Shoreham-Wading River
Shoreham-Wading River: How Do They Do It?
by Patrick Duryea Consistency is a key to success no matter who you ask. You’d be hard pressed to find a program more consistent than Shoreham-Wading River. In addition to making the playoffs every season from 1986-2022, they have had only two coaches in their baseball program’s entire history. The current head coach is Kevin Willi, who took over for the legendary Coach Sal Mignano. He started the program at SWR and it did not take long for them to become a prominent figure in Long Island baseball. Under Mignano, SWR won 582 games, which makes for an average of over 15 wins per season, not to mention 12 league titles and 8 Suffolk County titles. Before taking over Willi coached under Mignano for several years and noted “he was my mentor” and “he took me under his wing”. The tradition...
Shoreham-Wading River Seeking to Start New Postseason Run
by Aaron Diaz Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series Shoreham-Wading River 7, Center Moriches 5 Joey Marchese walk-off 2 run homer Liam Bowes hit a 3 run shot to tie it earlier in the inning pic.twitter.com/TkuissE9iq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 4, 2022 2023 turned into a rebuilding year for the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats, but an unexpected one at that. Last season was the first time in 37 season years the team missed the playoffs. The Wildcats finished with a 6-14 record in that span. “We broke that streak which was always something we were proud of as a program and the consistency there,” said head coach Kevin Willi. “Last year, we had a perfect storm of us not having a playoff berth with some major inju...
Shoreham-Wading River Prepared to Continue Success
by Andy Smith Postgame interview with Shoreham-Wading River RHP Billy Steele who fired 6 no-hit innings in a 4-1 win pic.twitter.com/dzwO45Ztze — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 4, 2022 Shoreham-Wading River had a very successful season last spring. The Wildcats qualified for the playoffs once again, a feat they have continued to accomplish for 36 straight seasons and finished the regular season with a 17-2 record. They were upset by Bayport-Blue Point in the postseason. Head Coach Kevin Willi is entering his ninth season as the skipper. Willi may sound familiar to fans of Stony Brook University, as he was both a pitcher and outfielder for the Seawolves. Willi credited his mentor, Sal Mignano, as a major catalyst to his success. Mignano, a member of the Suffolk County Sports ...
Q & A With Brian Morrell
Morrell with a big double for @hofstrabaseball in the 9th WATCH NOW 📺 @FloBaseball 💻 https://t.co/AKWsfFFrHv 📈 https://t.co/zrrBJzfPgg pic.twitter.com/wHoDoVQ5WY — Colonial Athletic Association (@CAASports) May 29, 2022 2022 was an amazing and historic season for Hofstra. Can you go into some detail about what changes Frank and his staff implemented, how they were able to turn around the program so quickly and also what it felt like to go on that outstanding playoff run? Once I heard Cat got the coaching position at Hofstra, I knew in my head that it was a no brainer that Hofstra was where I was going. One of my best friends growing up was Zach White who was a pitcher who played at New York Tech for Cat and his staff. I immediately called him on the phone and asked him tons of questions. D...
Q & A With Joey Marchese
It was another successful season on the diamond for Shoreham-Wading River. The Wildcats captured the League 7 title with a record of 15-2. Much of that had to do with the stellar pitching of Billy Steele but also a relentless offense that featured contributions up-and-down the lineup. One of their most impactful hitters all season was senior Joey Marchese. The power-hitting outfielder put together a slash line of .453/.533/.703 with an insane 1.236 OPS, 7 doubles, 3 HRs, 20 RBIs, 17 runs, 11 stolen bases and even had two walk-off hits. His ability to come through in the big moments was a tremendous asset for Shoreham. But beyond the baseball field, Marchese dealt with the absolutely heartbreaking news that his sister tragically passed away in a car crash just before her high school graduat...
Chris Batuyios Goes the Distance, Outduels Billy Steele
By Blake Buscemi Batuyios goes the distance, Mount Sinai takes the win. Final: Mount Sinai 6, SWR 2 pic.twitter.com/O0eywBOZHR — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2022 It was a battle of two aces as Chris Batuyios took on Billy Steele in Suffolk Class A Conference IV pool play at Shoreham Wading River High School this afternoon. Both are highly regarded arms in the conversation to win the Paul Gibson Award, so this was expected to be a low-scoring game before it started. Steele, who committed to West Point last year, had yet to give up a run going into this start and has consistently been sitting over 90 MPH with his fastball. Batuyios, a St. John’s commit, is an arm who consistently fills up the zone with strikes while also striking out twice as many hitters as he has innings p...
