Logan O’Hoppe
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 ...
Vinny Messana’s Big Board: Top High School Prospects on Long Island
With MLB Draft day just one day away it’s time to discuss which local high school players have a shot to play at the professional level. Many of these players I have watched for the past few seasons and have watched them evolve from talented players with lots of untapped potential to elite players. Additionally, each of these young men happen to possess rare leadership qualities that will help them excel at the next level. Several of these players will play high-end Division-I baseball and a few of them will play professionally after that. Criteria: high school graduates of 2018-2020 and I needed to see them play at least once. Frankin Parra (Copiague 2018, San Jacinto CC-commit) When you watch the video above, it’s easy to see why cross checkers were flying into Long Island to...
St. John the Baptist Wins Thriller To Capture CHSAA Title
Final: St. John the Baptist 5, St. Dominic 3 WP: Will Lynch St. John the Baptist is the 2018 CHSAA Champions ! pic.twitter.com/xbXvtj95fl — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2018 It’s hard to have a more drastic turn of events from the fifth inning on; which began as a commanding 3-0 lead for St. Dominic with Johnny Flannigan cruising, to a go-ahead, two-run triple by Matt Lavin, immediately followed by an RBI double–that appeared to be shot out of a cannon–by Logan O’Hoppe. St. John the Baptist reliever, Will Lynch, who came on with a runner on third in the third inning wound up going the distance and completely mystifying the Bayhawks’ batters and recording the victory as the Cougars won, 5-3, to capture their first CHSAA title since 2014. “...
Tom Force’s Bases Clearing Triple Propels SJB to 8-5 Victory
A bases clearing triple for Tom Force gives SJB an 8-5 lead in the sixth ! pic.twitter.com/wlUpdSOpOy — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 22, 2018 What began as a 5-0 game that appeared to be in-hand, turned into a wild nail-biter that was capped by a bases-clearing triple by Tom Force, the second of its kind for the St. John the Baptist Cougars in their 8-5 victory over Chaminade. Chaminade threatened to put a rally together in the bottom of the seventh, getting the tying run to the plate, but SS E.J. Exposito came in and promptly struck out three batters, with his last pitch registering at 87 MPH to end the game. The Cougars got out to an early lead in this one. Force hit an RBI single and catcher Logan O’Hoppe ripped a bases-clearing double to open up a 4-0 lead. O’Ho...
Logan O’Hoppe: What Mother’s Day Means to Me
(Editor’s Note: Logan O’Hoppe is a senior at St. John the Baptist. He is regarded as the top catching prospect on Long Island and just completed the regular season with a batting average of .511 and an OBP of .662 with two HR. He is committed to East Carolina University. The following words are his own.) When I was asked to write this, it took a long time to think about what I was going to say. How can you put into words how much love and appreciation you have for the person that gave you life? I always say my mom is my superhero. Every day she carries herself in a way that impresses me. I don’t think i’ve ever seen my mom carry a bad mood or bad thought over into the next day. She is always able to show me how life should be lived. Mom will do anything she can to make the peop...
Late Error is the Difference in St. Dominic’s Victory Over SJB
Our @DigmiNation Player of the Game is freshman Sean Lane for his clutch two-run single in the fourth inning to give the Bayhawks a 2-1 lead. #TipYourCap #LiveDreamBe pic.twitter.com/w43DnRhd1e — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 18, 2018 The transition back-and-forth between grass and turf infields can be difficult for amateur players. For that reason, St. John the Baptist scheduled multiple scrimmages to prepare for their battle against rival St. Dominic. The tactic, unfortunately, did not prevent defensive miscues that was the difference in their 4-3 loss. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tony Figliuolo led off the inning with a single and advanced on a single by Brandon Bruno. The ensuing batter hit a ground ball to third that was bobbled and thrown in the dirt to first...
