St. John the Baptist
St. John the Baptist Season Preview
Despite losing six games in a row during April last year, St. John the Baptist did not wave the white flag. In fact, they stayed the course and wound up in the CHSAA finals against Kellenberg at Hofstra, before losing 1-0 to Miami-commit Jason Diaz. That is a sign of a resilient, well-coached team with strong leadership from upperclassmen. The Head Coach, Casey McKay, knew things would turn around even during the skid. “The two things I always told the guys was; keep competing and stay together,” he told Axcess Baseball. “When you lose one-run games and guys get thrown out at the plate, you just have to keep competing and things will turn around,” he added. Nothing shows the epitome of their team-first attitude like their improbable comeback trailing 5-0 in the 5th ...
Fall Ball Series: LIU Post
Really good bullpen from freshman Joe Valentino pic.twitter.com/0fkn9Me6Tf Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 25, 2017 Our Fall Ball Series concluded this afternoon at LIU Post with the reigning ECC Champion Pioneers. I watched their full-team workout and it was very eye-opening. If there was any question that LIU Post baseball has come a long way over the previous three seasons, look no further than the newly-implemented rule by the school’s athletic department. On days that the men’s soccer team is playing, the baseball team is prohibited from taking batting practice on the field due to the amount of home runs that have interrupted the soccer games. The biggest culprits have been Rob Andreoli and Zach Fritz. Head Coach Mike Gaffney noted that in previous years t...
Recap of Mariano Rivera Clinic at St. John the Baptist
Mariano teaching the proper technique to cover first pic.twitter.com/8jD6meeLka Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 14, 2017 What an unbelievable experience it was for 50 young ballplayers this afternoon at St. John the Baptist‘s baseball clinic. Major League Baseball’s all-time save leader (652) and five-time World Series Champion Mariano Rivera spent nearly three hours signing autographs, speaking to the players, running drills and even providing personal pitching instructions. Everyone in attendance marveled at Rivera’s incredible down-to-earth demeanor despite the massive success he’s attained in his illustrious career. With rain in the early portion of the morning, the clinic began inside with Rivera taking plenty of time to sign an autograph and t...
Brian McLaughlin Caps Decorated Career With a Legion of Awards
Coming out of St. John the Baptist, Brian McLaughlin was more than capable at playing at many major baseball programs. He spent four years playing under one of the brightest baseball minds on the island in John Habyan and had the type of power that coaches fawn over. He knew, however, that someday baseball might not always be there for him. He decided to go to the school that not only offered him the best chance to pursue a career in engineering, but where he could also play baseball so he chose SUNY Maritime. “I don’t regret a single day that I spent there,” he said in regards to his decision. “There was some good schools but Maritime represented something different. I knew it was the best option,” he added. He is coming off a decorated career in which he re-...
St. John the Baptist Relying on Pitching and Defense
Casey McKay, now in his second-year as Head Coach at St. John the Baptist, knows a thing or two about winning. During his playing days at SJB, he led the Cougars to a CHSAA league title in 2008 and finishing runner-up in 2007. He also had a successful collegiate career at LIU Post. He will have a challenge this year in replacing their high-level of production from last year’s seniors–Kevin Dolan, Noah Lorenzo, Nick Lasala and Tom Ekbom. The first two are now playing at LIU Post, Lasala is at Farmingdale State and Ekbom is at St. Joseph’s. “This year’s team is a lot different than last year,” said McKay. “We had a lot of guys that hit for power and extra bases, we will have to rely a lot more on our speed, pitching and defense this year,”...
