Plainedge
Plainedge Coming Off Boys of Summer County Title, Leaning on Two Four-Year Players
by Ben Diamond After having high expectations going into the cancelled 2020 season, Plainedge head coach Colin Fratrik has a new look roster going into this season. Fratrik’s squad lost 14 seniors after the cancellation of last year’s season including Anthony Labita who now plays at Pace, Zach Zarra who now plays at North Greenville University, and Mike Schock who plays for Farmingdale State. These departures among the other departed seniors left a pretty big hole to fill for his players this coming season. They did get to experience some semblance of a season during the Boys of Summer Varsity Division in which they captured the Nassau County Division Championship. Zach Zarra with the 2 run homer it’s a 2-0 Plainedge lead over Merrick in the top of the first inning pic.twitter.com/d...
Bay Shore Captures 2020 LI Boys of Summer Long Island Championship
Bay Shore defeats Plainedge, 4-0, to capture the @liboysofsummer Long Island Championship pic.twitter.com/ESy8KM6mtt — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 18, 2020 22 years ago, Mike Herbst was a part of possibly the most unlikely playoff run in Long Island history when his Longwood Lion team went from 9-9 to a New York State Class AA Championship. While this summer season is a far cry from the gauntlet of running the table in the Suffolk County Section XI postseason, it did resemble it in terms of the improbability of a championship run. After going 0-8 during the regular season of the LI Boys of Summer varsity division, his Bay Shore team caught fire and ultimately won four consecutive elimination games to win the truncated Long Island Championship. They completed the feat this a...
Plainedge Captures The 2020 Nassau Varsity Division Championship
Plainedge hangs on with a 3-2 victory over Merrick pic.twitter.com/2u4fJrL9Xh — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 12, 2020 by Jared Valluzzi Unfortunately, there was no actual high school baseball season in 2020, but summer league is what these schools had left and when they got to the championship it didn’t disappoint. Plainedge High School was the location for this championship on a hot summer day as both Merrick and Plainedge came into the game red hot. Entering this contest Merrick was scoring like no other during the playoffs. In the last 3 games the Colts scored 34 runs including a 13-1 victory over top seeded Garden City just a day ago. On the other hand, Plainedge’s pitching and defense is what got them to this point. Three out of their last five games they posted shutou...
OTD: Wantagh Stays Hot and Wins Crucial Series Opener Against Plainedge
Final: Wantagh 4, Plainedge 1 WP: Anthony Fontana S: Mason McLane pic.twitter.com/pyGUi3N7Of — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 23, 2018 Anthony Fontana has made a habit of coming up big in his career. Whether it be at the plate in the Long Island Championship against the Paul Gibson Award winning RHP Sam Kessler or last season on the mound in an emergency start against Carl Yastrzemski Award Winning RHP Brian Morrell, the southpaw is always calm and in control on the mound. And he always seems to win. He performed like a seasoned veteran today, pitching out of a couple of jams to lead Wantagh to a 4-1 victory over a dangerous Plainedge team that entered with a record of 9-2-1. We practice every single day and we really work hard for these big games and I think we executed really...
Plainedge Fueled by Last Season’s Postseason Exit
by Tony Genualdo Last season ended in heartbreaking fashion for Plainedge. Finishing the regular season 14-4-1, they lost to MacArthur in the first game of the Class A playoffs, then defeated No. 1 Garden City, and South Side to stay alive. They would face MacArthur again, and after having a 3-0 lead in the 7th inning, MacArthur came back and defeated Plainedge in the 13th inning 4-3. To improve for this upcoming season, Coach Colin Fratnik has had his team working hard in the last couple of months. “My assistant coach Ryan Crawford has had a good core of our athletes in the weight room 5 days a week after school,” Fratnik said. “We have our JV and Varsity team in to hit on Sunday mornings, and our pitchers have been throwing since December.” Fratnik says the team is very self-motivated. M...
Chris Roach Delivers 16 Strikeout Gem To Lift MacArthur Past Plainedge
FINAL: MacArthur 1 Plainedge 0 WP: Chris Roach (CG, 2H, 0ER, 16K) pic.twitter.com/OQ4powmQVt — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 15, 2019 The Class A playoffs are officially underway in Nassau County, as 16 teams began their quest for a County Championship on Wednesday afternoon. In Levittown, the #9 seeded Plainedge Red Devils took on the #8 seeded MacArthur Generals. It was MacArthur who got the best of Plainedge, walking away with a slim 1-0 victory. Considering it was game one of the playoffs, both coaches called upon their aces to take the hill. For MacArthur, senior Chris Roach was handed the ball. The first at-bat of the game, he surrendered a single to Anthony Labita. However, he rebounded instantly as he struck out the next three batters. He went the distance in this one, a...
