Bellmore JFK
GAME RECAP: Matt Bolton’s 3 Hits, 3 RBIs Lead Division to 14-8 Game 1 Victory
by Tucker Terranova (Photo: Catherine Scarantino) Matt Bolton takes us through what worked for him at the plate in a big win for Division pic.twitter.com/7Ne7PxPh3Z — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024 Game 2 of our coverage of the Nassau County Championships featured a AA slugfest between No. 6 Division and No. 2 Bellmore JFK. How they got here: After finishing as the No. 6 seed, Division entered the playoffs with a chip on their shoulder, determined to prove doubters wrong and continue their run as one of the league’s dominant forces. They’ve done just that, getting hot at the right time and going 5-0 while scoring 47 runs in those games. For Kennedy, they’ve enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history. They faced off against two gritty opponents, Manhasset and Carey...
GAME RECAP: Aidan Medeiros Strong Day at the Plate Powers South Side to 11-5 Win
by Max Edelman FINAL: South Side 11 – Kennedy 5 A five run sixth inning gives South Side the win, as they take the first of three games between the two teams. pic.twitter.com/CFCJQtcRix — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 29, 2024 The South Side Cyclones came back from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat the Kennedy Cougars, 11-5, at home. In a rare Monday morning matchup, the Cyclones combined for 11 hits, scoring two or more runs in four of the six innings they came to the plate. It was Matt Arnott on the mound as the starter for the Cyclones, but he was unable to start strong as the Cougars took the early lead in the first inning. After Brady Callahan singled to open the game, he would eventually travel all across the diamond, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Donoghue. One ...
Up Next Powered by State Farm Ken Kortright Agency: The Yormack Twins
Sat down with Ryan & Derek Yormack at Bellmore JFK’s winter workout. The twin brothers both committed to Duke University as 8th graders @BellmoreJFK @CoachGattusJFK pic.twitter.com/Jq92EC7kRv — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 28, 2024 One wears New Balance, the other wears Adidas. That’s the only way Bellmore JFK coach Mike Gattus could distinguish between twin brothers Derek and Ryan Yormack when he first met them. You can’t begrudge him, either, as the identical twins look the same in every regard. While they may look and act the same, their play on the field is different from nearly every other kid their age. Most 8th graders aren’t like Derek and Ryan Yormack. As 8th graders, the twins shocked the Long Island baseball community by both committing to D...
Bellmore JFK Primed for Big Season After Hot Finish to 2023
It’s hard not to be optimistic about the direction of Bellmore JFK baseball following an incredible finish to their 2023 season in which they recorded their highest win total (13-7-1) since their Nassau Class A County Finals appearance in 2016 under coach Eric Passman. Mike Gattus, who took over in the Spring of 2019, has built the program back up to being a contender. After getting swept in their first series last year against Garden City, they showed resilience – first taking two of three against a strong South Side team, before rattling off 9 conference wins in a row. Ultimately, they finished with a playoff loss against Bethpage which ended their season, but they did have a taste of postseason success as they defeated Long Beach. They graduated 8 seniors from last year̵...
Bellmore JFK Looking to Return to Postseason for Third Straight Season
by Brian Honka Bellmore JFK will look to improve on last season in which they went 9-8-1 in conference play which was good enough to give them a playoff spot for the second year in a row. They were eliminated in the playoffs by Clarke. The team will look to fill the gap left by Zach Ganca (FDU-Florham) an All-County OF. Another player that the team will be looking for production to replace is Matt Cohen, an All-Conference player. This year’s team will be relying on plenty of returning players that had key contributions last season – many of which are seniors. Alex Goldstein won 3 games on the mound, struck out 28 batters and compiled a .385 OBP at the plate. Anthony Firriolo batted .372 with 17 hits on the season. Nick Pizzirusso batted .287 with 9 RBIs and 14 hits. Grayson Go...
