Massapequa
Massapequa Enters The Season in Unfamiliar Territory
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Vin Messana The streak is over Port Washington 2, Massapequa 1 WP: Jackson Garcia 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 Ks Save: Jeff Radinsky 3 IP, 0 H, 7 Ks Derek Fine RBI single Max Spiryda 2 for 3, RBI Port Washington advances to the Nassau AAA Finals against Farmingdale. This ends Massapequa’s run of 6… pic.twitter.com/LXQSnOIcra — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 22, 2024 Much has changed in the world over the past 8 years – but there was always one thing you could count on – the Massapequa Chiefs winning the Nassau County Class AA Championship. In the first year under the new classification, Massapequa shockingly was defeated by Port Washington in the best-of-three AAA semifinals. Massapequa ...
Where Are They Now Powered by Prime Performance: Matt Prokopowicz
When Massapequa lost to East Meadow in the 2005 County Championship, there was a picture of the team celebrating on the mound. That picture was hung up in the locker room at Massapequa in the locker room. “That picture of them lit the fire for the next 20 years,” said Matt Prokopowicz. Hypernole or not, Massapequa went 29-0 in 2006 winning the Class AA Nassau County, Long Island and NYS Championships. Prokopowicz was a major part of that success as he was named All-State and hit a clutch HR in the Long Island Championship in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut into a 5-0 deficit. Prokopowicz will go down as one of the best hitters in Long Island history, as he wound up attending Hofstra University where he is still the all-time hit king. But before we get to that, let’s...
Massapequa: How Do They Do It?
(This is the first part of a 5-part series in which we take a deep dive into the best baseball towns on Long Island. First up is Massapequa.) ERIK PAULSEN JR WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM TO WIN IT FOR MASSAPEQUA!! ARE YOU KIDDING?! pic.twitter.com/XxVwkXrBMY — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 31, 2023 by Patrick Duryea Nestled in between a few neighborhoods on the South Shore of Long Island, you’ll find Massapequa High School and its beloved baseball diamond. Looking out from the bleachers standing behind home plate you’ll see one of two things. One may be the Massapequa water tower looming over the neighborhood and trees, on the other side, you’ll see pennants all over the school buildings. Those pennants represent Massapequa High School’s long history of cross-sport dominance in Nas...
GAME RECAP: Massapequa Extends Winning Streak To Six Games After Defeating Farmingdale 5-1
by Mike Merolle FINAL SCORE: 5-1 Massapequa. Travis Gfrerer shuts the door in the 7th and Massapequa’s win streak extends to 6 wins. pic.twitter.com/H72QNyp3Hr — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 2, 2024 Two red-hot schools clashed in the Conference AAA-I duel on Thursday. Farmingdale (9-4) visited Massapequa (11-3) who extended their winning streak to six games after winning 5-1. Massapequa’s Jackson Tucholski and Farmingdale’s Lorenzo Cimino had good outings for their respective side. Tucholski allowed one run on two hits and struck out five batters in four innings pitched. Cimino struck out five batters and allowed three earned runs on three hits in four innings. T1: Angel Cartagena hits a solo shot in the first to make it a 1-0 Farmingdale lead. pic.twitter.com/Tkq5zoNHQf — A...
Massapequa Seeking Unprecedented 7th Straight County Title
ERIK PAULSEN JR WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM TO WIN IT FOR MASSAPEQUA!! ARE YOU KIDDING?! pic.twitter.com/XxVwkXrBMY — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 31, 2023 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. You couldn’t have scripted it up any better. Bases loaded, two outs, County Championship on the line. Erik Paulsen Jr up to the plate. Paulsen hit a majestic, sky-scraping walk-off grand slam that sent the Massapequa faithful into an absolute state of euphoria. He floated around the bases and the Chiefs had erased an early 6-1 lead after 3 innings in Game 3 of the Nassau Class AA Finals against No. 2 Plainview JFK. They captured their unprecedented sixth straight County Championship. “That’s definitely in my top...
Up Next Powered by State Farm Ken Kortright Agency: Chris Sultana
(Editor’s Note: This is the tenth installment of the popular ‘Up Next’ Series in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Everett Zarzicki, Brian Brower, Stellan Zangari, Ryan Bush, Bryce Cutrone, Justin Ortiz, Colin Raymond, Jagger Adamo and JD Duffy. Special thanks to State Farm Ken Kortright Agency for sponsoring this year’s series.) Massapequa has long been considered one of the best baseball towns on Long Island. They currently have won six consecutive Nassau County Class AA Championships and won the Long Island Championship as recently as 2022. Much of that has to do with having a huge talent pool, and a top notch coaching staff that has allowed them to generate a never ending line of high-end players. Massapequa freshma...
