David Franchi
James Varela Continues To Dominate, LIU Post Advances to Winner’s Bracket in NCAA Regional
The LIU Post Pioneers continued their dream campaign with a 7-2 victory in the first round of the NCAA Division-II East Regional over No. 6 Felician. The Pioneers, who are the No. 3 seed in the tournament but the No. 25 nationally-ranked team, got out to a quick 3-0 start in the first inning. After Giovanni Ciaccio led off the game with a walk, he advanced to third on an error and scored on a sac fly by Dave Brehm. An RBI ground out by Anthony Vaglica and a wild pitch extended their lead. With their ace on the mound, that was more than enough. Since beginning the season with two consecutive losses, Varela has returned to being one of the best Division-II pitchers in the nation. He struck out 15 batters–bringing his season total to an unbelievable 139–and walked just two batters...
The Reigning Class B State Champs Enter 2019 With Target on Back
Center Moriches defeats Marlboro, 5-1, to advance to the Class B New York State semifinals pic.twitter.com/9h7Q3GRINq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 2, 2018 Losing the New York State Class B Championship was not something Center Moriches was interested in. Trailing by four runs in the sixth inning against Binghamton Seton Catholic Central, the Red Devils were staring defeat in the face and the prospects of a long bus ride back to Long Island as runner-ups. A seemingly innocuous at bat by DH Brad Sakellarides, however, mounted an improbable seven-run rally which featured a go-ahead hit by 1B Robert Copozzi. The Red Devils handed the ball to reliever David Franchi, who promptly slammed the door and delivered the first State Championship in program history. They had previously co...
