Hauppauge
Hauppauge Looking to Build on Last Year Despite Big Graduating Class
by Mike Anderson Hauppauge High School varsity baseball sought out to defend their 2019 league title in 2020, but ultimately never got a shot. Taking the field as a team for the first time in nearly two years, the 2021 Hauppauge Eagles did not disappoint, making the playoffs with a 12-6 record and finishing in third place in League III, only behind West Islip (13-5) and Newfield (15-3). Varsity head coach Josh Gutes shed light on his team in an interview with Axcess Baseball, talking about what worked for them last season and what they look like right now coming into this season. He attributed his strong core of seniors from last year as the driving force to their successful 2021 season. “We had four sophomores on that league championship team in 2019 that got a ton of time. So, even thou...
Hauppauge Prepares for ‘Biggest Challenge’
by Chris Sacchi After the 2019 season, Hauppauge head coach Josh Gutes already had a clear idea of how the team would stack up the following year, ready to defend a league title. “I pretty much had opening day’s lineups written at the end of the 2019 season.” For a program that has won 4 league titles of the last 5 seasons, that makes sense. Yet heading into 2021, Gutes has a team that is filled with positional battles, and the lineup is much less of a sure thing thanks to graduating 7 seniors following 2020. “I probably have seven different lineups that are written out already, with as many as 15,16 kids mixed in there.” This has made preseason that much more important, and coach Gutes embraces the new feeling in Hauppauge. “Every second of practice matters. I think this is going to be a ...
Hauppauge Defeats Shoreham 8-0 on the Back of Patrick Kelly’s Complete Game Shutout
Kelly goes the distance as Hauppauge gets the win over SWR 8-0 here at the Moriches Complex pic.twitter.com/x7DJHMXJcV — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 12, 2020 Heading into their final game before the playoffs, the Hauppauge Eagles needed a big outing from their starter, Patrick Kelly, if they had any aspirations of continuing their run at a championship. Facing possible elimination, Kelly shined for his team as they captured the victory 8-0 over Shoreham-Wading River. Throwing a complete game 7 inning shutout, Kelly willed his team to a win while only allowing 4 hits and striking out 2. His performance kept the pressure off the Eagles bats who also came up big. Working seamlessly throughout the course of the game, Kelly showed poise in difficult situations while also maintaini...
OTD: Kevin Sambuco Shines in 2-Hit Shutout Over Rocky Point
Final: Hauppauge 2, Rocky Point 0 WP: Kevin Sambuco (2-hit shutout) pic.twitter.com/CuxDipp61g — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2018 With the forecast calling for heavy rain beginning at 1pm, there was a 3-hour window to get in the game. Hauppauge starter Kevin Sambuco did it in less than half. The senior RHP carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but settled for a two-hit shutout in Hauppauge’s 2-0 victory over new League 6 rival Rocky Point, needing only 69 pitches to record 21 outs to improve the Eagles’ to 3-1 on the young season. He was starting opposite Bridgeport-commit Joey Grillo, who was named to our Preseason All-Long Island list last month. Grillo and Sambuco traded zeros for the first five innings; doing so in different ways. Hauppauge made Grillo work; they...
Hauppauge Enters 2020 Coming Off 4 League Titles in 5 Seasons
by Diana-Nicole Ramirez A positive and humble mindset has been a hallmark for Coach Josh Gutes during his tenure with Hauppauge. Having been league champs for the fourth time in five years, will not blind the Eagles to the competition they face in a difficult league. They had last season end with a record of 14-9-1 (11-4 league play). When asked about the expectations of his team for this coming season, Gutes was more than excited yet still extremely modest while he stated, “There’s an excitement moving forward this season, maybe even more so than last, but that means nothing preseason because you still have to play the games.” The Eagles will be playing League V this season and will face in order, West Babylon, Eastport/South Manor, Harborfields, Half Hollow Hills West, Islip, and Rocky ...
Sayville Rallies to Stay Alive Against Hauppauge
by James Ryder Playoff Baseball is all of the usual unpredictability with higher tensions and stakes added on top. Few games make this concept clearer than Sunday’s playoff matchup between the Sayville Golden Flashes and the Hauppauge Eagles. A thrilling pitching duel that saw a complete game win and a few other crazy moments led to a Sayville victory, 4-2. Hofstra-commit Ryan Levenberg took the mound for the Eagles and opened the game with two strikeouts. In the bottom of the first inning, Eric Foster allowed the only two runs of the day for the Eagles. Hauppauge got on base thanks to a walk from Anthony Ferrara followed by a first pitch single by Mike Knopf. The DH Joe Ferreri then hit a single up the middle to score Ferrara. Knopf and Ferreri would then steal second and third base, allo...
Nick Fanti Has Successful Shoulder Surgery
Nick Fanti in the game for Team Italy ! pic.twitter.com/XwOXsvQYCj — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 12, 2017 Nick Fanti, a 31st round pick out of Hauppauge HS in 2015 that has excelled in the minor leagues, had successful shoulder surgery today in Philadelphia. He stated that he is “excited to come back next season.” The southpaw had a quick rise to prominence during the 2015 season in which he won the Carl Yastrzemski Award in a tight vote over Ward Melville 3B/RHP Joe Flynn. He was drafted in the 31st round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, opting to sign rather than fulfill his commitment to Marist College. He was the first of the four Long Island players to sign with the Phillies between 2015-’18. He was the recipient of the 2015 Steven M...
Hauppauge Overcomes 4-0 Deficit, Game Ends in 4-4 Tie
Huge strikeout to end the top of the 10th inning–Hauppauge looks to get it done pic.twitter.com/xj5QJMi3n5 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2019 Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Hauppauge hadn’t generated much of anything on offense. After a fortuitous defensive miscue got them on the board, they mounted a rally in the fifth inning. A sac fly by Mike Knopf got them to within two runs, a wild pitch scored Ryan Levenberg and an RBI single by Alex Knopf tied it up. Credit to both team’s pitching staffs to bear down from that point forward. Each pitcher appeared to wiggle in-and-out of trouble, but a big moment in the game came in the top of the sixth when Sayville No. 9 hitter Alex Millwater lined a single to left field and Ryan Levenberg, one of the ...
Insider Notes: May 18
Yesterday, I was at the Hauppauge-Commack match up between two very-accomplished pitchers in Matt Overton (Molloy-commit) and Johnny Pohlman (College of St. Rose). In addition to them, there were a number of talented players on the field. Here’s what I saw from them: Johnny Pohlman– The big RHP is lanky and projectable. He has the chance to fill out and add several MPH to his fastball when he gets to college. They are really banking on that, because his fastball was 78-82 MPH, which is more of a Div-III velocity. However, what he lacks in velocity, he makes up for in gumption and pitchability. Despite walking four of the first seven hitters, he settled in and found his rhythm. He wound up recording nine strikeouts and allowing only two hits. He faced some good hitters, but he r...
Suffolk Class AA Power Rankings
Prior to the season, I wrote up some predictions for Suffolk Class AA based on my observations from the previous season and the improvement I saw from each team in the off season. So far, those predictions are looking pretty good. Here’s the top 10 teams in Suffolk Class AA right now. The obvious limitations to this list is that I’ve been covering games in Nassau and the CHSAA as well, so I haven’t yet gotten to see all the teams in Class AA, but within the next two weeks I should be able to. Here’s my best stab at it. 10) Deer Park (8-4) One of the biggest surprises this year, they have been led by senior Connor Hewlette, who already has four wins and Robert Belotti, who has three. They also have a fairly easy schedule remaining, which gives them a good chance at a...
