Brian Morrell
Hofstra Come From Behind, 6-5, To Defeat Albany in Home Opener
by Michelle Rabinovich Final: Hofstra 6, Albany 5 The Pride walk it off on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Steven Harrington. Kevin Bruggeman tied it up with an RBI single pic.twitter.com/KtuEPBUwS3 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 23, 2023 The Hofstra Pride baseball team walked off their home opener, 6-5, over the University of Albany Great Danes. The Pride had nine walk-off wins last season on their way to the first CAA Championship in program history, got their first won of 2023 in the process. The storyline of this game was both starting pitchers; Dylan Banner for Albany and Mark Faello of Hofstra are graduates of Plainview JFK HS. Additionally, both won the Diamond Award – which is given annually to the top player in Nassau County. Banner had the honor of being ...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Baseball Lifestyle: Hofstra University
Steve Harrington with a walk-off HR in a 7-6 victory for Hofstra ! pic.twitter.com/r7tJHFgMqA — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2022 There are not many better feelings in the world than proving people wrong. Hofstra was picked to finish ninth in the preseason CAA coaches poll. On May 29 in the CAA Championship, they defeated Northeastern, 7-6, in walk-off fashion on a hit by pitch by Ryan Morash to score Brian Morrell. It was a truly stunning finish considering they had never won a conference championship in the program’s history and they won all four games by one-run including three walk-off wins. Despite losing both games in the regionals, the program is still riding high off the momentum from that CAA Championship. Perhaps no school in the country can boast that they...
Q & A With Brian Morrell
Morrell with a big double for @hofstrabaseball in the 9th WATCH NOW 📺 @FloBaseball 💻 https://t.co/AKWsfFFrHv 📈 https://t.co/zrrBJzfPgg pic.twitter.com/wHoDoVQ5WY — Colonial Athletic Association (@CAASports) May 29, 2022 2022 was an amazing and historic season for Hofstra. Can you go into some detail about what changes Frank and his staff implemented, how they were able to turn around the program so quickly and also what it felt like to go on that outstanding playoff run? Once I heard Cat got the coaching position at Hofstra, I knew in my head that it was a no brainer that Hofstra was where I was going. One of my best friends growing up was Zach White who was a pitcher who played at New York Tech for Cat and his staff. I immediately called him on the phone and asked him tons of questions. D...
Hofstra Clinches NCAA Tournament Berth for First Time in Program History
THAT’S THE GAME!!! HOFSTRA WINS!!!! CAA CHAMPS!!!#RoarWithPride #CAAChamps pic.twitter.com/NpWKgpKYd8 — Hofstra Baseball (@HofstraBaseball) May 29, 2022 Hofstra has been playing baseball since 1938. It took Frank Catalanotto one year to do what has never been done in program history and that’s qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Pride did so in astonishing fashion – winning all four of their CAA Championship games by one run – including three wins via walk-off. Entering the CAA tournament as the No. 2 seed, the Pride defeated Elon, UNC-Wilmington, and Northeastern twice to pull off the improbable. All three teams are regarded as top-tier opponents, and Hofstra was able run the table in the tournament amidst a hostile home crowd. The clinching game was thrilling. Th...
Re-Visiting The 2016 Top Prospects on LI List
It’s been five years since I really started following high school baseball here on Long Island. Back during the 2016, I tried to really immerse myself in the game and I was covering games 5 days per week – while bartending at Lombardi’s on the Bay on the weekend – so I did miss out on some action at times. But through conversations with high school and travel ball coaches, I attempted to compile a list of the Top 10 prospects on Long Island. This was not meant to be a prediction of who would have the longest and most successful career, but in that snapshot in time I wanted to gage who had the highest ceiling as a prospect. Like anything else in media, it got some attention from people that enjoyed it while others scoffed at it. I can laugh now, because I really had ...
