Massapequa baseball
Who Were the Top Players in Attendance at Monday’s Showcase
On Monday, 67 players and 24 coaches braved the cold and made the trek to Massapequa for the Diamond Spikes Showcase. Plenty of talented players were in attendance and I wanted to do a recap of the event with the top 10 players, but I couldn’t limit it to 10 so here it goes… Robbie Manetta, Farmingdale (2020) Manetta put himself on the map as a freshman hitting a three-run home run at Port Washington. He’s continued to develop and he is one of the best players in the 2020 class when you consider the full package; he’s a catcher, he has a smooth left-handed swing, he can run a 4.1 down the line and he can still grow. He displayed his ability during BP and his athleticism in the infield. Additionally, his brother is the SS for SUNY Old Westbury, so he comes from an at...
Johnny Castagnozzi: What I’m Thankful For
(Editor’s Note: Johnny Castagnozzi is a 2020 graduate of Massapequa HS. He was the first player in Tom Sheedy’s tenure to start as a 9th grader. All he’s done is lead them to back-to-back Class AA Long Island Championships including a NYS Class AA Championship this past June. He committed to the University of North Carolina as a sophomore. The following words are his own…) Thanksgiving is a time of year to look back on the many things that we have in our lives that we appreciate. For me there are so many things that come to mind. First, I have been blessed with an incredible family. They support me in every aspect of my life. My Mom and Dad who do everything possible to help me to develop as an athlete and as a person. They’ve given me strength even when things are ...
ECR Day 2 Blog
Coram, NY–Tuesday was the second and final day of the ECR Showcase at Diamond in the Pines. The weather was absolutely picture-perfect and there was a number of eye-opening players that caught the eye of the dozens of college coaches in attention. Let’s jump right into it with the players that caught my attention… Braden Clark (Plainedge 2020) He caught my attention on Sunday at the Blue Chip event where he showed off his cannon. Tuesday he was 1.97 to second and 1.30 to third base. Obviously a red-light to base runners at the high school level. He also showed his stick with a well-struck double off the fence in right-center field. Very impressive showing from the incoming junior. Catchers rarely are developed defensively and contribute at the plate at this level so he...
Diamond Spikes and LIB Battle in a Pitcher’s Duel, Ends in 1-1 Tie
The Diamond Spikes battled Long Island Baseball Wednesday evening in a Boys of Summer Scout Division league matchup. Both teams struggled to put runs on the board in a game that ended in a 1-1 tie. The tale of the tape was the incredible pitching displayed by both sides. For the Diamond Spikes, southpaw Matt Leahy took the hill. Leahy pitched 5.2 innings, but was pulled with two outs in the top of the sixth after LIB’s Justin DeMaria and Jake Reyer hit back to back singles. Zach Grof came in relief to try to get his team out of the inning unscaved. With Grof on the mound, Demaria and Reyer advanced to second and third after a wild pitch. LIB’s four hitter Mike Scordo then drew a walk. With the based loaded, Anthony Dagnello stood strong in the box and got hit by a pitch to bring in the f...
Massapequa Stuns Oceanside To Repeat As Champions
The Massapequa Chiefs are your back-to-back Nassau County Class AA Champions!! FINAL: Massapequa 5 Oceanside 0 WP – Christian DeNave pic.twitter.com/mCPV1lFsnt — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2018 As we’ve learned in the past, the regular season means virtually nothing once you get into the postseason. On Monday afternoon, Massapequa proved they were worthy of winning back-to-back championships as they prevailed to a 5-0 victory over Oceanside in game two of the Nassau County Class AA Championship. For the third consecutive year, Massapequa swept Oceanside in the postseason after getting swept by them in the regular season. This time, it was for the county championship. Similar to game one of the series, the Massapequa offense wasted no time getting to the vaunte...
