NYIT
NYIT Advances to Division-II College World Series
The NYIT Bears defeated reigning East Region Champion Southern New Hampshire, 6-3, to advance to the program’s first Division-II College World Series next week in Cary, NY. On May 10, the Bears were shutout, 4-0, by the University of Bridgeport to get eliminated from the ECC Tournament. Now, 15 days later, those Bears are hoisting the trophy that proves they are one of the top-8 teams in the nation. This game did not feature the high drama of Friday night, as E.J. Cumbo got the Bears’ offense going with a three-run shot to open up a 3-0 lead. It was Cumbo’s seventh HR of the season and his 44th RBI of the season. His team totals are unbelievable (.453 AVG, .525 OBP/..692 SLG, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 43 R, 19 BB, 19 K, 22-25 SB). He’s been able to do that in only 159 at bats, ...
NYIT Is One Win Away From Division-II College World Series
If last week was an upset, then there’s no more superlatives to describe what NYIT pulled off last night against No.17 nationally ranked Southern New Hampshire. The Bears held off a late rally to win, 9-8, and put themselves one win away from advancing to the Division-II College World Series for the first time in program history. The Penmen took a 1-0 lead off DJ Masuck in the second inning on a solo HR by Jake Coro. In the fourth inning, the Bears tied it up on an RBI single by Kieran Dowd and took the lead on Matt DeAngelis‘ RBI single to score Dowd. In the fifth, Chris Campbell hit a solo shot to give the Bears a 3-1 lead. The game was far from over, though, as the Penmen took the lead in the sixth inning on a three-run shot by Coro. Trailing 4-3 in the seventh, Kieran Dowd ...
Game of the Week Presented by Muddy Locker Sports: NYIT Captures NCAA East Regional
Head Coach Frank Catalanotto on NYIT’s rapid ascension in his first season pic.twitter.com/le2EN2ND3e — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2019 One year ago, NYIT closed out their regular season with a loss to Queens College to finish their campaign at 13-25-1. On June 7th, they made waves by hiring 14-year MLB veteran and Smithtown native Frank Catalanotto. The move was a positive step forward for a program that had suffered through 13 straight sub .500 seasons. In less than one year, the program has rapidly ascended into becoming a 35-win team that will now participate in the NCAA Division-II Super Regional next weekend either at Southern New Hampshire or neighborhood-rival LIU Post. The 35 wins is a program record, previously set in 1987. Today they continued their fairy...
NYIT Pounds Nine Runs on 11 Hits to Advance to East Regional Championship Game
Final: NYIT 9, Franklin Pierce 3 WP: Joseph Murphy S: Zach White Cumbo: 4-for-5, 4 R Bears advance to the NCAA East Regional tomorrow pic.twitter.com/IkI950LQfa — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 17, 2019 Early wake-up call? No problem. The NYIT Bears cruised past perennial Division-II powerhouse, Franklin Pierce, by the score of 9-3 to advance to the Division-II NCAA East Regional Championship Game tomorrow at noon. The game today began at 9am, but it didn’t matter one bit to the Bears offense who put up a three-spot in the first inning thanks to RBI hits by E.J. Cumbo, Kieran Dowd and Matt Malone. “We actually do pretty well in the early morning games,” said Jake Lebel, the power-hitting first baseman for the Bears. “We’ve had three or four of them a...
E.J. Cumbo’s Big Day Gives NYIT Thrilling 10-7 Win Over Wilmington
It only takes one pitch for Mueller to seal the deal. NYIT 10, Wilmington 7 (10 innings) Franklin Pierce will take on NYIT at 9am tomorrow pic.twitter.com/PcVENv56LF — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2019 Last year, E.J. Cumbo was sidelined with a hamstring injury and was forced to watch as his team limped to the finish line in their first season in the ECC. Today, he was the catalyst and pilot of their ship that is now headed to the winner’s bracket in the NCAA Division-II East Regional after their dramatic 10-7 victory over No. 4 Wilmington. Cumbo, the nation’s second-leading hitter for most of the season, is now hitting a robust .448 following today’s 4-for-6 performance in which he drove in four runs–including a two-run double in the top of the 10th...
NYIT Pounds 21 Hits To Keep Season Alive
Ben McNeill has 4 hits and 4 RBI in NYIT’s 14-1 win over Queens to keep their season alive. He’s our @BsbLifestyle101 Player of the Game pic.twitter.com/gCXiiQ2jmd — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2019 With their backs against the wall, the NYIT Bears bats went to work against No. 4 Queens College. They cruised past the Knights, 14-1, with the offense posting 21 hits led by SS Ben McNeill‘s 4 hit and 4 RBI day. Also joining him in the hit parade was Matt Malone with three. Another major story line was the two program records that were set. Starting pitcher D.J. Masuck went six shutout innings for his 10th win of the season, which ties a program-record set by Chris Perez (2006) and Joe Esposito (2005). Closer Ariel Taveras entered in the seventh inning and fi...
