Division
Where Are They Now Powered by the BK7 Brand: Anthony Papa
When it comes to overused phrases, “he’s got that dog in ’em” is that at the top of the list. But Anthony Papa, a former Diamond Award winner, Long Island Champ and Skyline Conference champ, fits that mold to a t. Papa, who suffered a torn UCL during his senior year of high school and told nobody, wound up pitching a five-hit complete game in the Class A Long Island Championship in 2015. He was able to play through the pain during the season as a hitter and won the Diamond Award. Later in life, he tore his ACL during conditioning training on the beach. He was able to pitch through the pain as well and to this day never got the ACL repaired. Followers of Long Island baseball are familiar with Anthony Papa for his dominant days as a 1-2 punch atop the Division rotatio...
Up Next Powered by Eye Q Investigations: Tyler Scarry
(This is the fifth installment of our weekly Up Next Series Powered by Eye Q Investigations in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we have featured Miguel Sime Jr., Matt Cruz, Luke Coats and Michael Gardner. Make sure to check out Eye Q Investigations by clicking here.) Division Ave HS has a rich tradition of baseball. They have won an astounding 37 league championships, 14 Nassau Championships, 9 Long Island Championships and 2 NYS Championships. They have done so with great coaching (beginning with the late Doug Robins to current coach Tom Tuttle), a deep talent pool in Levittown and a blue-collar demeanor when it comes to work ethic. They had the 2021 League MVP in Nick Roselli – currently a sophomore at SUNY Binghamton, the 2022 Diamond Award winn...
Q & A With Don Lang Diamond Award Winner Joseph Yovino
Division HS has a rich tradition of baseball. They are truly one of the powerhouse baseball programs on Long Island and compete for the Nassau County championship each season. This year was no different as they reached the semifinals but were defeated in 3 games by the eventual-champs Calhoun. A major reason for their success was junior catcher Joseph Yovino. The Elon-commit transferred back into the school after attending Holy Trinity in 2021. Fortunately for the Blue Dragons, he opted to come back to the school because he produced one of the best seasons in the long, storied history of the program. Yovino was named the 10th winner in program history of the coveted Diamond Award. He was a force at the plate, on the base paths and behind the dish. He batted .467 with 7 HRs, 30 RBI, scored ...
Despite Graduating Conference III MVP, Division Still Loaded With Talent
by Mike Anderson Like a Long Island varsity baseball powerhouse typically would, Division did not disappoint in 2021. They finished the year at 14-4 overall, going 14-2 in league play. They won their 39th league championship in program history simply by riding their strong culture, according to head coach Tom Tuttle. “We just have a really good culture and players that commit to the program, and that’s the reason why we’re successful year-in and year-out,” Tuttle said. They did graduate a pair of very impactful seniors: shortstop Nick Roselli and pitcher Will Giuliani. Roselli was Conference III Player of the Year and an All-Long Island selection, and now plays Div-I baseball at Binghamton. His stats were absurd – as he broke a school-record by batting .619 with a .701 (!) OBP....
Recap of Nassau County Semifinals
Yesterday was Game 1 of the Nassau County semifinals for each Conference. I won’t say it was filled with thrilling games (because three of them were run-rules), but it was certainly filled with outstanding individual performances. I bounced around like a mad man from Massapequa to Island Trees to Division. It took until my third stop to find a competitive game so I’m thankful I continued to search. Here’s a breakdown of each: Massapequa 10, Oceanside 0 Carter DeSousa with a walk-off single as Massapequa wins via run-rule 10-0 over Oceanside in Game 1 of the Nassau Conference I semifinals. They’ll be back at it tomorrow for Game 2 pic.twitter.com/zbgu3SYQlc — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2021 This one was over in the first inning when Massapequa knoc...
