St. John the Baptist baseball
Logan O’Hoppe to Receive 2018 Axcess Man of the Year Award
It’s been a year of accomplishments for St. John the Baptist grad Logan O’Hoppe. First, he led the Cougars to the CHSAA Championship, then he was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the MLB Draft and finally he was named 1st Team All-American Gold Glove Award winner by Rawlings. The latter of which was awarded to the top prep catcher in the country. Only three base runners attempted steals on him this season. He can add one more award to his mantle, as he was voted the 2018 Axcess Baseball Man of the Year by his peers, garnering 62 percent of the votes, edging out Anthony D’Onofrio and Matt Hogan. Since getting drafted, he has further raised his stock. He posted a slash line of .367/..411/.532, proving he is not simply a defensive-minded catcher. He...
Up Next: Kyle Chase
(Editor’s Note: This is our third installment of our ‘Up Next’ Series in which we profile the top middle school and JV players on Long Island. Our first two athletes were Christian Alicea and Liam Bowes. Now is Kyle Chase, a freshman at St. John the Baptist.) Baseball is not supposed to be easy. It is a humbling game, and you can easily make the argument that hitting a baseball with a round bat is the single most difficult task in sports. For one week in 2017, Kyle Chase laughed at that concept. He not only made it look easy, but he treated it as if it was the most rudimentary of tasks. He batted .833 (25-for-30) while leading the Body Armor Titans to first place in a 104-team Cooperstown tournament. He was not just hitting singles, either. He crushed 11 HRs and drove in ...
Logan O’Hoppe Helping to Fight Lung Cancer
(Editor’s Note: Logan O’Hoppe is a 2018 graduate of St. John the Baptist HS. He helped lead the Cougars to the CHSAA Championship with a dramatic win over St. Dominic at Hofstra University. He won the regular season Triple Crown, batting over .500. He also was the recipient of the Rawlings Gold Award, given to the top prep catcher in the country. He was drafted in the 23rd round by the Philadelphia Phillies. He went on to enjoy a very successful first season by batting .367 with a .411 OBP and .532 SLG. ) November is Lung Cancer Awareness month, and Logan O’Hoppe is making an effort to help eradicate the disease that is the No. 1 deadliest cancer among women. After losing his Aunt Dana in 2015, he felt compelled to provide any help he could to make sure families don’...
Logan O’Hoppe Wins Rawling’s Gold Glove Award Given to Top HS Catcher in Nation
It has been quite a year for Sayville-native Logan O’Hoppe. The 6’3″ backstop led the St. John the Baptist Cougars to the 2018 CHSAA championship for the first time since 2014. From an individual standpoint, he was named CHSAA Player of the Year, he won the offensive triple crown, he was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the MLB Draft and he took home a slew of other awards. He can add another to the mantle after Rawlings/ABCA named him the 1st Team All-American Gold Glove Award winner. It is quite an achievement for a player who burst onto the scene only one year prior with an outstanding showing in the Dominican Republic. His defensive prowess has been well-documented on here. He is considered the best defensive catcher coming out of the island ...
Catching Up With 2016 CHSAA Player of the Year Matt Martino
(Photo Credit: Vassar Athletics) Although Kyle Young and Chris Cappas were the players that generated all the headlines in 2016 in regards to the Catholic League, neither of them actually won the CHSAA Player of the Year. That’s right, that honor was bestowed upon St. Anthony’s senior 3B/RHP Matt Martino, who hit three HR and won six games for the Friars. From there, he went on to Vassar College, where he was named First Team All-Conference as a freshman. The injury bug, however, bit him quite hard. Not only did he tear his meniscus but he also went under the knife to undergo Tommy John Surgery which caused him to miss all of 2018. I had the chance to speak with him, and here’s what he had to say… What are your fondest memories of your time at St. Anthony’s? Playing...
