Nolan Nawrocki
Chaminade to Receive Axcess Team of the Year Award
John Downing fires a complete game and Chaminade captures the first ever CHSAA NYS Championship pic.twitter.com/0zCtFUooL1 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2022 2022 was a dream season for the Chaminade Flyers and they are set to be rewarded for it. The Flyers compiled a record of 25-2 – and captured the first ever New York State CHSAA Championship with two hard fought victories in the tournament. Additionally, both of their losses on the season were by one-run. It was perhaps the greatest group of talent a Long Island team has put together this century. They had double-digit Division-I commits on the roster (that number will continue to climb as more of the underclassmen commit), and their entire 2022 class of 15 are all now on college rosters. The stats are remarkabl...
Ken Kortright State Farm Game of the Week: Chaminade Defeats Kellenberg, 5-1, in Game 3 of NSCHSAA Championship
“It was always the Flyers” That was the popular rallying cry that was seen on social media recently as Chaminade attempted to run it back and win their third consecutive NSCHSAA championship. For the seniors, however, it was really their second title since Chaminade does not typically call up underclassmen to varsity and their 2020 season was wiped out due to the pandemic. With the most talented team that Long Island has seen in decades, the Flyers rolled through the league and won their first two playoff games to qualify for the championship series against Kellenberg. After surprisingly losing the first game of the series, 4-3, they came roaring back to win Game 2, 8-1, and then held off a resilient Kellenberg team today, 5-1, to earn a three-peat. Playing in 94 degree tempera...
What Are the Best Tools on the Island?
Baseball loves to talk about “toolsy” players. What does this mean? Well the five-tools are to hit, hit with power, run, field and throw. Players that have all five are said to be “five-tool players”. Very few of these exist in the game of baseball let alone on Long Island. So rather than trying to make a phony list of five-pool players on Long Island, let’s break the tools down. And we can even add pitchers for fun. Here’s what I got. This is based off my observations. Best Fastball (Top 6) Jake Moss (Manhasset 2022) commits to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/OX8nlGl8P2 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 28, 2020 Jake Moss (Manhasset 2022) Sean Hamilton (Rocky Point 2022) Billy Steele (Shoreham-Wading River ...
Chaminade Barreling Towards Another CHSAA Championship
If you thought this was the year that Chaminade was going to be vulnerable – you were sorely mistaken. After capturing the CHSAA in 2019 and graduating that entire team in ’19 and ’20, they are now one game away from repeating as champs. They briefly struggled earlier this season as they stumbled out of the gate with a 3-3 record but now they have found their cruising altitude at the right time. The Flyers defeated Kellenberg in Game 1 of the NSCHSAA Championship Series by the score of 10-1 behind an all-around team effort and dominant pitching – which has been the hallmark for the program for decades. Coach Mike Pientkos’ squad excelled not only on the mound, but also in the field and on the base paths today; outplaying Kellenberg in every regard. They even g...
Chaminade LHP John Downing Fires Gem To Advance to CHSAA Finals
Chaminade LHP John Downing on his complete game gem to send Chaminade in the Championship series pic.twitter.com/Q4XMnYbwWg — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 7, 2021 Pitching and defense is the name of the game in the CHSAA and Chaminade has always thrived in that category. In the ultra-competitive Catholic League, the difference between a win and a loss is sometimes a defensive miscue or failed bunt attempt. That was the case as No. 2 Chaminade edged No. 3 St. John the Baptist, 2-1, to advance to the CHSAA Championship Series against Kellenberg on Wednesday. Chaminade knew they had a tall order in facing St. John the Baptist ace RHP Kyle Chase (St. John’s-commit) who has the ability to shut down any opponent. What he can’t control, though, is what happens once the ba...
Vin Roman’s RBI Single Delivers 2-1 Win For Chaminade
Final (8 innings): Chaminade 2, St. Anthony’s 1 WP: Andrew Heiderstadt Vin Roman go-ahead hit to score Anthony Lods pic.twitter.com/7wqqhZAOgZ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 30, 2021 When you hear about the CHSAA being the most competitive league on Long Island, it’s because of the parity. This week was an excellent example in the series between Chaminade and St. Anthony’s. In the rematch of the 2019 championship series, the teams exchanged victories on Tuesday and Wednesday in the first two games of the series setting the stage for today. Chaminade was able to come away with the 2-1 victory, with the go-ahead run scoring in the top of the 8th inning on an RBI single by Vin Roman to score Anthony Lods – who led off the inning with a walk. As is usually...
Chaminade Starts Title Defense With 11-5 Win at St. Anthony’s
Final: Chaminade 11, St. Anthony’s 5 WP: John Downing pic.twitter.com/xoWMAPcczU — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 28, 2021 It turns out the demise of Chaminade was greatly exaggerated. The reigning champs went out on opening day at St. Anthony’s and handed it to the Friars with an 11-5 victory. Both teams are fielding inexperienced rosters in terms of their varsity experience, but Chaminade is certainly not lacking in their star power and that was evident today. Head Coach Mike Pientkos who has led the Flyers to over 600 wins spoke to me last week about the uncertainty of his roster and their lack of experience at this level. He did note, however, that they have a lot of players that can really play the game and will be impact players for them. From my vantage point...
