George Caratzas
East Meadow Looking to Make Noise in First Year Under O’Connor
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas The 2025 season will look a bit different for the East Meadow Jets. Former-head coach Vinny Mascia retired following the season and Bill O’Connor has taken the reins for the Jets as they look to build upon a 10-9 season a year ago. In the playoffs, East Meadow was bounced in the first round by Farmingdale, ending its season. “They were a pretty competitive team last year,” O’Connor said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “That was a pretty young team, so we have a lot of guys returning. Two of our top-three pitchers are back so we should be pretty good.” The two pitchers that O’Connor references are Alec Coehlo and Spencer Kemler. Coehlo will serve as the Jets’ top option, as the...
Saturday College Recap Powered by Orlin & Cohen
by George Caratzas Many of the early season southern tours are over for local teams as we start so see some college baseball back in the Northeast. Here is how all the action went down in week four. Division I: Niagara 10, Stony Brook 9 Despite the cold weather, this was an offensive battle with the Purple Eagles taking an early 4-0 lead. A home run by Stony Brook’s Johnny Pilla and 11 walked handed out by the Niagara pitching staff allowed the Seawolves to climb back into the game. Stony Brook took an 8-5 lead after a three-run double by Luke Szepek, but Niagara’s Shawn Cameron came up with a two-run triple, before Jacob Brooks drove in the tying run with a single. Curtis McKay delivered the game-winning hit, a go-ahead RBI double in the 10th inning. Pilla was on base four times, going 3...
On the Back of a Deep Pitching Staff, East Islip Aspires to Claim Championship
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Coming off a regular season that saw the East Islip Redmen go 13-5 in league play, before eventually losing in the playoffs, head coach Sal Ciampi Jr. has much of his dominant pitching core returning for 2025. In 2024, the Redmen were carried by their pitching staff, having five pitchers with earned run averages under three. Of their five regular-season losses, four of them were by one run or were games that were decided in the final at bat. This year, all five of East Islip’s big arms are back as they look to claim a championship. “It was disappointing from the standpoint of it ending where it ended,” Ciampi said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “But, we set ourselves up to b...
East Hampton Hungry to Return to the Postseason
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series By George Caratzas After back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023, the East Hampton Bonackers missed the postseason in 2024 in a year that saw them finish 8-12. With head coach Vincent Alversa entering his tenth year at the helm, East Hampton is looking to return to success. Last year, the Bonackers undoing was an inexperienced pitching core, which is something that Alversa sees as a strength of this year’s roster. “I think last year was actually a bit better than what I was expecting with such a young staff,” Alversa said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “We got a lot out of the fact that those guys gained some experience and we can move forward from there.” This year, Alversa has four high-ca...
After Claiming Elusive League Championship, Westbury Looks to Succeed in Expanded League
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas The Westbury Dragons are coming off consecutive winning seasons and their first time topping the Nassau county-wide league since 1972. Without a little league in town, much of head coach Ryan Mulholland’s team is new to the sport when entering high school, making the task of winning that much more challenging. After a 9-8 year in 2023, the Dragons went 11-6 overall and claimed the league title for the first time in over 50 years. “No matter what league you play in, you want to finish first in,” Mulholland said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “It was really exciting for our program to have some success in baseball. We look up at the banners in the gym that say ‘1968’ and ‘1972...
William Floyd Looks to Take the Next Step
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Coming off a year that saw the William Floyd Colonials win 15 regular season games and a pair of postseason contests, head coach Keith Kobasiuk’s crew is looking to break through and start one of the program’s most successful periods in history. The Colonials will be without two key cogs to last year’s team, as shortstop Angelo Velez and pitcher Jake Sambriski both graduated. Velez spent much of the season as the Colonials two-hole hitter and was a major part of one of their winningest seasons in recent memory. With Velez gone, Kobasiuk will need to find somebody to replace his clubhouse presence, as well as his on the field production. “Angelo is a quiet kid,” Kobasiuk said in...