St. John the Baptist Wins Thriller To Capture CHSAA Title
Final: St. John the Baptist 5, St. Dominic 3 WP: Will Lynch St. John the Baptist is the 2018 CHSAA Champions ! pic.twitter.com/xbXvtj95fl — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2018 It’s hard to have a more drastic turn of events from the fifth inning on; which began as a commanding 3-0 lead for St. Dominic with Johnny Flannigan cruising, to a go-ahead, two-run triple by Matt Lavin, immediately followed by an RBI double–that appeared to be shot out of a cannon–by Logan O’Hoppe. St. John the Baptist reliever, Will Lynch, who came on with a runner on third in the third inning wound up going the distance and completely mystifying the Bayhawks’ batters and recording the victory as the Cougars won, 5-3, to capture their first CHSAA title since 2014. “...
Tom Force’s Bases Clearing Triple Propels SJB to 8-5 Victory
A bases clearing triple for Tom Force gives SJB an 8-5 lead in the sixth ! pic.twitter.com/wlUpdSOpOy — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 22, 2018 What began as a 5-0 game that appeared to be in-hand, turned into a wild nail-biter that was capped by a bases-clearing triple by Tom Force, the second of its kind for the St. John the Baptist Cougars in their 8-5 victory over Chaminade. Chaminade threatened to put a rally together in the bottom of the seventh, getting the tying run to the plate, but SS E.J. Exposito came in and promptly struck out three batters, with his last pitch registering at 87 MPH to end the game. The Cougars got out to an early lead in this one. Force hit an RBI single and catcher Logan O’Hoppe ripped a bases-clearing double to open up a 4-0 lead. O’Ho...
Logan O’Hoppe: What Mother’s Day Means to Me
(Editor’s Note: Logan O’Hoppe is a senior at St. John the Baptist. He is regarded as the top catching prospect on Long Island and just completed the regular season with a batting average of .511 and an OBP of .662 with two HR. He is committed to East Carolina University. The following words are his own.) When I was asked to write this, it took a long time to think about what I was going to say. How can you put into words how much love and appreciation you have for the person that gave you life? I always say my mom is my superhero. Every day she carries herself in a way that impresses me. I don’t think i’ve ever seen my mom carry a bad mood or bad thought over into the next day. She is always able to show me how life should be lived. Mom will do anything she can to make the peop...
Late Error is the Difference in St. Dominic’s Victory Over SJB
Our @DigmiNation Player of the Game is freshman Sean Lane for his clutch two-run single in the fourth inning to give the Bayhawks a 2-1 lead. #TipYourCap #LiveDreamBe pic.twitter.com/w43DnRhd1e Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 18, 2018 The transition back-and-forth between grass and turf infields can be difficult for amateur players. For that reason, St. John the Baptist scheduled multiple scrimmages to prepare for their battle against rival St. Dominic. The tactic, unfortunately, did not prevent defensive miscues that was the difference in their 4-3 loss. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tony Figliuolo led off the inning with a single and advanced on a single by Brandon Bruno. The ensuing batter hit a ground ball to third that was bobbled and thrown in the dirt to first...
Mariano Rivera to Host Pitching Clinic at St. John the Baptist
Here’s a special opportunity for young Long Island baseball players that rarely comes along. Mariano Rivera, owner of the all-time Major League record for most saves in a career (652) and five-time World Series champ, will be hosting a pitching clinic at St. John the Baptist on Saturday, October 14. The clinic is for players age 7-13 and will cost $225 per player. The fee will include a meet & greet with Rivera, an event t-shirt, instructional clinic and autograph session. The clinic will be limited to 100 players and will come on a first-come, first-serve basis. Also at the clinic will be current minor leaguers Nick Fanti (Hauppauge 2015), Bryan Verbitsky (Island Trees 2010), Matt Reistetter (Hauppauge 2010), Jared Finkel (Iona 2017), Cam Maron (Hicksville 2009) and Mariano Rive...
What is the Best School to Recruit From?
Those who follow closely know that there are high-level, impact players all over the island. A small number of the schools are responsible for a vast majority of the best players. Obviously, there are external factors that give certain schools advantages such as the socio-economics of the city, the average income of the parents, demographics, the quality of the school’s head coach/athletic director. Here is my best effort to compile a list of some of the other best high schools to recruit from… Shoreham-Wading River: They have had three Carl Yastrzemski Award winners (Keith Osik, Mike O’Reilly, Brian Morrell–twice), and a handful of other high-end Div-I players (Eric Strovink, Bryan Sabatella, Tyler Osik, Nick Bottari just to name a few) and they just graduated four players he...
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