Jimmy Joyce
Who Would You Start a Franchise With – LI Edition?
Long Island has had many great ballplayers through out history – but people forget how rich the recent history has been. Several players that graduated over the past decade have gone on to great college careers and even reached Major League Baseball. We even did a mock draft back in June covering this topic. Here are the results of yesterday’s mock draft. Players selected played on Long Island between the years 2010-2020 pic.twitter.com/UV4LWlU9gb — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 10, 2020 But what if we made it even more exclusive? Instead of fielding an entire team, it was just a pitcher and a position player. Who would you pick then? I know who I would pick – but I solicited the help of some of the most well-respected coaches on Long Island to fill in my blin...
OTD: Wantagh Wins Class A NY State Title
Being the No. 7 seed entering the postseason? No problem. Not having a two-time All-State pitcher available in the postseason? No problem. Facing an undefeated Queensbury team in the NYS title game? Psh. The Wantagh Warriors defeated Williamsville East to capture their first Class A NYS title since 1998. Starting pitcher Bobby Hegarty, who fired a one-hitter against Mount Sinai to capture the Long Island Championship went the distance, although he did struggle in the early going putting the Warriors in a 5-1 hole. They clawed back with a three-spot in the fourth inning and tied the ballgame in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Fontana that scored Jimmy Joyce. The game was tied going to the ninth inning when Joyce smacked the go-ahead home run to left field that put them three outs a...
OTD: Wantagh Gets to Morrell Early, Repeats As Long Island Champions
THE WANTAGH WARRIORS ARE BACK TO BACK CLASS A LONG ISLAND CHAMPIONS! FINAL: Wantagh 4 Shoreham-Wading River 2 pic.twitter.com/JFdQ2tqOgN — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 3, 2017 Much like they have for the past two seasons. Wantagh‘s star players shined when it mattered most. This time it was in the Long Island Championship, defeating the 24-1 Shoreham-Wading River WIldcats 4-2. From the first pitch of this championship contest, the atmosphere could’ve been mistaken for a Wantagh home game. The first pitch of this game was driven for a lead off double over the left fielder’s head courtesy of Anthony D’Onofrio. This was just the beginning. When the first inning was all said and done, Morrell was forced to throw 32 pitches and allowed four earned runs, handing him his worst outing...
Transcript from IG Live With Jimmy Joyce
(Hofstra junior pitcher Jimmy Joyce on the mound against New Mexico on March 7, 2020. Joyce earned the final save of the season before the NCAA’s cancellation. PHOTO CREDIT: HOFSTRA ATHLETICS- TIM MARCH) Vinny Messana (VM): I just wanted to address Section VIII and Section XI canceling the remainder of the 2020 season, which was not a shock but not what we wanted to hear. My heart goes out to all the seniors that lost your senior year. [Jimmy], do you still keep in touch with any of your former Wantagh teammates? Jimmy Joyce (JJ): I keep in touch with all of them honestly. The whole 2016 team, we talk at least once a week, still. That’s what memories will do for you. VM: At least you guys in college got to have a little bit of a season. The high school guys obviously– don’t want to p...
Hofstra Offense Stay Hot in 9-5 Victory Over Long Island University
by Tony Genualdo The Hofstra University Pride defeated the Long Island University (LIU) Sharks 9-5 on Wednesday, March 11, at University Field in Hempstead. Hofstra was looking to bounce back in their home opener after being swept last weekend by University of New Mexico Lobos. Despite scoring 34 runs in that series, they lost all three games in the bottom of the ninth inning. Meanwhile, LIU was doing the sweeping last weekend in their home opening series against the Saint Peter’s University Peacocks. Giovanni Ciaccio got the afternoon started for the Sharks as he hit the first pitch from Steven Boscia over the left field wall to give LIU an early 1-0 lead. A Carlton Harper RBI double later in the inning added one more run. Hofstra head coach John Russo pulled Boscia after just one inning ...
