduated. So much so, in fact, that Friday’s rainouts initially meant no playoffs for the tournament but enough coaches voted for it so Monday will now feature semifinals and finals. At 3pm, I covered Babylon and Center Moriches. This is a rivalry matchup that has been completely one-sided in recent years due to the unprecedented success of Center Moriches. Babylon has always been a quality team, but last year...
Babylon Ready To Begin New Era Under Mike Birnbaum
by Tony Genualdo For the last six seasons, Babylon’s Mike Birnbaum has been coaching at every level. He’s coached junior high, JV, and has most recently been an assistant to the varsity team. But this year, he has a new role: head coach. Despite the new challenge, Birnbaum says that not much will change. “Player (and character) development has always driven my coaching,” said Birnbaum. “There’s a new degree of emphasis on winning. But as a competitive person, I can’t wait.” His last two seasons as varsity assistant saw success for Babylon. This season as a head coach, he knows that nothing is guaranteed. “Baseball is a game of inches, as cliché as that is,” Birnbaum said. “You can’t dwell and carry things over.” The team has been preparing for this season since the beginning of December. T...
Catching Up With Bobby Molinaro Sr.
Bobby Molinaro Sr is the former Head Coach of Suffolk West Community College from 2002-2010. He helped lead them to the JuCo College World Series three times during that span. Additionally, several of his coaches have gone on to carve out their own successful coaching careers as well. His son, Bobby Jr, is entering his senior season at Babylon HS and is one of the top left-handed pitchers in Suffolk County. I had a chance to speak with Bobby Sr, and here’s what he had to say… During your youth, who were some ballplayers you tried to emulate? Willie Randolph and Don Mattingly. Who are some influential people in your life? Baseball wise I would say Jack Bryant (coached at Briarcliffe and Suffolk West). Incredible knowledge of the game. In life, my two kids. Life changes when you ...
Reigning Class B Champs Continue to Steamroll Competition
Andres Auffant is our @BsbLifestyle101 Player of the Game he allowed just two hits with nine strikeouts over five shutout innings and also had 3 hits at the plate including a 3-R home run for Center Moriches pic.twitter.com/6AhOdQU8rE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 16, 2019 When you are supremely talented, sometimes it can be difficult to avoid complacency. Center Moriches, the reigning New York State Class B champs, has not succumbed to that. They cruised past Babylon, 20-0, behind Andres Auffant‘s incredible day. The Franklin Pierce-commit fired five shutout innings, allowing just two hits, both singles, while striking out nine batters. He also was a menace at the dish. He had three hits, including a three-run HR in the second and a two-run single in the third which o...
Babylon Looking To Overcome Last Year’s County Championship Defeat
In 2018, Babylon once again had a season to remember. They finished with a combined record of 18-6 and reached the County Championship game. Unfortunately, they fell just short of their ultimate goal, which was winning the county championship. Coming off an extremely successful year, Babylon comes into this season facing some difficult tasks. The main obstacle standing in their way is replacing their seniors from last season. As county runner-ups, their roster was loaded. Joseph Rende (2nd Team All-State), Ian Morgan (All-League), Mitch Carmody (All-League) and Frank Vano (All-League) all graduated in 2018, leaving Babylon with big shoes to fill. Although Babylon has to replace these productive seniors, they bring in plenty of talented players who were key pieces towards their deep postsea...
Babylon Motivated By Loss In Class B Final
It was a phenomenal coaching job by Head Coach Victor Manzella to guide the Panthers to the Class B Suffolk County Championship in a season in which he took over just two days prior to tryouts. He was led by a very strong season by senior Anthony Vano and juniors Shaun Kaminsky and Ken Gordon. Watch the video as Vinny Messana speaks with Manzella and Gordon about their 2017 season.