Saturday College Recap Powered by Orlin & Cohen
As the second weekend of college baseball is in full swing, Saturday’s slate featured nine local teams in action. Here is all that went down: Division-I: Wake Forest 11, St. John’s 0 The Johnnies were blanked on Saturday as Wake Forest starter Matthew Dallas fired six innings of one-run baseball. The big blow came in the third when Wake Forest took a 1-0 game, and turned it into a 6-0 advantage with a five-spot. Center fielder Ethan Conrad brought home a pair with a single before first baseman Jack Winnay hit his second longball of the game. Four Demon Deacons tallied multiple hits while former St. John’s star Jimmy Keenan went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. Second baseman Antonio Morales went 3-for-5 in the leadoff spot while baseman Jack Winnay went 2-for-3 with the two ho...
Rocky Point Looks to Return to Playoffs After Down Year in 2024
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Coming into 2024, the Rocky Point Eagles had made the playoffs for a decade straight. Unfortunately for them, that streak came to an end as the Eagles went 9-11 in head coach Anthony Anzalone’s sixth at the helm. Despite losing some key pieces, Anzalone believes that his team is prepared to make sure that Rocky Point does not start a playoff drought. “We have experienced seniors who went through a rough time last year and don’t want to feel that way again,” Anzalone said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “They’ve also been on some pretty good teams so they’ve seen all ends of the spectrum. They’ve come in this offseason with a great mindset and a great work ethic and are ready to...
Plainview-JFK Looks to Continue Sustained Success in 2025
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Final: Plainview JFK 4, Oceanside 1 WP: Mike D’Ambrosio (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 Ks) S: Anthony Powers D’Ambrosio also had an RBI double Alex Reifer had 2 hits and 2 RBIs pic.twitter.com/Rspj1QsotX — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 1, 2024 Under head coach John Givargidze, the Plainview Old Bethpage JFK Hawks have established themselves as a power house in Nassau County. The Hawks have gone 70-26 since 2021, claiming three conference titles and made it as far as the semis every year since 2022 — including a pair of finals appearances. Nonetheless, Givargidze’s crew has not gotten over the hump and hoisted the trophy in recent years. Last year, the Hawks were knocked out in the ...
Roslyn Looks to Rebound After Missing Playoffs in 2024
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Roslyn answers back with a sacrifice fly from Lucas Weisser. 2-1 Carey after one. pic.twitter.com/e5Dz0RnLtI — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2024 Following an 8-8-1 season in 2023, the Roslyn Bulldogs took a step backwards in 2024 as they finished with a 6-12 record en route to missing the playoffs. To add insult to injury, head coach Dan Freeman lost three major contributors to graduation and will have to rebuild the roster in 2025. “We happen to play, in my mind, in the toughest conference in Nassau County,” Freeman said in an interview with Axess Baseball. “We had made the playoffs in the previous three years and had a really good team. We competed in every game but...
Despite Losing Eight Starters, Long Beach Looks to Compete in 2025
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Following a 17-7-1 campaign in 2024, the Long Beach Marines saw eight starters graduate, with six of them going on to continue their respective careers in college. However, head coach Jason Zizza has no problem utilizing his team’s youth in the upcoming season. “In my time here as the head varsity baseball coach at Long Beach, I have always created a lot of in-house competition,” Zizza told Axcess Baseball. “We’re going to allow the younger players to compete for spots at the varsity level.” Among the Marines’ largest losses were pitcher Christian Parisa, outfielder Troy DeFrancesco and catcher Dan DeFonte. DeFrancesco and DeFonte spearheaded a Long Beach offense that led Nassau Co...
Island Trees Looking to Make Postseason Run Led by 12 Seniors
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by George Caratzas Two years ago, the Island Trees Bulldogs went just 5-13-1. Last year, second year head coach Mike Valiando’s group had a resurgent season, going 10-9-1 in the regulars season but eventually losing in the playoffs in a Game 3 to Plainedge. As Valiando enters year three at the helm, this year figures to be a crucial year for the program, as he is set to lose 12 seniors at the end of the year. “Each year we set goals for our players to work towards in the offseason and in season,” Valiando told Axcess Baseball. “This group of seniors have been improving each year so I am excited to see them finish out their high school careers with no regrets.” It certainly will not be easy for Island...
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