Tim McHugh
South Shore Clippers Walk-Off Against Tomcats
by Gabe Zoda Spoke to Alex Ungar after the game to talk about his thoughts on the 6-5 victory for the Clippers over the Riverhead Tomcats. pic.twitter.com/JZgEr7DtC4 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 7, 2021 It didn’t matter what kind of baseball fan you are, the game between the South Shore Clippers and the Riverhead Tomcats had it all. This game encapsulated everything the Hampton’s League has to offer and put it on display to put on a super close and tense game of baseball. Once the dust settled it would be the Clippers who would come out on top. They would take it by a final score of 6-5 but it would take every last pitch of the game to figure out who would come home with the W. As mentioned before, this game had it all but it was also a true tale of two halves. In the firs...
OTD: Recap of 2018 Award Banquet
Matt Hogan on winning the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award given to Suffolk County’s Top Player pic.twitter.com/CqVxgEmklI — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 14, 2018 The annual Suffolk County All-Star Banquet at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook is a bittersweet moment that celebrates the best that Suffolk County baseball has to offer but also represents the official conclusion of the spring baseball season. Tonight’s gathering brought together over 800 guests from the baseball community, honoring several awards from All-League to All-County, League MVPs, three Courage Awards, two Umpires of the Year and the “Big 3” of Silver Slugger, Paul Gibson Award (top pitcher) and Carl Yastrzemski Award (top hitter). Silver Slugger Award Tim McHugh, Commack The TCU-commit smacked five HR and...
OTD: Tim McHugh’s Grand Slam Caps Comeback Victory for Commack
McHugh on his heroics and the big victory for Commack pic.twitter.com/iPsFTVnEsG — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 9, 2018 If there was one person to avoid seeing with the bases loaded, two-outs protecting a one-run lead it’s TCU-commit, Tim McHugh, who happens to have the best raw power of any player on Long Island. The 6’4″ slugger took the first pitch for a ball before connecting and launching a go-ahead grand slam over the center field wall to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead for the Commack Cougars, who entered the inning trailing 3-1 with only two hits in the game. Reliever Drew Vincent came on to protect the lead and record the victory with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. The game started out with both pitchers dominating. Jake Krzemienski started for the Cougars and Joey Savin...
Exclusive Q & A With St. John’s HC Mike Hampton
While it came as quite a surprise to many when longtime St. John’s Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer stepped down to manage the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Red Storm couldn’t have chose someone more prepared to fill in. Mike Hampton, who has been Blankmeyer’s assistant for 18 seasons, is well-suited to fill the shoes of the legendary skipper. Hampton is a 1994 graduate of Clemson University – named All-American in 1994 and drafted in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Reds. The program has reached great heights under the guidance of that duo, including nine 40-win seasons, four BIG EAST Championships and an appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals in 2012. Under his guidance, the offense was ranked third in AVG in 2017 at .323 and finished top-10 in 2006, 2007 and 2009. The Red Sto...
MLB Draft 2019: Who’s Going to Get Picked from Long Island?
Day 1 of the 2019 MLB Draft came and went with no local players getting selected, although Elon RHP George Kirby was selected in the the first round (20th overall) by the Seattle Mariners and he is a Rye, NY native. As is the case every season, dozens of players have a shot to get drafted but that list dwindles as the season progresses and ultimately only a select few Long Island players will hear their name called. Here’s my best guess at the local players that will have their dreams fulfilled and will play professional baseball. High School: Jaison Andujar, OF, Bay Shore Andujar quickly put himself on the radar after moving back to Bay Shore from the Dominican Republic. He is a pro-caliber bat with a tremendous arm in center field. I was surprised he only had three home runs consid...
Who Has The Best Tools on the Island?
