Center Moriches
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...
OTD: Center Moriches Achieves Perfection
For the past two seasons, Center Moriches has dispelled the theory that baseball is a game of failure. After yesterday’s 11-1 victory in the New York State Class B State Championship against Schuyersvile, the Red Devils captured their second straight title to cement themselves into the history books. They are the first team to finish a season undefeated (26-0) since Bayport-Blue Point in 2013–who also was able to pull off the distinction of back-to-back State Championships the next season. They have also not lost a game since April 18, 2018. Any way you slice it, this is truly a special group. In this game, they jumped out ahead immediately with a three-run shot by catcher Alec Maag. The Axcess League MVP has been the straw that stirs the drink all season and has been playing on another le...
OTD: 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 opened ...
My Favorite Player Growing Up
by Paul Gibson III (Editor’s Note: Paul is the head coach of Center Moriches HS, his alma mater. He was the assistant coach during their back-to-back New York State Class B championships. The following words are his own.) Growing up around the game I was lucky enough to to watch, meet and learn from so many great baseball players. Wade Boggs, Paul O’Neill, Cecil fielder are just a few that come to mind. But when I started to think about who MY favorite player was growing up the answer came to me right away. Of course , this is pretty much as bias as it gets, but my favorite player was and always will be my dad. Of course their are players with more notoriety and accolades, but having this first-hand experience made the choice pretty simple. I always loved the game, so I was as observ...
Paul Gibson III Named New Head Coach of Center Moriches
The two-time defending New York State Class B Champs have a new Head Coach. Paul Gibson III will be the new Head Coach of Center Moriches, according to sources. He replaces Dennis Donovan, who led the Red Devils to an undefeated record of 26-0 this past season in what we deemed to be the greatest team of the decade. “Very fortunate to have been an assistant, teammate and most importantly lifelong friend of Dennis,” said Gibson. He is an absolutely amazing coach and a better role model. I look forward to this opportunity and the continued growth of this storied program.” Gibson was on staff as an assistant last year, so he is familiar with the program. He is also a coach of one of the premier travel organizations on Long Island, Team Beast and is the son of former New York...
Who Was The Best Team of The 2010s?
When it comes to being considered the best–the bar is set high. Over the course of the past 10 seasons, there have been undefeated seasons, there have been back-to-back state champs, there have been pitching staffs loaded with Division-I talent and pro pitchers. But there can only be one team considered the best. I have watched a lot of baseball, but I didn’t trust my own instinct so I solicited the help of some trusted sources to put together my definitive list of the best teams of the decade. To make it a bit easier, we narrowed it down to teams that have won a Long Island Championship, because plenty of talented teams have made it to the finish line only to come up short. We also did not list any school more than once on purpose because many of the back-to-back champions fea...
Where Are They Now: Glenn Gibson
(Photo Credit: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images) It’s Opening Day 2006 and the best pitching prospect on Long Island is on the mound against Centereach HS. The area behind home plate is packed with representatives from virtually all Major League teams plus cross checkers to watch Glenn Gibson. The 6’4 southpaw is the son of former New York Mets and New York Yankees LHP Paul Gibson. Glenn is armed with a 90 MPH fastball and–barring injury– will be drafted in June. The scouts and everyone else in attendance are expecting to watch a pitching clinic by the flame-throwing southpaw. That’s not what happened, and that’s why they play the games. “I threw four innings and it was just a struggle,” said Gibson. “I think I gave up 11 hits that year and ...
Perfection! Center Moriches Captures NYS Class B Title to Finish Undefeated Season
For the past two seasons, Center Moriches has dispelled the theory that baseball is a game of failure. After yesterday’s 11-1 victory in the New York State Class B State Championship against Schuyersvile, the Red Devils captured their second straight title to cement themselves into the history books. They are the first team to finish a season undefeated (26-0) since Bayport-Blue Point in 2013–who also was able to pull off the distinction of back-to-back State Championships the next season. They have also not lost a game since April 18, 2018. Any way you slice it, this is truly a special group. In this game, they jumped out ahead immediately with a three-run shot by catcher Alec Maag. The Axcess League MVP has been the straw that stirs the drink all season and has been playing o...
Recap of Day 1 of the New York State Championship
Yesterday, four Long Island teams made the five (ish) hour trek up north to Binghamton to participate in the New York State tournament. The four teams (Massapequa, Sayville, Center Moriches and Pierson) qualified by capturing the Long Island (southeast regional) Championship and advancing in hopes of being crowned the best in the state among their classification. For Massapequa and Center Moriches, they were both looking to repeat as champions, while Sayville is already in unprecedented territory, winning their first Long Island Championship in program history last week. Here’s a quick recap of how it went down: Class AA: Massapequa vs Shenendehowa The teams traded zeros through three innings, but Shenendehowa broke through with a four-run fourth inning against Chiefs’ RHP Bobb...
Center Moriches Captures Back-to-Back Class B Long Island Championships
Robert Copozzi wen 3-for-3 with a long HR to deliver Center Moriches their second straight Class B Long Island Championship @BsbLifestyle101 pic.twitter.com/7MGHvj1LZ5 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 6, 2019 Center Moriches has made no secret that their goal was to repeat as New York State Class B Champions this season. They moved one step closer to that goal with a 3-0 victory over Cold Spring Harbor to capture their second straight Long Island Championship. The Red Devils made quick work of their Suffolk County opponents on the way to a 22-0 record entering the day. They proved that the best of Nassau County was no match for them either. The Seahawks hung tough, but ultimately they couldn’t muster much offense against Franklin Pierce-commit Andres Auffant. The hard-thro...
Rewind: Lindenhurst’s 2010 State Championship
(Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy) It’s been nine seasons since Lindenhurst‘s incredible State Championship winning season in which they went 26-1. They are the last Suffolk AA team to win the state title . Not only did they have 29th round draft pick Jon McGibbon but also the Yaz Award Winner, Jimmy Briggs. The season before, I had the misfortune of facing them in a playoff game. They were the No. 12 seed, Centereach was the No. 5 seed and they were the far superior team. McGibbon, then a junior, cranked two home runs and put Long Island on notice. The next year, they put it all together and the rest, as they say, is history. I had a chance to sit down and speak with their ace, Rich Vrana, who went 10-0 that season and we spoke about a host of topics regarding that team and h...