Plainedge Squeaks Past Bethpage, 2-1, In A Thriller
FINAL: Plainedge 2 Bethpage 1 WP: Frank Whitenack pic.twitter.com/Be3LCpJNSM — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 9, 2019 Avenging yesterday’s 8-2 loss, Plainedge came through when it mattered most on Tuesday afternoon as they defeated Bethpage, 2-1. The beginning of the game opposed to the end of the game were two completely different story lines. In the bottom of the first inning, Chris McGuggart launched a solo shot to put Bethpage out in front to an early 1-0 lead. Considering Nick Wendling struck out the side in the top half of the inning, it seemed as if it was going to be a long ballgame for Plainedge. Through the first three innings, Wendling had eight punch outs. Then came the fourth inning. After surrendering just one base runner the first time through the lineup, W...
Bethpage Has Their Eyes Set Towards A Shot At The Conference Title This Season
The most vital piece in a successful season is often experience. Returning several key players this year, the Bethpage Golden Eagles have their eyes on a shot at the conference title. For many reasons, they can be considered one of the two favorites in Conference A2. After the “catch of the year” in their play-in game against South Side and a win against the #4 seeded Clarke to start off their postseason in 2018, Bethpage seemed ready to shock the world. Unfortunately, they had a disappointing end to their season as they lost the next two games causing them to be eliminated. These seniors still have a bitter taste in their mouths, so expect them to come out firing and shine in big moments. In total, the Golden Eagles return seven starters from last year’s playoff team. In...
Plainedge Leaning On Strong Arms Heading Into 2019
Every year, Plainedge goes under the radar as one of the best baseball programs in the county. From Plainedge Youth Baseball League, to varsity, Coach Fratrik consistently has his players ready for the next step. This is one of several reasons as to why they are always in contention for a conference title. Not only are they one of the favorites to stomp through their conference this season, but they possess a strength that other teams in the conference don’t have; pitching. The Red Devils finished the season 14-4-1 in 2018, but fell to Valley Stream North after 13 innings in the second round of the playoffs. Expect them to come into the season with a chip on their shoulder. This year, Plainedge’s conference consists of Hewlett, South Side, Roslyn, Glen Cove and Bethpage. With t...
Noonan Lifts Plainedge To 12th Consecutive Win
FINAL: Plainedge 6 Division 1 WP: TJ Noonan Nick DeMicco: 3-Run HR pic.twitter.com/BPhF4XdsYU aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 16, 2017 Start spreading the news. Plainedge has won 12 games in a row and doesn’t seem to be cooling off anytime soon. For the fourth time this season, the Red Devils defeated the Division Blue Dragons. This time, the final score was 6-2. Similar to their previous three match ups against Division, Plainedge was in control from the start of this game. In the bottom half of the 1st inning, Nick DeMicco launched a 3-run homerun to give Plainedge an early 3-0 lead. This was DeMicco’s third 3-run home run in the past two postseason games. “I feel extremely comfortable at the plate right now because our team is playing so well,...
Nassau Class A Power Rankings (4th Edition)
With one week remaining in the regular season, things are really starting to heat up in Class A. As of right now, there is not one dominant team in Nassau County. This means that we are in for an outstanding postseason. With that being said, here’s this weeks new and improved top 5. 5) Lynbrook (9-3) (Last week: 2) After dropping the first 2 games of the series to North Shore, the Owls bounced back in game 3, winning 11-3. Last week marked Lynbrook’s first series loss all year, but they have no reason to panic. North Shore always seems to get hot at the right time, so it makes plenty of sense that they played their best baseball of the year last week. With 3 games left to play, Lynbrook still holds a 2 game lead for first place. All they have to do is beat Valley Stream South o...
Nassau Class A Power Rankings (3rd Edition)
After a crazy week of baseball, 3 new teams have earned a spot in the top 5. With only 2 weeks left of play, virtually every conference title is up for grabs. Let’s take a look at the new top 5. 5) Garden City (6-2-1) (Last week: Unranked) Being on the outside looking in for the entire season, the Trojans have finally cracked the top 5. Rich Marooney and TJ McEvoy continue to carry this experienced team offensively, along with help from Andrew Nagal on the mound. After beating MacArthur this past week, it’s safe to say Garden City is now the favorite to win conference A1. With an easy series coming up against Great Neck South, Garden City will look to solidify its spot as the top team in the conference. 4) Plainedge (7-2) (Last week: 5) Plainedge continues to impress more and m...
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