Led by 7 Seniors, Bellmore JFK Looking to Return to Playoffs
by Daniel Lopes After a 6-10 season that landed Bellmore JFK a playoff spot, head coach Mike Gattus is excited to see what the added year of experience will bring to his team. Last year, the team was made up of mostly underclassmen who were able to get plenty of at-bats and innings at the varsity level. “We had three sophomores consistently in the starting lineup. One of our better pitchers who started every week for us was a freshman last year, and the lineup was mostly composed of underclassmen,” Gattus said. “I was pleased with the work that my guys put in, and I really look forward to this upcoming season.” While the team did receive plenty of contributions from underclassmen, they did lose multiple seniors from last years’ team, with outfielder Jake Sherman, pitcher Sam Ostroff, catch...
Bellmore JFK Confident in Group of Three Seniors to Lead Team
by Ben Diamond With spring sports starting to make their return, Mike Gattus, Bellmore JFK baseball’s varsity coach, like every other coach, needs to come up with a plan to prepare for when his team is able to come together. The cancellation of last year’s season left Gattus’ squad with a hole left by departing seniors. These seniors were a big part of the leadership on the team, and he says that their presence will be missed. “We had four seniors leave us last year, the core of that group was our All-Conference first baseman, pitcher, and outfielder Chris Costaro”, Gattus said. “He will sorely be missed not only for his bat, but for the leadership he brought to the team”. To fill the hole left by last year’s seniors, this year’s seniors, as well as the younger players on the t...
Bellmore JFK Focused On Improving Each Day
Baseball isn’t always fair, sometimes it can be particularly cruel. When you play well, usually you are rewarded. In the case of Bellmore JFK in 2019, that wasn’t the case. They went 8-4 over their final 12 games but missed out on a postseason berth by 1/2 game. Additionally, they were poised for a breakthrough in 2020, but lost senior LHP Ryan Schechner, to Tommy John surgery, before the season even began. He was All-County last year and heading to Towson in the fall. In any event, coach Mike Gattus – now in his second year as head coach – is undeterred an confident in his group. They are fortunate to have three senior pitchers that are all capable of keeping the team in the game. Chris Costaro, who is also one of their top hitters, pitched 15 innings last year all...
Freeport Tops Bellmore JFK 5-3 In Non-League Action
Viandy Abreu takes us through his at-bat which gave his team the lead and the season outlook for a talented Freeport team. pic.twitter.com/zBYfRHQLiI — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 26, 2019 In a tightly contested non-league match up Freeport topped Bellmore JFK, 5-3. On the mound, both starting pitchers were phenomenal. Bellmore JFK sent junior Ryan Schechner to the mound for their first game of the season. Schechner pitched three innings, allowing no earned runs. The starting pitcher for Freeport, Ronny Vicente worked out of a few jams to keep his team in the game. He went four innings, allowing just one earned run. Matt Nachamie got things started for Bellmore JFK, giving them a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on a sacrifice fly. This would be the only offense the Cougars produc...
Carey Looking To Progress Towards A Deep Playoff Run
(Photo Credit: J. Heck/Herald) Led by first year Head Coach Doug Robins, Carey will be looking to take the next step as a program. In recent years, Carey has found themselves in the postseason but hasn’t made it very far into May. Last season, Carey beat Hewlett and Mineola in the first two rounds, but fell to a talented Division team in the quarterfinals. This year they will try to change their fortune. Conference A2 serves as a division with an equal amount of talented teams. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Carey fits in with their competition. In the past few years, Carey has been known for constantly being among the league leaders in home runs. The reason behind this is because of the big bats in their lineup, along with the short porch in right field. In 2016, Anth...
Bellmore JFK Ready To Build on 2018
Since their county championship appearance in 2016, Bellmore JFK has hit a bump in the road as far as success. In 2017, the Cougars struggled to the finish line in a rebuilding year. Last season, they rebounded nicely with an 11-9 record before getting eliminated in the first round of playoffs. Going from a county championship caliber team, to a lowly season, back to a playoff team in just a year, it was evident that Bellmore JFK had the talent to make another postseason run, but changes needed to happen. This year, a whole new coaching staff will lead the way for the Cougars. After being the assistant coach for three years, Mike Gattus will take over as Head Coach this season. Dan McDermott (STAC ’11), will be the assistant coach for Gattus. By bringing in a change of scenery, it ha...