Mike Knapp Fans 13, Division Holds Off Manhasset, 3-2
Final: Division 3, Manhasset 2 WP: Mike Knapp (5 IP, 13 K) James Sill had go-ahead RBI single pic.twitter.com/fzPt8dqAHd — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 11, 2021 Inning after inning, Division was able to narrowly hold onto their lead over Manhasset. First starting pitcher Mike Knapp and then reliever Frank Vespa made pitches when their backs were firmly against the wall. They left runners at the corners in the first inning and the third inning, stranded bases loaded in the fourth inning and the sixth inning and runners at 2nd & 3rd in the 7th. They held on by the skin of their teeth by the score of 3-2. Division’s Head Coach Tom Tuttle said that’s what they expect from their staff: “At Division that’s what our pitchers are expected to do – we ta...
Tom Tuttle Enters 13th Season Leaning On Inexperienced Bunch
Division is headed back to the County Championship for the second year in a row! FINAL: Division 5 Bethpage 1 (F/14) pic.twitter.com/1DZ0DqayCK — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2019 The irony about the 2021 season is that –at least in the beginning – the best programs may be at the biggest disadvantage. While it may sound hard to believe, it’s because of the cancellation last year. The strongest programs in 2019 typically featured senior-laden teams. Those players have all since graduated and the current seniors all played JV or earned modest playing time in 2019. Division is one of the strongest programs on Long Island. They have made the County Finals six of the previous 12 seasons and have made the postseason every year since 1974. Head Coach Tom Tuttle, ...
OTD: Division Clinches Second Consecutive County Championship Berth Behind 14-Inning Win
Division is headed back to the County Championship for the second year in a row! FINAL: Division 5 Bethpage 1 (F/14) pic.twitter.com/1DZ0DqayCK — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2019 It took 14 innings and 3.5 hours, but the Division Blue Dragons are headed back to the County Championship. In the longest postseason game of 2019, they came out on top over Bethpage by a score of 5-1. Throughout this ballgame, it was truly a “game of inches.” In the bottom of the 7th inning, Bethpage trailed by one run. This was where the fun began. Bethpage tied the game at 1-1, with the game winning run on 3rd with one out. On an infield ground ball. Ryan Spreckles slapped down the tag on what would’ve been the winning run at home, keeping the game tied. This forced endless extra innings. To be...
Division Enters 2020 Highly Motivated
by Joseph Langan With a record of 20-3, Coach Tom Tuttle and his Division High School Dragons found themselves playing for the Class A County Championship title for the second consecutive year. Riding hot on a nine-game winning streak Division seemed unstoppable, that was until they matched up with the Clarke High School Rams. Clarke put out Division’s fire in the best of three title games. Coach Tuttle, disappointed by the leadership in his key senior players, knows that to be successful a good core of leaders is one of the most important parts of his team. “We played our two worst games at the most important time of the year. After our loss to Clarke in the finals last season the major issue we had was a direct result of the poor leadership from some of our seniors. We had some seniors ...
Here’s What Tom Tuttle Had To Say On This Week’s Podcast
It’s hard to fathom, but Division HS has not missed a postseason since 1974. Simply put, they are one of the elite programs on Long Island and much of that has to do with the coaching. Dating back to the late Doug Robins, they have always been a well-disciplined and prepared team. Now under Tom Tuttle, the same can be said. If you didn’t have time to listen to the 26 minute interview with him, here’s a recap of what he had to say.. Regarding 2019 season -Really proud of his guys, played great all year. -Played worst two games at the most critical part of the season after taking 1-0 series lead over Clarke in County Championship. They committed 13 errors and walked 9 guys in those two games. -Clarke was tremendously well-coached. They compound on your mistakes. WantaghR...
Get To Know Nick Roselli
Nick Roselli is a left-handed batter with a sweet swing and a smooth glove in the infield. More importantly, he has proven himself to be a winning ballplayer that is a menace on the base paths. He announced his verbal commitment to Sacred Heart University last week, becoming the latest 2021 grad to come off the board. I had a chance to talk to him, and here’s what he had to say… Can you explain your experience with the college recruiting process and why you chose Sacred Heart? Tom Downey, Travis Quattrini and the rest of the Titans’ organization does a great job of making sure we play in the right tournaments with the most exposure. Every tournament we played in, there were multiple colleges at every one of our games. Coach Tuttle and Coach Robins, from Divi...
