Justin LeGuernic
Hills West Coming Off 14-Win Season With Two Playoff Victories
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Clemson-commit Justin LeGuernic struck out 9 over four hitless innings and showed why he’s one of the top pitching prospects in the region. @GCsports pic.twitter.com/HkALGt2m4H — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2023 Half Hollow Hills West had a much improved season in 2023 going 14-10 and securing two victories in the playoffs. In 2022, the Colts were disappointed in their 7-11 season including missing out on the postseason. Head coach Tom Migliozzi, who has held the manager position for 31 years, was able to turn the tide and hopes to continue the same success in 2024. Migliozzi’s team added playoff experience following the 2023 postseason. His two leaders this season ar...
GAME RECAP: Jace Alvino Steals the Show in 2-0 Win over Hills West
Penn State-commit Jace Alvino did it all today as he fired a 2-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and also drove in the game’s only runs in the sixth inning of West Babylon’s 2-0 victory over Hills West @GCsports pic.twitter.com/7uejr5LubQ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 1, 2023 Entering this series against Hills West, West Babylon knew the task at hand – sweep and win League 5. Hills West entered with a record of 12-2 and they always throw their ace, Clemson-commit Justin LeGuernic, on Mondays. Coach Victor Manzella countered with his ace, Penn State-commit Jace Alvino. He was up to the task. Alvino not only outdueled LeGuernic, but he was responsible for the game’s only runs as he ripped a clutch, two-run single up the middle in the top of the sixth inning to break the...
Hills West Looks to Put “Disappointing” 2022 Behind Them
by Nick Cipolla 6’5 Clemson-commit Justin LeGuernic (Hills West 2023) was up to 92 mph last season. Low arm slot generates plenty of arm side run pic.twitter.com/IT9yQKiqGJ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 8, 2023 Half Hollow Hills West has been one of the most consistent programs on Long Island over the past couple decades. Last season was a step back as they finished 7-11, missing the postseason. Head Coach Tom Migliozzi, who has won over 400 games, was very open about his team’s performance when he spoke to Axcess Baseball for their preseason preview. “Last season was uncharacteristic and disappointing for Hills West Baseball”, said coach Migliozzi, “We only had three seniors on the team last year, we were a junior heavy team and the three seniors we had weren’t nec...
Hills West Looking to Build on Last Season’s Playoff Victory
Hills West is coming off yet another strong season in 2021 under longtime head coach Tom Migliozzi, who has over 400 wins to his name. They defeated Westhampton Beach in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Sayville on a walk-off HR in the 10th inning. From that team, they graduated 10 seniors, with Coach Migliozzi stated that catcher Mike Freda (Queens), 2b Jordan Goldstein and 3b Josh Waldman were impact players for them. In terms of returning players, they are in very good shape. They had six sophomores start on most games for them, and one junior, Mike Steinberg, who started at second base. The crux of the team is in the 2023 class and Migliozzi noted that they are a talented bunch. Justin Leguernic (‘23, NY) closes out the game with a 2 inning save with electric stuff. FB ...
How Good is the 2023 Class of Pitchers on Long Island?
The velocity in the game of baseball right now is insane. I feel like an old man when I say when I was in high school if a kid threw 80 MPH by his junior year it was eye-opening. It probably meant he was going to gain some strength over the next year and that would turn into 85 maybe 86-87. This wasn’t in the 1950s, this was just over a decade ago. Somewhere along the line, the standard has changed. Everyone playing travel or varsity baseball seems to throw at least that hard and the players getting ‘D-1 looks’ are now in the mid-to-upper 80s’ by the time they are juniors. Now, I know that is not the be all, end al. There’s plenty of other aspects of pitching I look for, but when pitchers throw strikes and also have velocity that is a standard deviation or two...
Justin Leguernic Commits to Clemson
Hard-throwing lefties don’t grow on trees. It’s one of the rarest commodities in the game of baseball along with power-hitting catchers. They are a scout’s dream. One pitcher in particular, Justin LeGuernic of Half Hollow Hills West, fits into the former category. The southpaw stands 6’4, has a laidback demeanor and throws gas from the left side. He participated in our 1st annual Mike Leiderman Cup two weeks ago and committed to Clemson University recently. I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Can you talk a little about your experience with the college recruiting process and why you chose Clemson? I found that in the college recruiting process you have to be focused and work hard because there’s so many great players out there...
Hills West Led by 9 Seniors and Talented Sophomore Class
Hills West captured a share of the League V title in 2019 with Hauppauge as they both finished with a record of 11-4. They went on to lost two playoff games to Shoreham-Wading River by the scores of 9-7 and 4-3. That year’s team was led by the Silver Slugger Award winner of Suffolk County, infielder Mike Draskin who is now at Adelphi University. Another key contributor was Aidan Tornquist, who is now at Fordham University. This year’s team will have a big senior class. The seniors include; Alex Au, Brian Bentz, Ryan Connelly, Mike Freda, Joe Genzardi, Jordan Goldstein, Jack Rovner, Aaron Rubin and Josh Waldman. Michael Freda (Hills West 2021) with a max exit velocity of 92.1 pic.twitter.com/ZaGDPOX3HN — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 8, 2020 Head Coach Tom Miglio...
Hills West 2020 Season Preview
by Tony Genualdo Last season was a successful one for Hills West, finishing with an 11-4 league record, and 13-6-1 overall They were co-league champions with Hauppauge. Two All-County players graduated after last season. Silver Slugger winner Mike Draskin (New York Tech) and Aidan Tornquist (Fordham). Coach Tom Migliozzi had one major takeaway from last season. “A takeaway from last year was the proof that leadership is extremely important,” Migliozzi said. “Our captain, Doug Lattuca, did a great job leading this team.” The preparation for the 2020 season started in November for Hills West. Pitchers and catchers began reporting to the team once a week. They, along with the rest of the team, met at local batting cages for hitting drills. But pitching is always the major concern when it come...
