Rob Vani
Recap of Sharks Baseball Academy Winter Workout
2010 Cleveland Indians draft pick Henry Dunn on what outfielders from the northeast can do to prepare for the season pic.twitter.com/01vEgEgZWq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 3, 2019 If you’ve been one of our readers since the Baseball on the Island days, you are familiar with Jonathon Mulford, Rob Vani and Keith Couch. The trio, all graduates of Adelphi baseball, had outstanding collegiate careers. Mulford, who participated in our inaugural Battle of the Border in 2016 and was drafted shortly thereafter by the St. Louis Cardinals, had one of the most successful pitching in careers in program history. Same can be said for Couch, who was drafted in 2010 by the Boston Red Sox. Vani, who was not drafted, was twice named to our All-Long Island team, and was a standout 1B...
T.J. Santiago Dominates in Adelphi’s 5-2 Win on Opening Day
More than one player referred to Opening Day as a holiday during pregame warmups. Adelphi’s starting pitcher, TJ Santiago, had the energy of a kid on Christmas morning but his splitter acted more like the Grinch. The senior RHP was lights out (7 IP, 9 K, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB) in Adelphi’s 5-2 win over perennial powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas. It was a tremendous match up between a member of our 2016 All-Long Island team and Frankie Moscatiello (Rocky Point ’14), who hit 92-MPH with his first pitch of the game. Both pitchers have a chance to get drafted this year. “I was able to use all my pitches in various counts,” said the Panthers’ ace. “First game of the year is always a little more special,” he added. The offense got off to a slow start, but in...
Adelphi Right on the Verge of Deep Playoff Run
Last Year’s Record: 25-22 Key Roster Losses: Jonathon Mulford (RHP), Alex Zykoff (OF) Key Roster Additions: Tyler Becker (SS/3B), Tom Macri (INF) Andrew Sesto (RHP), Troy Simpson (RHP) Key Returning Players: TJ Santiago (RHP, senior), Robert Vani (1B, senior), Eric Hassell (OF, senior), Matthew O’Connor (LHP, redshirt junior), Kory Cassara (C, senior), Brett Malm (SS, sophomore), Ed Baram (RHP, sophmore), Mike Demarest (RHP, sophomore), Michael Tarpey (RHP, junior), Mike Stack (SS, senior) Coming off of a first-round exit in the 2016 NE-10 Conference tournament, Adelphi is entering the season with a chip on their shoulder. Luckily for the Panthers, they have a ton of talent to help guide the way for a successful 2017 season. Strengths As we all know, the heart of every team be...
Which Players From Long Island Could Get Drafted This Year? Part 1
This is a year where there is a higher-than-normal amount of players with professional caliber playing on Long Island. There might not be a first-round pick, but there will be plenty of Day 3 guys. To discuss them all, it will be broken into a multi-part series. Here is the first group. Jesse Berardi (Commack ’14, St. John’s ’18) You won’t find anyone that says a bad word about Berardi. He won the Carl Yastrzemski Award in 2014 and was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. His makeup is off the charts and everyone adores how he respects the game and hustles at all times. He was regarded as the best defensive shortstop to come out of Long Island since Shawon Dunston. His bat has come along and all of a sudden he developed power which only enhances his value. Assuming...
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...