Grisanti Leads Massapequa to Game One Victory
Mike Grisanti talks about his dominant performance that led his team to victory. pic.twitter.com/UKScF9Ns66 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 22, 2018 The weather certainly wasn’t ideal for playoff baseball on Tuesday afternoon, but that didn’t stop Massapequa from coming out of the gates firing. Thank to a six-run first inning, Massapequa prevailed over Plainview JFK by a score of 8-3 in game one of the Class AA Semifinals. John Cooke got the start for Plainview on the bump, but the Chiefs wasted no time getting to him. Johnny Castagnozzi got the rally started for Massapequa by ripping a bases loaded RBI single to left field. Mike Grisanti followed up the Castagnozzi RBI with a 2 RBI double, and Mike Moreno delivered a sacrifice fly. All of a sudden, it was a 4-0 lead...
Diamond Spikes Host Signing Day
On Sunday, the Diamond Spikes hosted their college signing day for the players in their organization that will be playing baseball at the collegiate level. Among the players is Andrew Primm (Massapequa 2018) who was a major contributor in the Class AA Long Island Championship winning team last year. He had the following to say about his college recruitment process. “The Diamond Spikes have went above and beyond for me, throughout my recruitment process, as they do to all of their players, it’s just a big family here in the Spikes organization. Coach Scott Hicok would talk with me on the phone for hours at a time as well as stay on top of me for what I had to do. Coach Mike Cardino I would have to call a second father to me, being my summer coach throughout high school, got me in situ...
Nassau County Class AA Power Rankings (7th Edition)
With just one week left of play in Class AA, everything’s starting to get interesting. This past week, we saw Baldwin beat the previous first-place Calhoun Colts in two games, along with Syosset handing Oceanside their first loss of the season. Unexpected outcomes have been the motto so far in 2018, so one can assume we may be in for some surprises this week. Heading into the final week of the regular season, here are the new top five teams in Class AA. 5. Herricks (8-6-1) (Last week: No. 4) Coming off their bye week, Herricks remains one of the two hottest teams in Class AA. The other? The Baldwin Bruins (7-8). The two red hot teams face off this week with a great chance to play again in the first round of the playoffs. If Herricks wishes to receive better than the seven seed in the...
Oceanside Remains Undefeated With Statement Victory
Final: Oceanside 13, Massapequa 0 WP: Brendan McFall (CG, 2 hits, 6 K) Dylan Judd: 3-R HR McFall is our @DigmiNation player of the Game #TipYourCap #LiveDreamBe pic.twitter.com/VJBRrugd5r — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 17, 2018 If today was a test for Oceanside, they got an A+. The undefeated Sailors entered play with a perfect 7-0 record, but were facing their biggest challenge yet–facing the reigning Class AA Long Island Champion Massapequa Chiefs. The Sailors dominated in all facets of the game; cruising to a 13-0 victory with the exclamation mark coming in the top of the seventh inning on a long three-run HR by UMASS-Amherst commit Dylan Judd. The game was long over by that point, as the Sailors offense scored early-and-often against Chiefs’ RHP Christian...
Nassau County Class AA Power Rankings (4th Edition)
The top teams in Class AA all took a tumble last week as Plainview, Massapequa and Farmingdale all suffered a defeat. Luckily for them, there’s still plenty of baseball left to be played in the season and they still hold top spots in their respective conferences. At the midway point in the season, it seems that anyone is capable of winning. With that being said, here are this week’s top five teams in class AA. 5. Farmingdale (6-3) (Last week: #4) The Dalers suffered a game three loss to a winless Hicksville team, therefore they drop a spot in this week’s power rankings. Although Farmingdale didn’t complete the clean sweep against Hicksville, there was still plenty of bright spots that came out of the series. Sophmore Justin Rosner continues to strengthen his case as...
Axcess Baseball Weekly With Johnny Castagnozzi
On this episode, we are joined by one of the top players in the northeast–University of North Carolina-commit Johnny Castagnozzi (Massapequa 2020). He was a key cog in leading the Chiefs to winning the Long Island Class AA Championship as a freshman. This episode is brought to you by X-Factor Meals. They are a Long Island-based company offering meal prep and sports specific nutrition for athletes of all levels. You can follow them on Instagram @xfactormeals. Johnny discussed what it was like to become the first freshman to start on varsity on Head Coach Tom Sheedy, the special relationship he formed with SS Chris Wasson last year, what he remembers most about winning the Long Island Championship, why he chose to commit to North Carolina, what it was like visiting some of the best pro...