Ken Kortright State Farm Game of the Week: Billy Steele Fires 6 No-Hit Innings in 4-1 Win
Postgame interview with Shoreham-Wading River RHP Billy Steele who fired 6 no-hit innings in a 4-1 win pic.twitter.com/dzwO45Ztze — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 4, 2022 Shoreham-Wading River has grown accustomed to no-hitters over the past several years. Between Brian Morrell‘s record-setting six no-hitters in 2016-’17 and then Aidan Crowley‘s back-to-back-to-back no-hitters in 2019, maybe there isn’t the same allure there once was. Billy Steele, their 2022 version of those aforementioned pitchers took a no-hitter through six innings, but was lifted in favor of LHP Nick Stella. He was one strike away from finishing it off, before Bayport-Blue Point ruined the bid and got on the board on an RBI double, briefly putting a scare into the hometown faithful....
Shoreham-Wading River Looking to Continue Remarkable Postseason Streak
by Mike Anderson Go-ahead 3-R HR by Joey Marchese puts Shoreham-Wading River up 5-3 in the top of the fourth pic.twitter.com/kyV05kSkBA — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 12, 2021 For Shoreham-Wading River varsity baseball, it’s 35 years and counting. That’s 35 consecutive playoff berths. In 2021, they went 15-3, and head coach Kevin Willi credited everyone and everything from top to bottom for the program’s long-sustained success. “It started with Sal Mignano who is basically the founder of SWR baseball. He created a tradition of hard work and dedication that has translated into my tenure as coach. It’s really amazing because the kids are driven and motivated. They work hard, they do extra lessons, they’re always above and beyond,” Willi said. However, it wasn’t just the culture o...
Jake Halloran Strikes Out 13 in 5-1 Win Over John Glenn
Greg Friedman bases clearing double to give Shoreham-Wading River a 4-1 lead in the third over John Glenn pic.twitter.com/f08Mqz96tM — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 6, 2021 After struggling with his command in the second inning, Shoreham-Wading River RHP Jake Halloran settled down and struck out 13 over six innings in a 5-1 victory for the Wildcats over John Glenn. On a steamy June morning in Shoreham, the second place Wildcats looking to stay in contention for the top spot of Suffolk Conference V but would need to top a pesky John Glenn team who is motivated to stay in postseason contention. In the first inning, Halloran worked around an error by his third baseman and a single by Ryan Desmond to strike out the next three hitters in succession. In the home half of the first, Bi...
Joey Marchese’s Three-Run Blast Propels SWR to 7-5 Win Over Mount Sinai
Go-ahead 3-R HR by Joey Marchese puts Shoreham-Wading River up 5-3 in the top of the fourth pic.twitter.com/kyV05kSkBA — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 12, 2021 Hits from the bottom of the lineup and lead changes are two signs of a competitive, compelling game of varsity baseball. When you combine the two, it’s even more thrilling. With one swing of the bat, Shoreham-Wading River’s eight-hole hitter, Joey Marchese, gave the Wildcats the 5-3 lead over Mount Sinai. They wound up tacking on two more, and holding on to defeat the Mustangs on the road by the score of 7-5. Marchese stated that he “was standing in the box and looking for a fastball to hit hard – got my pitch and took a good swing and got it out,” said the 6’4 slugger. With the victory...
Shoreham-Wading River Counting on a Talent But Inexperienced Core
by Chris Sacchi Kevin WIlli and the Shoreham-Wading River baseball team have made the postseason 34 straight seasons and 36 of the past 37 seasons. Yet, even coach Willi’s program is entering 2021 lacking in experience. “We have an interesting situation where we have pretty much three, I’d say four players, who’ve ever touched the varsity field,” coach said. “I think a lot of teams are in that situation where you miss a year like that, all that senior knowledge that last year, we had a really heavy senior class last year, you know, with Aidan Crowley, Cullen SantaMaria. “A lot guys, a lot of experience, and we weren’t able to really give them much of a chance to pass that knowledge on. So, we’re looking for some of these guys to step up, especially the guys that h...
How To Develop A Team-First Attitude
(Photo Credit: Bill Landon) by Sal Mignano An integral part of any successful team is for its members to have an unselfish, team-first attitude. Teams are sometimes successful in the win-loss column just due to pure talent, but that is not typically going to be a yearly occurrence. In fact, when a team wins just because of the pure talent it has, it is often without the excitement and exhortation of a tight unit. The major responsibility of this development is of the Head Coach. There are some teams, of course, that have some players who might be natural leaders, but ultimately the Head Coach is the one to foster that development through out the year. As a HS coach for 38 years, I had the fortune of coaching a ton of tremendous young men. My most successful and enjoyable seasons were the o...
