John Rooney
OTD: John Rooney Stays Undefeated, Hofstra Rolls Past Delaware
Behind junior John Rooney’s complete-game shutout, the Hofstra Pride defeated the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 9-0 in Hofstra’s CAA home opener. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and a seven-game losing streak against Delaware. “I thought it was literally a complete game played by us,” said Hofstra head coach John Russo. “I don’t know if we’ve played a better game.” Rooney needed just 102 pitches, allowing two hits and one walk on the day striking out 11. With that, Rooney lowered his season ERA to 1.29, and improved his record to 5-0. Junior catcher Matt Siedem went 3-4 with a double, a solo home run, three RBI and a stolen base. Siedem’s stolen base and home run were both his first of the season and fell a triple shy of the cycle. “That’s the first home run I’ve hit in college,” ...
OTD: Nine-Run Sixth Powers St. John’s to 21st Win
(Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on April 2, 2017.) When you’re hot, you’re hot. The St. John’s Red Storm overpowered the Hofstra Pride, coming away with a 14-3 win for their ninth consecutive victory. “It feels good when you win, it’s nice to see our guys start swinging the bat in the middle of the game.” Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer said after the win. “Another game, another step.” The Red Storm took the lead early on a single from Jesse Berardi scoring Michael Donadio. Later in the game the Johnnies tacked on another run on a single from Anthony Brocato, scoring Troy Dixon from second. The Pride scored their only three runs in the top of the fifth inning. They scored on an error, wild pitch and an RBI single by Nick Bottari to score Steven Foster. The Red Storm came up...
2018 Axcess Baseball Cy Young Finalists Announced
There is never a shortage of high-end arms on Long Island. 2018 was no exception, but there were two college arms that stood above the rest. Typically, we have three finalists but adding a third would be a disservice to these two. John Rooney (Hofstra) : 8-2, 1.23 ERA, 3 CG, 95.0 IP, 51 H, 108 K, .166 AVG Rooney skyrocketed his value after a strong showing in the Cape Cod League during the summer of 2017. He continued that momentum and never looked back. The 6’5″ 225 lb southpaw was lights-out from day 1 of the season, not allowing a run until his fourth outing of the season. In his third outing, he fired the first six innings of a combined no-hitter and put himself on the national radar. During his March outing against UNC-Wilmington, I was in attendance and watched him silenc...
How Are the Local Players Performing in Pro Ball?
Major Leagues, School, Year (Team): Marcus Stroman, Pat-Med ’09 (Toronto Blue Jays) 2-7 record, 5.86 ERA, 66.0 IP Steven Matz, Ward Melville ’09 (New York Mets) 4-7 record, 3.38 ERA, 96.0 IP Nick Tropeano, West Islip ’08 (Los Angeles Angels) 3-4 record, 4.83 ERA, 54.0 IP Kevin McCarthy, Kellenberg ’10 (Kansas City Royals) 4-3 record, 3.69 ERA, 39.0 IP Travis Jankowski, Stony Brook ’12 (San Diego Padres) 211 at bats, .261 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 14 SB, .342 OBP, .336 SLG Minors (School, Draft Year and Affiliated Team) John Rooney (Hofstra 2018, Los Angeles Dodgers) STATS: N/A Bobby Honeyman (Stony Brook 2018, Seattle Mariners) STATS: 83 at bats, 24 H, .289 AVG, .326 OBP, .361 SLG Aaron Pinto (Stony Brook 2018, Cleveland Indians) STATS: 14.1 IP, 2.51 ERA, 15 K, .214 AVG Reiss Knehr (Fordham 2018, ...
New York Baseball Academy to Begin July 9
We are excited to continue our partnership with the New York Baseball Academy in 2018. The highly-regarded summer camp is now in its 42nd year and has become a staple for hundreds of young baseball players on Long Island and the city. We will be awarding an Axcess Player of the Week for the duration of the six-week camp. The player will receive a plaque and be featured on our Instagram page with a description of the athlete’s achievements from the previous week. Additionally, we will have a weekly recap of the event featuring the winners of the coveted “Super Hustler” Award given to the players that truly exemplify what it means to be a good teammate and hard-working ballplayer. The camp will begin July 9, if you would like to register you can call 516-463-CAMP and Axcess...