St. John the Baptist Season Preview
Despite losing six games in a row during April last year, St. John the Baptist did not wave the white flag. In fact, they stayed the course and wound up in the CHSAA finals against Kellenberg at Hofstra, before losing 1-0 to Miami-commit Jason Diaz. That is a sign of a resilient, well-coached team with strong leadership from upperclassmen. The Head Coach, Casey McKay, knew things would turn around even during the skid. “The two things I always told the guys was; keep competing and stay together,” he told Axcess Baseball. “When you lose one-run games and guys get thrown out at the plate, you just have to keep competing and things will turn around,” he added. Nothing shows the epitome of their team-first attitude like their improbable comeback trailing 5-0 in the 5th ...
Long Island Titans Hold Media Day
The Long Island Titans held their annual college signing day to celebrate their high school seniors that have committed to play college baseball at the Div. I, II, III or Ju-Co level. In total, 51 players are committed to play at the next level from their Class of 2018. Some of the most notable programs include Vanderbilt, Fordham, Stony Brook, Northeastern, Furman, East Carolina, Creighton and Cornell. Sixteen of the 51 are Div-I scholarships. Those players are Chris Buehler (LIU Brooklyn), James Cardinale (Hofstra), Jason Coules (Fordham), Anthony D’Onofrio (Hofstra), Mark Faello (Hofstra), Will Feil (Albany), Anthony Fontana (Furman), William Gilbert (Cornell), Mike Handal (Fairfield), Matt Hogan (Vanderbilt), Edward Jarvis (Northeastern), Kyle Johnson (Stony Brook), Tyler Ma...
Defensive Player of the Year Award Finalists Announced
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 Defensive Player of the Year Award to the top high school player on Long Island. The four finalists are: E.J. Cumbo (Clarke 2017, NYIT) Brad Malm (Pat-Med 2017, Albany) Logan O’Hoppe (St. John the Baptist 2018) Mike Palazzolo (Hills East 2017) We are planning an evening to remember with special guests at the beautiful Villa Lombardi’s. It will be a great way to celebrate another enjoyable season of baseball here on Long Island with the people that made it all possible! **If you would like to purchase tickets to the event, you can do so by clicking here.**
5 High School Seniors That Could Get Drafted in 2018
As the season wore on, it seemed I was hearing about more and more players that had risen their stock and impressed scouts in various tournaments in places such as East Cobb, Diamond Nation or Baseball Heaven. In addition to the amount of Div-I commits there were, a handful of other players rose to the next level; where they might hear their name called on draft day in June 2018. Only Ben Brown and Brian Morrell wound up getting drafted from the 2017 class–a slight disappointment considering how many players seemed to have the chance at it. In 2018, though, I expect as many as five Long Island seniors to get drafted out of high school. Here’s a rundown of the players that have already garnered interest from the local MLB scouts… Franklin Parra (Copiague LHP) The Dominican...
CATCHERMTRX Set To Begin November 11
Since 2010, CATCHERMTRX has been working with many of the top catchers in the region. Their staff of former and current professional catchers pride themselves on bringing the very best and up-to-date methods to the catching position. The staff features current Blue Jays Triple-A catcher Patrick Cantwell (West Islip ’08), Washington Nationals High-A catcher Matt Reistetter (Hauppauge ’10), Miami Marlins Double-A catcher Cam Maron (Hicksville ’09) as well as several well-respected coaches from the area. Additionally, Sal Agostinelli has confirmed that he will make an appearance as a guest instructor during the program. Below is a list of catchers who have gone through the 18-week program, which concludes on March 3. “We’ve created an environment that allows the ...
Team Fontana Takes Inaugural Home Run Derby 35-31
We couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better match up for our inaugural Home Run Derby today at NYIT. In what looked like it would be a blowout, Team McHugh made a furious comeback from a 26-10 deficit to come up just short, by the score of 35-31. Below are some of the highlights from the contest…. Anthony Fontana led off the bottom of the first with a huge round. He hit three home runs and compiled 14 points overall. His sweet swing produced several long blasts pasts the cone in deep right field. The Furman-commit got his team out to a quick 14-0 lead. Both teams exchanged two points in the second inning from James Myler and Jarred Vanderhoof. In the top of the third, the captain Tim McHugh put up four on the board. His power bat generated several massive flies out to...