LIU Post and Bridgeport Advance to Winner’s Bracket
In the first day of the three-day, double-elimination ECC tournament at Angelo Lorenzo Field, No. 1 LIU Post and No. 3 Bridgeport advanced to the winner’s bracket and will square off tomorrow at 12:30. No. 2 NYIT and No. 4 Queens will play an elimination game at 9:30am. The winner of the early game will play the loser of the second game at 3:30pm. Weather could be a factor as the forecast is calling for rain between the hours of 9am and 3pm. In the event of a rainout, Sunday will be used as a make up date. Here’s how it went down today: Game 1: Bridgeport got out to an early 3-0 lead on a solo shot in the second inning by Cory Listing, an unearned run and a sac fly off the bat of Vincent DeRubeis. The Bears got one one back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Kieran...
LIU Post and NYIT Split Battle on the Boulevard Presented by Muddy Locker Sports
(Today’s game coverage is brought to you by Muddy Locker Sports. Please check them out by clicking here!) In a crucial ECC double header this afternoon at Angelo Lorenzo Field, LIU Post and NYIT split the two games with NYIT taking the first game and LIU Post salvaging the split in the second. Here’s how it went down: Game 1: LIU Post sent ace James Varela to the mound against a high-powered NYIT lineup, who countered with Chris Mott. The Pioneers got off to a quick start in the first with a RBI singles by Dave Brehm and Anthony Vaglica. They added another run in the third on an RBI ground out off the bat of Jimmy Mendyk. With their ace on the hill, it appeared like that would be enough but Varela did not have his best stuff on this afternoon. The Bears forced Varela’s pi...
Matt DeAngelis’ Walk-Off Single Propels NYIT to DH Sweep over Queens
NYIT Head Coach Frank Catalanotto on their 13-5 victory over Queens College pic.twitter.com/HT3ERUNOED — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 30, 2019 NYIT has found all sorts of ways to win ballgames this year. Frank Catalanotto‘s squad continued their winning ways with a DH sweep over ECC rival Queens College on Saturday afternoon by the scores of 13-5 and 5-4. Here’s how it went down: Game 1 D.J. Masuck got the start for the Bears, he ran into immediate trouble when he allowed a leadoff home run to freshman John Strauss, but that lead would not last long for the Knights. The Bears got on the board in the second inning on an RBI single by Nick Tedesco to score Matt Malone. The real action occurred in the third inning, when the bats exploded for seven runs, beginning wit...
NYIT Continues to Roll, Sweeps Molloy to Improve to 12-4
NYIT holds on. Final score: 7-5 pic.twitter.com/gbzFg5UKaq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 24, 2019 (Photo Credit: Adam Rubin) NYIT was on a mission this weekend, as they attempted to stay hot and continue their streak of strong play into the ECC Conference schedule. They were successful winning game one 7-5, and game two 5-3, keeping them perfect in conference play. Game one saw the Bears lineup produce timely hit after timely hit. It started with Chris Campbell, who got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second. The scoring would continue, and they would get extend the lead to 4-0 thanks to a double play scored a run and Ben McNeill’s RB single and an unearned run. E.J. Cumbo continued his torrid start to the season, going 3-4 with a run scored. Kieran Dowd ...
Adelphi Bats Stay Hot, Defeat NYIT 9-3
Brett Malm talks about his 2-Run HR that jump started the scorching hot Adelphi offense. pic.twitter.com/Gg803ldSBk — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 20, 2019 Adelphi had no problem handling the talented NYIT pitching staff, as they cruised to a 9-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon. After putting up a ten-spot yesterday against Molloy, Adelphi wasted no time getting back in the run column. To start things off, Brett Malm launched a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning, giving them an early lead. Malm finished 3-5 on the day with 2 RBI. “We had a good jump out of the game today with a 2-run home run in the 1st inning that helped my team get on the board early,” said Malm. “We kept it going from yesterday and we’re going to keep this momentum going ...
Frank Catalanotto: Which Hitting Drills Work Best?
(Frank is a 14-year MLB veteran. He is a 1992 graduate of Smithtown East HS, where he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 10th round of the MLB Draft. He compiled a .291 AVG in over 3,800 at bats. He is the Head Coach of NYIT and gives lessons for Steel Sports Academy at Baseball Heaven. This article originally was published in 2017.) by Frank Catalanotto The truth is that everyone is different, so when it comes to baseball and hitting drills, you need to find out which ones work for you and which ones don’t. The repetition of the drills is so important. Part of getting better is teaching muscle memory–especially for younger kids. Here are some that worked for me. One arm drills might be my favorite because each arm gets strengthened individually. I would get a small, lightweight bat...