Wantagh Enters 2019 With A Target On Their Back After Winning Three Straight Long Island Championships
The first word that comes to mind when discussing Wantagh is dynasty. As everyone should know, Wantagh has won three consecutive Class A Long Island Championships. They not only demoralized every one of their opponent’s dreams in the making, but now go down in Long Island history as one of the most dominant teams to ever do it. Aside from the 2016 State Championship and the three Long Island Championships, Wantagh portrays an incomparable resume among that three year period. The core of these championship teams were made up of star ballplayers who went on to play baseball at the next level. Winning the most prestigious award in Nassau County is just one of the awards they took home in back-to-back seasons. In 2017, Jimmy Joyce (Hofstra) won the Diamond Award for best hitter, batting ...
Hofstra Prioritizing Playing Without Fear
After finishing eighth in the CAA in 2017, the Hofstra Pride baseball team looks to put last season behind. The Pride finished with a 14-37 (7-17 CAA) record in 2017. Hofstra has not been to the CAA tournament since 2012. “We lost so many close games that we almost figured out how to lose,” said head coach John Russo. “And more importantly, we’d almost feel like we were going to lose in the dugout.” The Pride lost five players to graduation. One of those seniors is David Leiderman, the former Pride starting third baseman, who signed with the Miami Marlins organization and report to minor league camp in March. Leiderman finished his Hofstra career with a .266 average with 11 home runs and 88 RBI. Leiderman is the 16th Hofstra player to join the professional baseball ranks. The other seniors...
Spencer Gustafson Opens Up On His Unusual Injury, Difficult Road Back
Athletes understand the inherit risks of playing sports competitively. You are at the peril of injuries at all times, and it’s not always your fault. That much is true. The silver lining is that almost every injury you can sustain has been endured by countless athletes before you and will be treated by the best in the medical field. What happens, however, when you suffer an injury so unsual that it’s tough to find a surgeon able to operate? Wantagh junior, Spencer Gustafson, suffered an unusually rare injury on a freak accident during his eighth grade year. He spoke to Vinny Messana, and here’s what he had to say… Tell us about the injury you sustained and what the journey back has been like… On the last day of 8th grade baseball tryouts, we were inside hittin...
Man of the Year Award Finalists Announced
Finalists for Axcess Man of the Year are: •Brian Morrell, SWR •Jimmy Joyce, Wantagh •Chris Cappas, Kellenberg pic.twitter.com/NnO1H4GAEC — Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) November 21, 2017 We will be hosting our third annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 6 at Villa Lombardi’s. Among the several awards we will be handing out will be the Axcess Man of the Year Award to the top high school player on Long Island. The four finalists are: Chris Cappas (Kellenberg) Pitching: 6-1 record, 0.18 ERA, 53 K, 39 IP Offense: .438 AVG, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 1 K Mark Faello (Plainview-Old Bethpage) Pitching: 7-0 record, 1.26 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 74 K, 56.2 IP Offense: .372 AVG, 2 HR, 23 RBI, .450 OBP, 22 R Jimmy Joyce (Wantagh) Pitching: 9-2 record, 1.27 ERA, 92 K, 66 IP Offen...
Who Would’ve Won a Long Island World Series?
One of the things I would change about the state of baseball in our region is that I would eliminate the New York State tournament in favor of a three-game series between the winner of Class AA and A on Long Island. Why? Because the tournament is hosted in Binghamton and with the exception of the teams that qualify, very few people are able to make the four-hour drive upstate. That is a shame that the players invest all the blood, sweats and tears and then they play in front of a sparse crowd. I think it would’ve been so much more fascinating to see a three-game series between Massapequa and Wantagh to see who the true champions of Long Island are rather than having a large-school and small-school champion. Wantagh was talented enough to play in Class AA the past two years and it wou...
Fall Ball Series: Hofstra
We continued our Fall Ball Series at Hofstra yesterday, where the Pride hosted Queens College in a scrimmage. They looked good in yesterday’s scrimmage. They got on the board early and often and won by the scores of 12-1 and 9-3. While the results of the fall do not count, it is a positive sign to see a pitching staff throw strikes and fundamentally solid baseball. The Colonial Athletic Association is historically a difficult conference that featured four 30-win teams (Northeastern, UNC-Wilmington, William & Mary, Delaware) last season. The Pride struggled in 2017, but they are returning their top four leading hitters (Steven Foster, Vito Friscia, Mikey Reisner, Teddy Cillis) in addition to their top two power hitters (Friscia and Vinnie Costello) and will be hoping that l...
