NYIT
Friday College Baseball Recap Powered by Orlin & Cohen
(By Joseph Langan and Vin Messana) As we enter the second weekend of college baseball for Division-I schools, some of Long Island’s Division-II & III teams kicked off their season today. Six games were scheduled on Friday as Stony Brook, Fordham and Old Westbury, all suffered tough losses on the day while St. John’s, Molloy and NY Tech came out on top. Here’s how it went down: (Make sure to check out Orlin & Cohen by clicking here). Division I: Stony Brook, taking on a tough opponent in Clemson, gave up an early two-spot that they would never fight back from. Clemson pitcher Sam Weatherly tossed an incredible six innings, only allowing two hits and collecting his first win of the season. Seawolves starting pitcher, Jared Milch, pitched well, pumping out a solid six inni...
The Biggest Stories of 2019
Without a doubt, the most thrilling part of my job is watching the exciting moments in championship games. This list will rank those moments by the gravity of their significance. This honestly was the best year since I’ve been doing this when you consider the national impact of some of the stories. Admittedly, this is a subjective list that can go in any direction but here it goes: 5) Stony Brook Pulls Off Comeback to Capture America East Under Head Coach Matt Senk, Stony Brook went from anonymity to the national spotlight. While they didn’t make it to Omaha this season, they had another memorable season. They captured their fourth America East Championship of the decade (2010, 2012, 2015, 2019) with a thrilling comeback against Binghamton. They trailed 5-2 in the fourth innin...
NY Tech Ranked No. 10 Division-II Team In Nation Entering 2020
Following a magical ride to the Division-II College World Series, NY Tech enters 2020 as the No. 10 ranked Division-II team in the nation, according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. There’s been an aura around them this since May when they knocked off perennial powerhouses Franklin Pierce and Wilmington to capture the East Regional and Southern New Hampshire in the Super Regional. It has catapulted their recruiting to another level. This offseason, they added Andrew Imperatore (Rider University), Bobby Vath (University of Rhode Island) and Tyler Schmid (Suffolk CC) on the mound and David Franchi (LIU Post) at second base. All of these players are expected to contribute immediately. They also received a boost from players returning from injury such as Brandon Alberto, Matt Bartnik an...
Stony Brook Hires Adam Rubin as Associate AD for Strategic Communications
When NYIT announced that they had hired Adam Rubin in 2017 to be the Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications, it came as a surprise to many people–considering Adam had built up the largest following on social media of any beat reporter in baseball. He had covered the Mets for the New York Daily News as well as ESPN New York for 15 years and was the most plugged in of all the beat reporters. New York Mets fans are passionate beyond belief, and his presence provided a sense of comfort during the tumultuous times. His daily “Morning Briefings” were must-read for die-hard fans, as well as his annual “Projected Arbitration Salaries” and his patented “OH NO” tweets when the typical Mets moments would occur. Just about everyone was surpri...
Who Were The Best College Teams of The 2010s?
Like we did a couple weeks ago with high school, it’s time to debate the top college teams of the 2010s. The rules are as follows: Each program can appear on this list only one time. This is to avoid having the list stocked with Division-I schools. The schools that are in consideration are Stony Brook, Hofstra, NY Tech, Adelphi, Molloy, LIU Post, Queens, Dowling, Farmingdale State, Old Westbury, St. Joseph’s, Maritime, Suffolk CC and Nassau CC. Without further ado, here it goes. 10. Suffolk CC 2018 (Record: 30-13) This team had a terrific combination of pitching and defense. Leading the charge offensively was Jeff Towle. A catcher with true power potential at the plate, he hit three HRs in one game in early March. He finished the season with a triple slash line of .463/.543/.86...
