Previews
NYIT Primed to Build off 2015
After a couple years in the doldrums, the NYIT Bears have begun to turn the corner as a program. Head Coach Bob Malvagna–who took over the program in July 2012–with his first recruiting year being the year after, had his eyes focused on turning the team around. “Definitely pleased with the improvement,” said Coach Malvagna. “I mean when I first took over the program my first recruiting year I brought in 15 freshman and that class is now the junior class. The guys have grown and matured tremendously both as young adults and certainly as baseball players.” 2016 comes with optimism as Coach Malvagna’s team improved by 10-wins from 2014 to ’15 and he brought in seven new pieces to fill in for the nine that packed their bags after 2015. The Bears graduated Michael Auriem...
Molloy Hungry to Return to Postseason Play
by Nakeem Grant The Molloy Lions have a lot to be excited for in the 2016 season. They have a revamped roster, a steadfast head coach and a familiar face returning for a new role. Lions head coach, Joe Fucarino cannot wait for the season to begin. He sees a lot of potential in this year’s team and he set their main goal: to clinch a spot in the ECC tournament. “Our first goal from day one is getting into the conference tournament,” says coach Fucarino. Molloy finished fifth in the conference with a 10-14 record. He explained that missing out on the tournament last season was a “humbling experience” for his team. Fucarino’s team has qualified for seven ECC tournaments in his ten years with the Lions. He did not hesitate to revere the other teams in the conference. He feels that the competit...
Dowling Looks to Return to the Regionals for a Third-Consecutive Season
We don’t talk about awards and accolades, we are focused on how you show up everyday.
Loaded With Young Talent, Adelphi Ready to Take the Next Step
by Vinny Amodeo After the Adelphi University Panthers reached the Northeast-10 Semi-Final game in 2015, 2016 has promise for a deep postseason run with eyes on a conference championship. “The goals for this season remain unchanged,” said Junior captain Robert Vani. “First off is an NE-10 Championship and secondly an appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament.” Head Coach Dom Scala is entering his 13th season at the helm for the Brown and Gold with 11 postseason appearances in his first 12 seasons. The squad graduated eight players from 2015’s roster including perpetual starters in Donato Signore, Vincent Sharkey, Rich Cambria and Nick Zito. The remaining four were apart of the staff and featured the likes of John Bivas, Mike Cranston, Ricky Van Allen and Nikolas Batas. Each of these player...
LIU Post Looks to Claim the ECC Led by an Army of Aces
By Nakeem Grant The 2016 season is nearing for Long Island University’s Pioneers. Head coach, Mike Gaffney has several goals in mind for his team this season, but their No. 1 goal is to overtake Dowling and win the East Coast Conference title. Last year, the Pioneers finished fourth in the ECC with an overall record of 18-18. They fell short of their ECC title goal by losing to the Bridgeport Purple Knights in the semifinals, 4-1. This, however, is a team nobody wants to face. They won’t have to score many runs. They are returning Baseball on the Island’s Cy Young Jake DeCarli–who compiled a stellar 0.76 ERA and .148 opponent’s AVG over 71.0 IP. He will be joined by Dan Jagiello, who compiled a 3.75 ERA but is now armed with a 96 MPH fastball that has turned heads i...
Old Westbury Looks to Go Back-to-Back
"Our biggest strength is our pitching. I think we are loaded".
Playoff Preview: Local Pitchers Take Center Stage
By now, everyone and their mother knows that two of the prominent players in the MLB postseason–Steven Matz of the New York Mets and Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays–hail from small towns on Long Island. Stroman, whose miraculous return from ACL surgery was widely documented by the national media, won all four of his starts in September (all against the gauntlet of the AL East) and will be getting the Game 2 start against Cole Hamels on Friday in Toronto. He struck out 18 over 27 innings, allowing five ER (1.67 ERA) and made each of those starts count. He beat the Yankees in his season debut on September 12, beat Boston in his next outing, outdueled Ivan Nova in Toronto his next time and then threw eight shutout frames in the AL East division clinching victory on Septemb...
