Season Preview
Harborfields Fueled by Anguish of Last Year’s One-Run Losses
by Eric Moskowitz Harborfields is coming off a rough five-win season in 2015. They are confident, however, that this year will be much different. Our reporter Eric had a chance to speak with Head Coach Casey Sturm, and here’s what he had to say… How did you feel last year went? Last year things didn’t go the way we envisioned. We ran into a few injuries and I think inexperience caught up with us a little bit. We finished 5-15 with 8 of those losses being 2 runs or less, including 3 games against Comsewogue who went on to win the League VI crown. Now listen, to me, good teams win close games and we didn’t do that, so we were exactly what our record said we were. With that said, I think that record, and those close losses, have fueled a fire in the program as a whole....
Connetquot Looks to Protect the Crown
by Vinny Messana They weathered the storm of fierce competition on the field and they overcame the trauma of losing two beloved members of their community off the field. It takes a lot to wow a Head Coach who has won 582 games over 31 years, but that’s exactly what the Connetquot Thunderbirds did by winning their fourth Long Island Championship last season. “It was a tough situation for everyone,” said Bob Ambrosini. “It’s something that never really happens in life–maybe once,” he said in regards to having to deal with the loss of teammate’s family members. “The kids really rallied around each other,” he added. In regards to John Hengge pitching in the Suffolk County Championship he said, “Credit to him and his family. With...
St. Anthony’s Prepared to Make a Run at the Top Spot
Having been with the program as an assistant coach prior to taking over as the Head Coach five years ago, John Phelan knew this day would come. “It’s taken a while,” he said. “But it’s developed into something special,” he added. Coming off a 12-8 season is nothing to scoff at while playing in the very competitive CHSAA. Phelan knows they had a chance to be even better. They lost four one-run games, not including their first two losses of the year to St. John the Baptist that came by a total of four runs. They will be returning some of the top players in the Catholic League. Leading the way is University of Michigan commit Cameron Tomaiko. He is a left-handed hitting outfielder with a smooth swing and possesses great speed. “He has the potential to...
Jericho Ready to Make Noise in 2016
by Vinny Messana When it comes to programs on the rise, one team to keep an eye out for is Jericho. One of the tell-tale signs of a program ready to make a step forward is a) how they ended the previous season and b) how many veteran seniors they have. They certainly fit the criteria. They graduated only four seniors, the most prominent of which was All-Conference Matt Caputo, who is now at St. John’s University. Ninth year Head Coach Dan O’Shea is very high on his crop of 14 seniors. Last season, after starting the season 1-5, they dug themselves quite a hole. Still, they rattled off an impressive run of seven wins in their next nine games. They fell one game shy of qualifying for a playoff berth, and that makes them a hungry program on the rise. “This group has played t...
Ward Melville Enters 2016 as the Hunted in League I Once Again
by Vinny Messana Coming off another League-I title in which they won 21 games and came within one win of a Suffolk County championship, the Ward Melville Patriots will have to defend their crown minus two integral parts of last year’s terrific rotation. One of which was a staple of the program for four seasons. “Joe Flynn is the type of player you can’t replace,” said Lou Petrucci, now in his 10th year at the helm. “He started from day one as a freshman, he won 15 games on the mound and he played 98 games for us,” he said. The Patriots record in those 98 games? 74-24. “As Anthony Frascogna said–‘Having a player like him is like having a coach on the field.’ We’re going to miss him but players like him pass on more than bats ...
Young Hurlers of Smithtown East Faced With Tough Task
We are returning only four of last year's 149 total innings
James Kory and Ray Weber Lead a Talented West Islip Team
It was just two years ago that West Islip rode the right arm of sophomore James Kory and senior Nick Arnold to their second Suffolk County Class AA championship in seven years. Having lost in the first-round of the playoffs to Smithtown West last year, however, the team is not one to rest on their laurels and are looking to ride their pitching staff back to June baseball. Kory, now a senior, will be leading the rotation and hitting in the middle of the order. He will be joined by another senior, Ray Weber, who will be heading to the University at Albany in the fall. Weber, a returning All-County player, will play SS when he’s not pitching. Sixth year Head Coach Shawn Rush stated that they are essentially “co-aces” and either of them is worthy of the first start of a seri...
Pat-Med Counting on Fresh Faces to Step In and Contribute
2015 was a great year for Pat-Med, compiling a 16-6 record and winning a playoff game and having numerous players receive accolades. The only downside to that level of success is that it featured the biggest graduating class of Head Coach Anthony Frascogna’s 15-year coaching tenure. Some of those players include Div-I recruits such as catcher Matt Codispoti (Albany) and Rich Ciufo (Brown), Div-II players such as Brett Malm (Adelphi), their ace pitcher Andrew Garcia and leadoff extraordinaire Ron Linsalato (Suffolk CC). Fortunately, for a program like Pat-Med, there are not too many down years. With the way they have raised the bar for excellence–producing players like Marcus Stroman, Chris Phelan and Matt Vogel, they consistently produce tremendous talent. Next in line could po...
Smithtown West Leaning On Young Arms to Lead the Way
They took Ward Melville to the absolute edge before finally getting defeated by a passed ball in the eighth inning of the Suffolk County Class AA quarterfinals. Regardless, winning 17-games is always a tremendous accomplishment for a team. They will, however, have to replace a terrific pitching staff that featured Brandon Lamanna (five wins), Rob Tamarro (four wins) and John Craft (five wins). They will be looking to a group of four young promising arms to fill that void. Nick Trabacchi, Anthony Amato, Nick Grande and Mike Zito will all be counted on to lead the way. Eleventh year Head Coach Al Nucci stated that all four of those arms are capable, but are untested because they were not needed last year, given their dominant rotation. Grande will have a much larger role than a pitcher–...
Farmingdale State Begins Season in Unfamiliar Territory–As Underdogs
by Danny Gatta The Farmingdale State Rams will begin the season in unfamiliar territory; not defending a Skyline Conference title. In 2015, the Rams lost in the conference championship to Old Westbury, ending their run of seven consecutive conference championships. The Rams run of dominance in the Skyline conference was impressive, and even with the recent loss, they are still expected to be perennial contenders. They are graduating seven seniors, including All-American Outfielder Michael Marino. Marino was a leader on last year’s team and the main catalyst for the offense. When asked about Marino, head coach Keith Osik said, “He’s just a class act and a great leader. It’s great to see when kids buy into what we do as a program and improve each year and that’s what he did.” Marino had an i...
