Smithtown East baseball
Which School Has the Best 1-2 Punch?
I think we’ve seen plenty of examples the past few years in high school baseball that you really only need two dominant starting pitchers to make a run at a county championship. Eastport-South Manor was able to reach the Class AA Finals led by two workhorses (Ryan Foran and Alex Doskoez) but they fell short by one game to West Islip that also had a dynamic duo in Mike LaDonna and Bobby DiCapua. In Class A, it was Rocky Point who captured their first county title led by Joey Grillo and Robert Milopsky. It was the same story in Nassau County as Massapequa rode the right arms of Christian DeNave and Chris Mantione all the way to winning the Class AA New York Championship. But that was last year, in this article we will examine which teams have the best 1-2 punch atop their rotation for ...
Storms & Cucchiara Off the Board: What it Means for the 2019 Class
Two of the top 2019 arms came off the board yesterday only a few hours apart from each other. To make things more interesting, they will not only be staying on Long Island, but will be in the same conference. Here’s my thoughts on both: Michael Storms (Smithtown East 2019) to LIU Post The hard-throwing southpaw Michael Storms warming up looking to keep Smithtown East’s undefeated season going pic.twitter.com/FhMCDM7xYE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 24, 2018 Storms is a prototypical left-handed pitcher, who relies primarily on his fastball-change up combo. He sits 80-82 MPH, but gets a lot more swings-and-misses than you’d expect with that velocity mainly because there’s enough of a difference between his FB and CH velocity that his FB plays harder tha...
Insider Notes: How Good Is Smithtown East?
I finally made my way out to cover a Smithtown East game after they have established themselves as a legitimate contender in Suffolk County Class AA. Their depth was on display in yesterday’s victory and here are my takeways: Before we get into the game, just wanted to say it’s been a few years since a team has had a core in place like this. From watching their pitchers get private lessons with Neal Heaton to summer league games, I noticed early on that this Smithtown East team has the potential to put together title runs both this year and next. In our podcast on Halloween with Lou Petrucci and Gregg Sarra we discussed that. They have four arms in the 2019 class (Michael Storms, Will Kennedy, Doug Goodwin, Nick Harvey) and one in 2020 (Jai Sharma) that are very impressive. I a...
Michael Storms Fires CG Gem, Smithtown East Improves to 12-0
Will Kennedy clears the bases with a double to left center field. Top 4 | Smithtown East 4, Bay Shore 1 pic.twitter.com/FKPvr9Cfuh — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 24, 2018 Entering the season, Smithtown East was being picked by many people to win the county championship. It was no secret their pitching staff was stockpiled with talented arms. Michael Storms, one of those highly-regarded pitchers, proved today why many people felt that way but the offense was equally impressive in their 10-1 victory against League III rival Bay Shore. “We knew we had a big target on our back,” said the junior southpaw regarding the feeling entering the season. “We knew when we play, everyone needs to do their job and stay focused and not let it get to our hands–just...
Suffolk County Mid-Season Awards
We are roughly halfway through the 2018 high school season here on Long Island which means enough stats have been accrued that we can accurately identify most of the top performers from this season. I try to avoid these articles because there’s no way I can pinpoint every top performer with 100 percent certainty, but I feel good enough to hand out some hardware nonetheless. I’m proud to say the leading candidates for both of the major Suffolk County Awards, Carl Yastrzemski Award and Paul Gibson Award, were in my preseason articles so I don’t completely feel like a jinx. Without further ado, here’s my best guess for who takes home these awards in the summer. Class AA Coach of the Mid-Year Ryan McSherry, Longwood Honorable Mention: Tom Migliozzi, Hills West Class A C...
Patrick Lagravinese: The Ultimate Utility Player
(Photo Credit: Bill Ziskin) By Justin Paura Being asked to do everything is hard. There are very few people who you can count on to do backflips for you one day and run a mile for you the next. But for Albany junior Patrick Lagravinese, it has become second nature. In his first two seasons with the Great Danes, Lagravinese saw himself playing all over the infield. It helped him get some burn as an underclassman, playing in a total of 80 games through his freshman and sophomore years. “Getting experience early has really helped me develop as a player,” Lagravinese says. “Some kids don’t see time until their sophomore or junior year. I’ve been lucky.” The only thing is, it hasn’t been a matter of luck. It’s been a matter of flexibility. His role in his junior year has completely changed. He ...
Power Ranking Suffolk County Class AA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzgwiNN5tq8&t=72s We’ve given you the top players, now it’s time for the top teams. Last season, Commack broke a 20-year drought and captured the Suffolk County Class AA county championship.Considering their litany of arms, it was no surprise and I was correct in my preseason prediction of that. They graduated their top three starting pitchers, but they still are loaded. They will have plenty of competition this year as teams will be coming for their crown. Below is the top five Class AA teams in Suffolk County based on my opinions and observations. I look forward to your criticism and tweets. Enjoy– Ward Melville (2017 Record: 20-5) League I is going to be extremely competitive yet again this year. With the emergence of Sachem East and...
Smithtown East Season Preview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWmVPt6rH-k There’s been few teams that have won at a higher clip than Smithtown East since 2015. The Bulls have won 53 games over the past three seasons but had their hopes dashed by the Suffolk Class AA champs in both 2015 (Connetquot) and 2016 (West Islip). Last year, they had another successful season but ran into a dominant pitching rotation in No. 1 Ward Melville that shut them out in consecutive games by the scores of 6-0 and 3-0. “We beat the first game and we just needed to beat them one of the next two games,” said Head Coach Ken Klee. “We didn’t score a run–they were just better than us. Their pitching is very good,” he added. Fortunately for the Bulls, they have one of the most talented and deepest pitchi...
Preview for the Suffolk County Class AA Semifinals
This week the stage is set for the Suffolk County Class AA semifinals. Due to the suspended game on Friday between No. 2 Ward Melville-No. 9 Smithtown East, they will play tomorrow (weather pending) for the chance to play No. 4 West Islip on Tuesday in the first game of a best-of-three series. Also on Tuesday, No. 2 Commack will square off with No. 13 Pat-Med. Ward Melville vs Smithtown East: What to Expect: These teams have met twice so far, with Smithtown East winning last Wednesday, while Ward Melville won Friday/Saturday’s suspended game. Ward Melville will most likely throw ace Ben Brown, who has been tremendous all season, and Smithtown East will either throw Doug Goodwin or Nick Harvey. Both teams are well-disciplined, play great defense and can win close games. Ward Melville...
Ward Melville takes a must-win game from Smithtown East, 6-0.
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Farino made only his second start of the season for the Ward Melville Patriots (19-3), but he threw a CG shutout gem in their 6-0 win over Smithtown East. The Patriots came out hungry for a win after a short rainstorm yesterday forced both teams to pack it in and continue the game today. WM scratched a run across before the rain rolled through and picked up right where they left off. “Smithtown East has had our number for the past two years; they came back and beat us in the seventh inning last Wednesday, so we knew we had a tough road ahead,” said WM head coach Lou Petrucci. “Ethan Farino, sophomore, is a great competitor; that was his second start of the year and he came up big time for us.” RHP Farino and his deceptive three-quarter delivery kept a strong SE line...