Recapping Day 3 of 2018 MLB Draft
The 2018 MLB Draft took place the past three days, and today featured a flurry players with Long Island ties getting selected. Here is the full list in case you missed anything: Round 3- John Rooney, Hofstra (Los Angeles Dodgers) Quick Analysis: 6’5″ LHP fresh off a historically good season. The only surprise is he lasted until the final pick of the third round. He is a “high-floor” type of prospect that has a chance to be a Major League starter within 3-4 years. Round 11- Franklin Parra, Copiague (New York Mets) Quick Analysis: We documented his meteoric rise from unknown to a legitimate prospect in just a couple months. He struck out 74 batters over 34 innings including 16 over 5.2 in one game. He is a 6’2″ LHP that has a fresh arm. He has very smooth ...
John Rooney Selected in Third Round by Los Angeles Dodgers
The dream season for Hofstra LHP John Rooney continues. The 6’5″ southpaw was selected in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round (104th overall). The last Hofstra player selected in the draft was Bryan Verbitsky in 2013 by the San Diego Padres–also in the third round. Rooney was a critical piece for the Pride this season as they qualified for the CAA postseason for the first time since 2012. He was named CAA Pitcher of the Year. He lights-out from day one; compiling a record of 8-2, with an ERA of 1.23 with 108 strikeouts over 95.0 IP. He held opposing batters to a .166 AVG and combined on a no-hitter with Seamus Brazill against Mount St. Mary’s on March 10. He also set a program record with 12 pick offs. Tremendous outing by John Rooney to...
May 4 Recap
An amazing afternoon for baseball on the island as these teams took the field. Check out who kept the momentum going and who is playing out the string: Division-I: Hofstra: John Rooney loses his first game of the season as Hofstra falls to Northeastern, 5-1. In what you consider a down start for Rooney, he still managed to go seven innings, giving up just two runs and seven hits while striking out seven. It took until the sixth inning for either team to score, with Northeastern third baseman Ryan Solomon uncorking a homerun to break open the game. Hofstra managed eight hits on the afternoon, three of them coming from DH Vito Friscia, including his sixth homer. The Pride are now 10-9 in CAA play and 21-17 overall for the season. Stony Brook: Stony Brook pounded out 12 hits and nine runs in ...
Northeastern Hands Rooney First Defeat of Season
A solid start for Hofstra junior John Rooney was not enough, as the Hofstra Pride fall to Northeastern, 5-1, in game one of a three-game set. “I think [Northeastern] just outplayed us today,” said Hofstra head coach John Russo. Rooney went seven innings, giving up two earned runs and two walks (two HBP), while striking out seven. “It may be one of my favorite performances of the year, because he didn’t have [his best stuff] today,” said Russo. “What a bar we’re setting when everyone is a little depressed over seven innings and two earned.” Northeastern redshirt-junior Tyler Brown went seven scoreless innings, giving up six hits and struck out eight batters. The offense for both teams was limited in the beginning of this game as both starting pitchers were locked in a pitcher’s duel. Northe...
John Rooney Stays Undefeated, Hofstra Rolls Past Delaware
Behind junior John Rooney’s complete-game shutout, the Hofstra Pride defeated the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 9-0 in Hofstra’s CAA home opener. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and a seven-game losing streak against Delaware. “I thought it was literally a complete game played by us,” said Hofstra head coach John Russo. “I don’t know if we’ve played a better game.” Rooney needed just 102 pitches, allowing two hits and one walk on the day striking out 11. With that, Rooney lowered his season ERA to 1.29, and improved his record to 5-0. Junior catcher Matt Siedem went 3-4 with a double, a solo home run, three RBI and a stolen base. Siedem’s stolen base and home run were both his first of the season and fell a triple shy of ...
Rooney Outduels Royalty
Final: Hofstra 5, UNCW 3 WP: John Rooney S: Chris Weiss pic.twitter.com/UkrMPnd1OU Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 23, 2018 Friday night baseball under the lights in the south. That is college baseball at its finest. Tonight it was an up-and-coming teams from the northeast, though, that stole the spotlight. The red-hot Hofstra Pride (10-4) defeated UNC-Wilmington (14-7) by the score of 5-3, with the go-ahead hit coming in the eighth inning by sophomore Rob Weissheier to score Teddy Cillis. In front of dozens of MLB scouts, Hofstra’s ace LHP John Rooney out dueled the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Year, Alex Royalty. Rooney went seven innings, allowing 3 ER on four hits, two walks with seven strikeouts to improve his program-record of career strikeouts to 206. Hofstra ...
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