Bedlam! Erik Paulsen Jr. Crushes Walk-Off Grand Slam to Propel Massapequa in Long Island Championship
ERIK PAULSEN JR WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM TO WIN IT FOR MASSAPEQUA!! ARE YOU KIDDING?! pic.twitter.com/XxVwkXrBMY — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 31, 2023 Bases loaded. Two outs. Bottom of the seventh inning in Game 3 of the Nassau County Class AA Finals. Enter Erik Paulsen Jr. It was a story book finish for the Stony Brook-bound Paulsen who launched a dramatic, incredible walk-off grand slam as No. 1 Massapequa stunned No. 2 Plainview JFK to win 8-6 and capture their record sixth consecutive Nassau Class AA Title. While it’s never smart to count out the Chiefs, their backs were firmly against the wall after 3 innings – when they trailed 6-1. Massapequa had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when, who else, Erik Paulsen ripped a one-out double to the right...
Oceanside Sneaks Out Win in Tight Opener Against Massapequa
by Eddie Lennon Oceanside’s Luke Villella is the Axcess Baseball Player of the Game powered by @GCsports. Villella crushed a go ahead RBI double. Solid 6-4 W for Oceanside. pic.twitter.com/otDo4wRfsP — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2023 In a thrilling start to the season, Oceanside comes out victorious with an upset win over Massapequa as they win 6-4 in six innings. Opening up against a powerhouse like Massapequa was not an easy task for coach Mike Postilio and his young Oceanside squad. Massapequa are the five-time reigning Class AA Nassau County Champs and were looking to establish their dominance early in the county. Oceanside had different plans for the evening. Mike Furst took the mound for Oceanside. He kept them competitive by tossing 4 1/3 innings, striking out f...
Massapequa Looks to Continue Unprecedented Level of Dominance
Among the most common questions I hear on ballfields is, “how is Massapequa always so good?” It’s a great question. Longtime head coach Tom Sheedy gave a brief window into how they operate when he said, “I learned from the old Ward Melville lacrosse coach who told me about the ‘cycle’. The cycle is when you have grade school kids that come down to your camps, they wind up being the leaders of your varsity team, then they go on to play in college, then they come back to help out at the camps and the cycle goes on. It’s a very positive thing,” he said. It may sound oversimplified, but one thing is certain – Massapequa is at the top of the hierarchy of Long Island baseball programs. They are the five-time reigning Class AA Nassau County Ch...
Joey Lionetti Reflects On The Year That Changed His Life
Wow ! Joey Lionetti fires a no-hitter and for the first time in their 72-year history Massapequa Coast is headed to the Little League World Series ! pic.twitter.com/NROC1fF8i6 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 13, 2022 On August 12, Joey Lionetti did not just introduce himself to a national audience – but he burst onto the scene with a no-hitter on ESPN to send Massapequa Coast to the Little League World Series for the first time in the program’s 72-year history. The ensuing days were a mad rush of media attention and it would be understandable to be overwhelmed as a 12-year-old. Overall he posted some incredible numbers – it wasn’t just the no-hitter. He went 8-3 over 51 innings, striking out 68 batters against just 42 hits and a 2.35 ERA and 1.19 WHIP ...
Round 2! Massapequa Defeats Commack in a Rematch of the 2021 Class AA Finals
by Chris Prystupa FINAL: Massapequa 2 Commack 1 pic.twitter.com/ozGuqGNW5C — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 4, 2022 In a rematch of the 2021 Class AA Long Island Championship, the Massapequa Chiefs and the Commack Cougars met once again in the battle for the title. Rather than being a slugfest these two teams put their pitching and defense to the test. After a scoreless first inning for Massapequa’s Erik Paulsen, the Chiefs were looking to provide some early run support as the first two hitters of the game, Matt Castrogiovanni and Tim Dorman, reached on back-to-back singles. Commack’s starting pitcher Eric Mohr induced a soft line drive which turned into a double play ending the threat. In the top half of the second inning, second baseman Michael Pulcini brought in the game...