Brian Morrell Progressing Well From March TJ Surgery
St. John’s University RHP Brian Morrell (Shoreham-Wading River 2017) working his way back from TJ. Brian is a 4-time All-State player and 2-time Carl Yastrzemski Award winner pic.twitter.com/7guElB16tM — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 7, 2021 It was not long ago that every start was must-see when Brian Morrell took the mound. During the months of April and May of 2017, the Shoreham-Wading River star RHP and SS was close to untouchable. He was the most recognizable name along with Jimmy Joyce of Wantagh. It appeared the two would square off in the highly-anticipated Class A Long Island Championship game at SUNY Old Westbury with the Wildcats riding a 20-game win streak. From a content perspective, it was absolute gold. That did not occur. In a surprise move, Wantagh deci...
Who Would You Start a Franchise With – LI Edition?
Long Island has had many great ballplayers through out history – but people forget how rich the recent history has been. Several players that graduated over the past decade have gone on to great college careers and even reached Major League Baseball. We even did a mock draft back in June covering this topic. Here are the results of yesterday’s mock draft. Players selected played on Long Island between the years 2010-2020 pic.twitter.com/UV4LWlU9gb — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 10, 2020 But what if we made it even more exclusive? Instead of fielding an entire team, it was just a pitcher and a position player. Who would you pick then? I know who I would pick – but I solicited the help of some of the most well-respected coaches on Long Island to fill in my blin...
Anthony Kay Voted Best Pitching Season of 2010s
As sports fans we are usually victim to ‘recency bias’ in which we favor players that have excelled recently while our mind suppresses the memories of yesteryear. In the case of current Major League Anthony Kay, he’s been on the front of enough baseball fans minds to never forget the greatness that was his high school career. In 2012, while pitching for Ward Melville, he compiled what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most remarkable seasons in Long Island history. The hard-throwing southpaw went 53 innings, struck out 87 batters and allowed 0 ER. That’s right, even in the ultra-competitive League I and Class AA playoffs, he was completely untouchable. And it’s not like he was skating by and stranding runners on base. He allowed 17 hits and exactly 1 XBH....
OTD: Wantagh Gets to Morrell Early, Repeats As Long Island Champions
THE WANTAGH WARRIORS ARE BACK TO BACK CLASS A LONG ISLAND CHAMPIONS! FINAL: Wantagh 4 Shoreham-Wading River 2 pic.twitter.com/JFdQ2tqOgN — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 3, 2017 Much like they have for the past two seasons. Wantagh‘s star players shined when it mattered most. This time it was in the Long Island Championship, defeating the 24-1 Shoreham-Wading River WIldcats 4-2. From the first pitch of this championship contest, the atmosphere could’ve been mistaken for a Wantagh home game. The first pitch of this game was driven for a lead off double over the left fielder’s head courtesy of Anthony D’Onofrio. This was just the beginning. When the first inning was all said and done, Morrell was forced to throw 32 pitches and allowed four earned runs, handing him his worst outing...
Exclusive Q & A With St. John’s HC Mike Hampton
While it came as quite a surprise to many when longtime St. John’s Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer stepped down to manage the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Red Storm couldn’t have chose someone more prepared to fill in. Mike Hampton, who has been Blankmeyer’s assistant for 18 seasons, is well-suited to fill the shoes of the legendary skipper. Hampton is a 1994 graduate of Clemson University – named All-American in 1994 and drafted in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Reds. The program has reached great heights under the guidance of that duo, including nine 40-win seasons, four BIG EAST Championships and an appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals in 2012. Under his guidance, the offense was ranked third in AVG in 2017 at .323 and finished top-10 in 2006, 2007 and 2009. The Red Sto...
Brian Morrell Transfers to St. John’s University
One of the most decorated players in Long Island baseball history has a new home. Brian Morrell, two-time winner of the Carl Yastrzemski Award and 2017 MLB Draft pick, has transferred to St. John’s University from the University of Notre Dame. It was just two years ago that Morrell was the most talked about player in our region, he completed an historic 5-year high school career by leading Shoreham-Wading River to the Long Island Championship against Wantagh. For his career, he won 23 games with a 1.15 ERA an 295 strikeouts over 213 IP. At the plate, he batted .409 with 26 home runs and 124 RBI. His senior season was legendary. He compiled a record of 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA and 93 strikeouts over 67.1 IP. He fired three no-hitters, (six for his career) and was also just as impressive a...
