East Coast Lumberjacks
Up Next Powered by The Yard Sports: Robbie Melo
Please consider signing up for our monthly membership to ensure you don’t miss any of the latest content! This is the sixth installment of the popular series “Up Next” Powered by the Yard Sports Academy in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Centereach OF Logan Norman, Garden City LHP Gabe Beschloss , Connetquot INF Ryan Kiendle, Clarke MIF Nick Berasti and Miller Place SS Alex Strickland. Make sure to check out the Yard Sports Academy here. Robbie Melo is one of the sweet-swinging lefties you’d hear about in previous generations where the emphasis was on employing a level swing that produced line drives. As a freshman at Pat-Med – a large school that typically does not need to call up 9th graders – Melo more than held hi...
East Coast Lumberjacks Defeat Beast Apicella 9-1 to kick off Northeast Elite 16u Tournament
by Matthew Cataruzolo Yaphank, NY – The East Coast Lumberjacks defeated Beast Apicella by a score of 9-1 on Friday night to kick off the Northeast Elite 16u Tournament at Lasorda Legacy Park in Yaphank, New York. Apicella’s starting pitcher Matthew Brienza faced off against Lumberjack’s pitcher Matthew DeStefanis in what would eventually become a lopsided victory. Both pitchers held their competition in check for the first two innings. Apicella getting on the board first courtesy of an RBI single off the bat of Thomas Ford. C.J. Forman answered back quickly for the Lumberjacks with a sacrifice fly to even the score at 1-1 in the top of the second inning. After DeStefanis issued a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second, the Lumberjacks offense exploded in the top of the third inning. ...
Some Observations From East Coast Lumberjacks Workout on Sunday
On Sunday I went down to the East Coast Lumberjacks workout at 365 Athletics to get some video on their top players. It was a great day to do so as they had virtually every member of their organization in attendance including some of the 2020 grads that are on break from college and getting their final preparation in for their freshmen collegiate season. Before I get into the notes on them, the Lumberjacks are coming off a wild season in which they were able to navigate through the coronavirus pandemic and still travel all over to top Perfect Game tournaments. Ryan Pembroke and Daniel Pembroke, the owners of the organization, stated that they played in Perfect Game tournaments in Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Ohio. They were constantly on the move, and surely that was tough...
Q & A With Colin Ruddy
Playing on the east end of Long Island could present some inherent challenges for athletes as they fight to get the recognition they deserve over players more centrally located on the island. Aside from the geographic challenge to get college coaches at schools, there is always the question of the quality of the opponent so it can be tough to look at statistics and see what’s real. A big way to overcome that is through sheer hard work. Eventually, the cream rises to the top and when you get recognized or invited to major events – it legitimizes the hype. So when East Hampton RHP Colin Ruddy was invited to the Area Code Underclass Tournament this summer, it certainly made some waves. Ruddy committed to George Washington University this week, proving that Division-I athletes are ...
Up Next Powered By The Yard Sports Academy: Josh Knoth
Josh Knoth (Pat-Med 2023) sitting 80-81 T83 pic.twitter.com/GLYUZPinPB — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 25, 2020 Pat-Med has been no stranger to hard-throwing right-handed pitchers in recent years. While everyone will immediately think of Mets RHP Marcus Stroman, there have been quite a few since including Matt Vogel – who was also drafted out of high school in 2013. Knoth is showing the type of potential to join that list. As we learn more about pitching, we can learn even more about a pitcher’s ability to be effective. Spin rate, perceived velocity and spin efficiency are all factors that make a pitcher more difficult to square. Sometimes, it’s more simple than that. When a pitcher is in 10th grade, only 160 lbs and already sitting in the low 80s, that’...
Colin Shashaty Commits to Ithaca College
Colin Shashaty has a big day at the plate and is our @BsbLifestyle101 Player of the Game. He spoke about the win pic.twitter.com/WMRcAV6TzE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 25, 2019 Sometimes players fly under-the-radar without garnering too much attention. One player that fits this description is Northport 2020 grad Colin Shashaty. As a junior, he had a remarkable season for the Tigers; he batted .432 over 67 at bats with 29 hits, scored 25 runs, drove in 19 runs, stole 10 bases, drew six walks and struck out only three times. He announced his commitment to Division-III powerhouse Ithaca College this past weekend. I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Can you describe your experience with the college recruiting process and why you made you...
Up Next: Evan Virno
2018 got off to an ominous start for Bellport’s varsity team. Just one year after being crowned co-champs with West Islip and Deer Park in League 4 for the first time in their 50+ year history, they were at risk of missing the postseason late in the season. They needed to win all three to qualify for a postseason berth. Miraculously, they won all three, including a walk-off victory over Hills West on a hit by Brennan Beatrice. Despite losing in the first round against Bay Shore, the next few years should be rather prosperous for Bellport. With several returning players and a strong JV team, they could make some noise once again this season. One player that is perhaps a year away from contributing on varsity but is in the pipeline is Evan Virno. The ninth grader is coming off an outst...
Up Next: Liam Bowes
Liam Bowes (Shoreham-Wading River 2022) pic.twitter.com/8RjTaGi7kq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 3, 2018 (Editor’s Note: This is the second part of our ‘Up Next’ Series which profiles the top middle school and JV players on Long Island. On Sunday night, we profiled Christian Alicea. Now is Shoreham-Wading River 9th grader Liam Bowes, who is a power-hitting catcher that turned some heads down at the USA Complex in Cary, NC) Controlled aggression. It’s the phrase that comes to mind when you watch the swing of Shoreham-Wading River catcher Liam Bowes. As I watched swing-after-swing result in thunderous line drives at Gameday Sports in Port Jefferson, it became clear that a bright future lies ahead for Bowes. From his longtime hitting instructor and co...
2022 East Coast Lumberjacks Dazzle and Impress In Summer 2018
(From left to right: Bowes, Miller, McGurk) Four class of 2022 standouts have been raising eyebrows all over Long Island this summer. Matt McGurk (Commack), Cody Miller (Rocky Point), Tyler John (Ward Melville) and Liam Bowes (Shoreham-Wading River) have united under the flag of East Coast Lumberjacks. The organization was founded by Ryan Pembroke, who coaches the older teams, but the younger guys are led by former professional ball player Eric Strovink. This experienced guidance and coaching has led to all four players earning selections to Junior Team USA. Their commitment on-and-off the field is impressive and this can be credited to the committed coaches and mentors in the Lumberjacks’ organization. “We’re constantly trying to improve and we believe in that 10,000 hour rule,ΜΆ...
Dan Palermo Commits to Iona
Iona College is coming off a season in which they made a great playoff run in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), rattling off three consecutive wins in elimination games before having their dreams dashed by No. 2 Marist. Additionally, lights-out closer Jared Finkel (11 saves, 1.41 ERA) was selected in the 23rd round by the Minnesota Twins. Today was another positive day for the program as OF Dan Palermo (Sachem East 2018) accepted their offer and announced his commitment. He spoke to Vinny Messana and here’s what he had to say… Talk a little about your recruiting process and how the commitment to Iona came to be. My recruiting process involved a lot of top JUCO teams and I figured I would be going in that direction until I met Coach Carey from Iona and took a tour a...
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