Max Edelman
‘Unfinished Business’ for the Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Top 4: Bayport-Blue Point has broken through with 5 runs via 2-R single by Tyler McKillop and a 3-R shot by Nick Karafantis pic.twitter.com/Msbcv8WFFm — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 29, 2024 When you bring a new head coach to your program, it’s hard to expect an immediate impact. Few could have expected the new head coach of the Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms, Victor Manzella, to have the remarkable success he had in his first season in charge, leading his team to a 15-3 record. “Last season went great.” Manzella said. “We were League VII Champs and Suffolk County runner-ups. When I was in West Babylon, I beat Blue Point in the Suffolk County Championship. But coming her...
Hills West Looks to Return to the Postseason After Missing by One Game
LeGuernic with his eighth strikeout in the fourth inning pic.twitter.com/4oGJ1moZUO — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2023 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman When you have been a head coach as long as Tom Miglozzi, who has been at the helm for the Hills West Colts for the last 31 years, you see the ebbs and flows of high school baseball. Unfortunately for Hills West, the 2024 season was a down year for the program, falling just one game short of their goal of making the playoffs. This came a year after they won 14 games including two in the playoffs. Last year’s Colts team featured seven seniors, three of which are playing baseball at the college level, including Arthur Green, who is pitching at Molloy...
Ward Melville’s Young Roster Looks to Learn From 2024
RHP Ben Brown (Ward Melville 2017) facing Shohei Ohtani pic.twitter.com/85xz9GtxtO — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 18, 2025 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Lou Petrucci has been the head coach of the Ward Melville Patriots for the last 18 seasons. They have not only been one of the most consistent teams in Suffolk County but have also sent three pitchers (Steve Matz, Anthony Kay and Ben Brown) to the big leagues. Unfortunately for them, League II was a powerhouse in 2024 and it was not their best season. “It was a wake up call.” Petrucci said. “For me and my players. We didn’t do very well, but we had five freshmen and sophomores starting. So we gained a lot of experience.” They finished with an overall re...
Billy Riedel Excited for First Year as Head Coach of John Glenn
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman While he might be the new head coach of the John Glenn Knights, Billy Riedel is far from a stranger to his team. Having served the last six seasons as an assistant coach, Riedel takes over as the man in charge, and as he grows in his new role, his young team will grow with him. “Last year was a learning experience.” Riedel said. “I think we were one of, if not the youngest team on Long Island. We had only one upperclassman start in the entire lineup. So it was a valuable learning experience for all of our younger guys for what to expect at the varsity level. Not only getting into games, but also knowing what it takes to be successful at that level.” Much like last year, the core of the K...
Fresh off Appearance in Suffolk County Semifinals, Walt Whitman Ready to Take Next Step
The 13th ranked player in NYS Jaden Grose (Walt Whitman 2026) has an electric fastball sitting 89-91, with a changeup that can hit 80 Has multiple power four offers on the table pic.twitter.com/T4xLWv019L — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 23, 2025 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman It was a strong year in 2024 for the Walt Whitman Wildcats, finishing the year with double as many wins as losses, ending with a 16-7 record between the regular season and playoffs. However, head coach Keith Barrett, who will be entering his 13th season in charge of the Wildcats in 2025, will look to take yet another step forward. “We were a final four team last year.” Barrett said. “We won three playoff games, our first one we be...
Lindenhurst Leaning on Pitching to Compete in a Loaded League II
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman View this post on Instagram A post shared by Axcess Baseball (@axcess_baseball) In a team that was anchored by its pitching in 2024, the combination of one of the toughest leagues on Long Island, as well as struggles at the plate spelled trouble for the Lindenhurst Bulldogs. However, head coach Robert Moore, who is entering his 11th season in charge of the Bulldogs, complimented his team for their fight despite the challenges. “The lack of hitting put us in a situation basically every game where we had to pitch to perfection.” Moore said. “We had some good pitching performances, especially by Matt Curto, who’s at Adelphi now. In the big picture, when you’re in a league as t...