Regardless of where you’re from, who your parents are, what size you are and what your nationality is, if you’re good you will be found. People love to diminish baseball for being a sport that is tilted towards the upper-middle class that can afford to travel the nation. That is simply not the case. A good scout will locate the top players in their area. Look no further than Kyle McGowin, who hails from the smallest town in New York (Sag Harbor) or Franklin Parra who came from the Dominican Republic and made a name for himself in extremely quick fashion at a school not commonly associated with baseball prowess (Copiague). With the 2019 season right around the corner, I will attempt to name the tools associated with being an impact baseball player and name the players that posse...
What Are the Major Storylines for 2019? (High School Edition)
With 2019 upon us, it is time to turn the page and start to think about the upcoming season. College ball is just 44 days away, and that will be here before you know know. First, let’s start off with high school. Below are some of the major storylines to watch for this upcoming season. The more things change, the more they stay the same? At the high school level, we had repeat winners at the AA level (Massapequa), A (Wantagh) and Suffolk AA’s winner (West Islip) won their third since 2014. It came as a bit of a surprise just considering the quality of teams they were facing. Oceanside was so talented that they would’ve been the prohibitive favorites in Vegas after they swept the Chiefs in April and started out 12-0. Massapequa still found a way to run the table in the pos...
Where Things Stand With the Top Prospects in the 2019 Class
Yes it may seem like the 2019 draft is a long time away, but the reality for MLB organizations is that the preparation began immediately following the 2018 draft. Area scouts have had workouts and will continue to monitor their high-follows very closely from now until June. Below is a list of the eight players I believe have a chance to get drafted next year, and how they have evolved since I first watched each of them. Jason Diaz, RHP, Kellenberg Jason Diaz set such a high standard for himself that it was always going to be difficult to continue to outperform expectations. Having a 94 MPH at 16-years-old can be a blessing and a curse. From my perspective, I was blown away with him as a sophomore. His natural stuff, his composure, the similarities to Marcus Stroman, etc, put himself in eli...
Recap of 2018 All-Star Banquet
Matt Hogan on winning the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award given to Suffolk County’s Top Player pic.twitter.com/CqVxgEmklI — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 14, 2018 The annual Suffolk County All-Star Banquet at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook is a bittersweet moment that celebrates the best that Suffolk County baseball has to offer but also represents the official conclusion of the spring baseball season. Tonight’s gathering brought together over 800 guests from the baseball community, honoring several awards from All-League to All-County, League MVPs, three Courage Awards, two Umpires of the Year and the “Big 3” of Silver Slugger, Paul Gibson Award (top pitcher) and Carl Yastrzemski Award (top hitter). Silver Slugger Award Tim McHugh, Commack The TCU-co...
Vinny Messana’s Big Board: Top High School Prospects on Long Island
With MLB Draft day just one day away it’s time to discuss which local high school players have a shot to play at the professional level. Many of these players I have watched for the past few seasons and have watched them evolve from talented players with lots of untapped potential to elite players. Additionally, each of these young men happen to possess rare leadership qualities that will help them excel at the next level. Several of these players will play high-end Division-I baseball and a few of them will play professionally after that. Criteria: high school graduates of 2018-2020 and I needed to see them play at least once. Frankin Parra (Copiague 2018, San Jacinto CC-commit) When you watch the video above, it’s easy to see why cross checkers were flying into Long Island to...
Krzemienski Dazzles; Fans 14 As Commack Advances
Our @DigmiNation Players of the Game are Jake Krzemienski and James Cardinale following Commack’s 4-1 victory. They will look to end West Islip’s 17-game win streak tomorrow pic.twitter.com/UrN4lABQU5 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2018 No. 3 Commack put up four runs in the first inning against Southern New Hampshire-commit Danny Owens and received a lights-out performance from LHP Jake Krzemienski, to defeat No. 6 Longwood, 4-1, to advance to the semifinals of Suffolk AA playoffs tomorrow against No. 2 West Islip. It was one of those days that when an opposing team had one opportunity to capitalize when a dominant pitcher was in a jam. That occurred in the top of the fourth with Longwood threatening against Commack ace Krzemienski. The red-hot Kyle Rausch smac...
