Features
Potter’s Pitch: Hofstra CF Was Team MVP
by PJ Potter When it comes to Steven Foster’s play on the field, he is humbled by those closest to him. As a freshman who struggled during the fall league for Hofstra, Foster was not expecting to play much in his first year of Division I baseball. “I had the jitters in the first month and I was doing too much to impress the coaches,” he noted. The speedster out of Sachem North High School in Lake Ronkonkoma found himself batting 9th and playing center field on Opening Day against #4 UCLA in Los Angeles. He said, “Coach Russo gave me the opportunity to go out and play and I knew I had to take advantage of it.” And that he did. Foster notched two hits in the first two games to force Coach Russo to bump him up to the 2nd spot in the lineup, where he went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Ever since then, ...
How an Injury and a Pitching Coach Created a Monster
Reis Lehmler just finished his freshman year at Newfield HS. It’s understandable if you haven’t heard of him yet but almost every college coach on Long Island has. He is only 14-years-old but you recognize him as soon as he begins warming up. He’s the only submarine pitcher on the field and probably on the complex, unless there is a men’s league game going on. All submarine pitchers begin as conventional pitchers and usually make the switch due to ineffectiveness at the professional level and to maximize their chance at being a “one-out guy” in the big leagues. Lehmler began doing so at the age of 12–an incredibly young age for it– and it was for a different set of circumstances. “It was a preseason game in the spring of 2012 that I had...
Nick Vitale Commits to NYIT
Two years is hardly considered a drought in terms of winning a championship. When you have the winning tradition and the caliber of players of Ward Melville, however, you do expect to win it all. In 2015, they did not lose a game at home all season, they had arguably the best player in the state and a number of other Division-I caliber players. Nick Vitale, a captain on the team as a junior, and now officially one of those Division-I players spoke to Baseball on the Island in an exclusive interview. Here’s what he had to say… Did you play any other sports growing up? When did baseball become the focal point? Baseball was always my #1 sport. I used to play basketball up until 8th grade. I quit basketball to intensify my work ethic for baseball because I wanted to focus on becomi...
Catching Up With 2016 Top Prospect Sam Kessler
by Eric Moskowitz The recruiting process is always a stressful time for players entering their senior seniors–especially for a top-notch player like Sam Kessler. He ultimately chose to attend West Virginia after he graduates in 2016 from Mount Sinai High School. Kessler is currently ranked as the No. 12 prospect in the ’16 class by Blue Chip Prospects. Our reporter, Eric Moskowitz, sat down with him and discussed some things pertaining to his career. How is the recruiting process going so far? Recruiting went well–It got a little crazy at the end, but I’m going to a great school. What people have been the most influential during your baseball career so far? Probably my pitching coach Joe Valentine, my travel coach Mark Cuesta and my dad. How do you f...
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