Wheatley Looking to Defend Long Island Class B Championship
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Axcess Baseball (@axcess_baseball) Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman It was a strong 2024 season for The Wheatley School Wildcats. The team, led by head coach David Burke, went on a remarkable run, before ultimately losing in the state regional finals. “It went pretty well.” Burke said. “We ended up losing in the state regionals to Spackenkill. We won the Nassau County and Long Island B championships last season. Anytime you have a true ace, a guy that’s a trained pitcher that can lead your team you get excited about what could happen and I knew the caliber that we had and the supporting cast that we had on the team that we were going to be very competitive. So t...
Holy Trinity Leaning on Experienced Pitching Staff and Team Athleticism to Compete for CHSAA Title
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Fresh off of a season in which they won the Catholic League and New York State Championship, the Holy Trinity Titans very narrowly missed going back-to-back in 2024. After an 18-9 season, the Titans fell just short of their goal of repeating after a championship loss to St Anthony’s. With the success that the Titans have enjoyed in recent years, it’s no surprise that a number of their players are continuing their baseball careers following their high school graduation at the college level, including a handful of 2024 graduates. They include Tyler Cook (Troy), Gabe Klarikaitis (Molloy), Andrew Heppner (Pace), Andrew Sinclair (University of Bridgeport) and Ryan Czyz (University of St. Jos...
Comsewogue Looks to Ride Momentum from County Finals Appearance
Final: Comsewogue 9, Hauppauge 3 Nick Zampieron fires a complete game and hits 2 HRs, drives in 5 runs as Comsewogue forces a winner-take-all on Sunday 12pm for the Suffolk AA Championship pic.twitter.com/7iYIRn7JsM — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Following a 12-8 regular season, the Comsewogue Warriors went on a run in the playoffs, winning an additional six games before ultimately falling in the County Championship to Hauppauge. They nearly captured their first title since 1982. While the Warriors are still fresh off the heels of that magical run, they will be doing so without a number of key seniors that were critical to last year’s teams success. Of those se...
Despite Graduating 12 Seniors, West Islip Once Again Poised for Playoff Run
by Max Edelman It was another strong season for the West Islip Lions in 2024, as they fell in the semifinals of the county playoffs. Head Coach Shawn Rush, who is entering his 16th season in charge of the Lions, took plenty of positives away from last season’s campaign. “We were one game away from the County Final.” Rush said. “We lost in the losers bracket final. We lost 1-0 to East Islip, before beating them 1-0 four days later. We lost Comsewogue in the semifinals. Definitely an exciting run back and forth, but we ultimately fell short.” Unfortunately for the Lions, 12 members of last year’s team graduated at the conclusion of the season, with numerous players continuing their baseball careers at the college level. Among them are Derek Rivera, who is playing at Arcadia, Cal...
Coming Off Appearance in County Finals, Bellmore JFK Hungry to Take Next Step
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Entering his seventh season as head coach of the Bellmore JFK Cougars, Mike Gattus brings a team loaded with talent into the 2025 season. After a season where the Cougars were able to win their league championship, they fell just short of their ultimate goal, losing in the county finals. “Last season we were the Conference AA III champs.” Gattus said. “We won the conference and earned the two seed in the Nassau County Playoffs. We beat Manhasset in the quarterfinals and then defeated Carey in the semifinals in a great three game series. But then lost to Division in the county finals.” Although the team fell short, only three members of the Bellmore JFK 2024 team graduated, with Jack Fi...
Bethpage Expects Talented Youngsters to Benefit from Starting in 2024
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Coming off a season with a very young team, head coach Rob Fisher, who is entering his 21st year in charge of the Bethpage Golden Eagles, is excited to follow up a growing season in 2024 with a year that will hopefully feature more on field success. “Last year we struggled, but we were very young.” Fisher said. “We started three freshmen and three sophomores and a bunch of other lower classmen got playing time. We struggled a little bit. We weren’t consistent on the mound. While we did have some good showings, we just didn’t have the consistency to be able to compete day in and day out.” Although much of the Golden Eagles core players last season weren’t seniors, there were a number of k...