Fall Ball Series Powered by East Coast S & P: New York Tech
Here at New York Tech for the first installment of our 2019 Fall Ball Series Brought to you by @EastCoastSP pic.twitter.com/trKDqWhnPL — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 28, 2019 (This is the first installment of the 2019 Fall Ball Series. In our third year of this segment, we will continue to visit the local college campuses, focusing on their upcoming baseball season. We will have exclusive quotes and videos from players and coaches. Please check out East Coast Strength & Performance by clicking here.) When we last checked in with New York Tech, they were heading to their first College World Series in program history. From the doldrums to one of the top-8 teams in the nation was beyond the wildest expectations anyone had pegged for them. Head Coach Frank Catalanotto, no...
Noah Lorenzo Transfers to New York Tech
Another big time arm is headed to Westbury, Noah Lorenzo announced today that he will be transferring to New York Tech upon completing his degree from Long Island University in the spring. This means he will sit out the 2020 season, but be back for the 2021 season with the Bears. The Bears are already loaded for 2020 with transfer pitchers Bobby Vath, Andrew Imperatore and Tyler Schmid coming over. They also have Brandon Alberto and Matt Bartnik returning from missing the 2019 World Series campaign. They figure to be extremely dangerous once again coming off a 37-win season. Lorenzo is a 2016 graduate of St. John the Baptist. The southpaw is a unique pitcher in the sense that he relies heavily on his fastball-changeup combination, and often times he works off his change up. He sits in the ...
Mike LaDonna Commits to Palm Beach State
Final: West Islip 5, North Babylon 4 (13 Innings) WP: Brad Battaglini (5 IP, 1 R) Mike LaDonna: Wall-off sac fly pic.twitter.com/ogXGg6gd4Q — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 24, 2019 One of the most consistent pitchers on Long Island over the past two seasons was West Islip RHP Mike LaDonna. The hard-throwing RHP was a key cog in the Lions’ incredible 22-game win streak in 2018 that culminated in another Suffolk Class AA Championship. He also had a dominant 2019 season in which the Lions made it back to the Final 4 but ran into Max Nielsen and the Ward Melville Patriots. LaDonna also won the Boomer Esiason Award, given to the top QB in Suffolk County after an incredible season in which he threw for 19 TDs and ran for 21 TDs, but lost to Lindenhurst in the Suffolk II title ...
Q & A With Garrett Scavelli
One of the more underrated bats on Long Island over the past couple seasons has been Carey’s Garrett Scavelli. The rising senior was in the news this week as he became the latest impact player to verbally commit to New York Tech. The Bears have locked up a number of high-level players that ensures they will be a championship contender in the ECC for the next several seasons. Scavelli, who hit a scorching .492 as a sophomore on varsity, has a chance to be a Diamond Award winner in 2020. I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Who are your favorite players in the MLB and why? Christian Yelich. I admire his work ethic moving from an average player to an MVP. He overcame adversity around him and continues to succeed. Who are your biggest role model...
2019 NYIT College World Series: How They Were Built
DJ Masuck came in for the save on one day rest to send NYIT to the Super Regional pic.twitter.com/tgESBqyvYg — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2019 A lot of media publications have hopped aboard the NYIT bandwagon the past few weeks–and rightfully so. They’ve gone from 13 wins to the College World Series in one year. I just ask you this: who was there with them last season in Cary, NC on Opening Day against Franklin Pierce and St. Augustine’s when Joseph Kelly threw out all five attempted base runners? Who covered the ECC Tournament? Who had Coach Catalanotto on a podcast back in September? That is correct, Axcess Baseball. Sorry, rant over. Anyway, let’s take a look at their roster. Where did they find these players that have turned into a top-8 team i...
Team USA NTIS Coming to Long Island!
Playing for Team USA is an honor and a privilege that all baseball players do not take lightly. With the help of the National Team Identification Series (NTIS), that honor is a possibility. From their website: The NTIS utilizes a six-region system for the initial player identification process. All six NTIS regions will be managed and operated by a USA Baseball-appointed Regional Director. Each Regional Director is responsible for the planning and execution of the player identification process for their assigned region(s), and will ultimately name the All-Region teams that will move on to the NTIS Champions Cup. The USA Baseball National Team Identification Series (NTIS) is the most comprehensive player identification program offered by USA Baseball. Launched in 2009, the program was create...
