Vinny Giambona
Island Trees Cruises to 14-1 Non-League Victory Over Wheatley
By Thomas Cregan Vinny Giambona with a 3 run triple to put Island Trees up now 13-1 over Wheatley pic.twitter.com/HMTPFnAZO7 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 23, 2022 Island Trees, led by big performances from Connor Waiting and Vinny Giambona, rolled through Wheatley with a 14–1 victory in 6 innings. In what was set to be a big-time non-league matchup between two of last year’s Long Island Conference Champions, Island Trees showed just how deep their lineup is. Featuring a pitching matchup between James Tercynski (Wheatley) and Matt Ramirez (Island Trees). Both pitchers started off the first inning well only allowing one run each however, the first two innings were not an indication of what was to come. Island Trees would open the scoring with Connor Waiting who blas...
Sean Welsh Strikes Out 9, Goes 3-for-4 in Clarke’s Opening Day Victory Over Island Trees
Final: Clarke 5, Island Trees 2 WP: Sean Welsh S: Nick Giardino pic.twitter.com/OHFVwJvoJK — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 31, 2022 This was the very site of plenty of great battles last season between two high-octane Conference V rivals. After plenty of jostling throughout the regular season and one blowout playoff game, Island Trees took two critical games at Clarke, with their backs firmly against the wall. They were unable to continue that magic from 2021, as the Clarke Rams defeated Island Trees, 5-2, on opening day of the 2022 season after two consecutive cancellations to start the week. Th conditions were awful for pitchers and fielders despite the 57 degree temperatures due to winds gusting at 40+ MPH. A few fly balls were overrun and pitchers struggled with command &#...
Island Trees Preparing for Title Defense in 2022
Here’s the final out of the game for Island Trees – a strikeout by Vinny Giambona – to send them into the Long Island Championship pic.twitter.com/tlcB1bPIsj — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 18, 2021 Joe D’Auria knew from the time they were in 5th grade that they would be a special group. “I said this is the group I want to go out with,” said D’Auria, who guided Island Trees to the Nassau County Conference 5 Title in 2021 and will be retiring after this season. It was an outstanding season, and for those inside the building – it was not the least bit surprising. “I told you last year, these guys are real baseball players. They dedicate themselves – they play extensive travel ball. I thought this would be the year they&#...
Busy Week of College Commits
September is always a busy time of the year for players to announce their college commitments. Some of it is due to the recruitment calendar and some is simply due to the fact that once the high school year begins, kids begin to take their collegiate future more seriously and become more zoned in on their target schools. This week I was away for my 30th birthday, but was keeping track of the college commitments and posting them on our Instagram and Twitter page. Here’s some of the recent ones. Brady Clark (Bayport-Blue Point 2023) – St. John’s Great change up from Brady Clark (Bayport-Blue Point 2023) at 74 MPH. Fastball topped 85 pic.twitter.com/6RA1kM3B3E — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 2, 2021 Jayson Torres (East Islip) – East Stroudsburg Christian An...
Stock Watch: Which Players Rose Their Stock the Most During the Season?
2021 has basically been the year of the retail investor. We’re all familiar with AMC and $dogecoin but you’re not going to find stock advice in this article. But similar to stocks, some players experienced a meteoric rise during the high school season. This isn’t about which players simply performed the best – this is about who performed the best relative to what the expectations were this year. Here’s a breakdown from my vantage point – and I’ve seen (almost) all these players in person. 2021s Coltrane Calloway, Bay Shore The Seton Hall-commit was outstanding all season in leading Bay Shore to the Suffolk II title game against Huntington. He was named Conference II MVP and had a strong case for the Carl Yastrzemski Award. At the plate, he batted a...
League MVPs Announced
It’s always an exciting day when the League/Conference MVPs are announced because after the Long Island Championships, you’re expecting a slow news day and then the list drops and it’s another hit of news. To be fair, the list didn’t actually drop but I was able to find out the winners and here they are. Quick note: Nassau opted to award a Most Valuable Position Player as well as Most Valuable Pitcher, whereas Suffolk just named one player. Naturally, many players in Suffolk will feel slighted if they felt they had a case to win. The next big announcement will be the two Diamond Award winners as well as the Carl Yastrzemski Award, Paul Gibson Award and Silver Slugger. Nassau County: I- Vin Mallon (Massapequa), Liam Carroll (Massapequa) II- Co-Winners: Patrick Sanche...
Q & A With Island Trees RHP/SS Vinny Giambona
Island Trees captured the 2021 Nassau Conference V Championship with an exciting 3-2 victory over Clarke. They also had to defeat them the day before, which was an 8-3 victory. It was the third County Championship in their program’s history. A major reason behind their incredible season was their impressive group of juniors Prior to the season when I was writing their season preview, their head coach Joseph D’Auria told me he was optimistic about their chances because of how committed his players are. He stated his players were all the type that “eat, sleep and breathe baseball.” For me as a reporter and scout, that’s a phrase that is very specific to teams that are going to be successful. Coaches won’t say that if they don’t truly believe it. And ...
Island Trees Bulldogs Edge Clarke Rams, 3-1, in Battle of Nassau’s Undefeateds
by Andrew Connors Here’s the final out and post-game celebration! pic.twitter.com/MPDxEPpRNM — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 20, 2021 Two Nassau powerhouses met at Island Trees’ High School on Thursday afternoon, both looking to continue their undefeated seasons. The Island Trees Bulldogs came into this game knowing that the Clarke Rams had a similar goal in mind, but Coach Joe D’Auria was confident in his squad, saying “we knew coming into the game that we’ve been getting away with sloppy play, but we’ve been gearing our guys up for this game and this series…we’ve had a lot of battles over the years and I’m looking forward to this one as well.” The Bulldogs and Rams are usually a matchup to watch, as both coaches admitted that whenever they see each other on ...
Vinny Giambona Fires CG Gem in 10-1 Victory Over Wheatley
Sometimes it just takes a little tough love. Island Trees Head Coach Joseph D’Auria gave his team a stern talking to next to the dugout after they stranded the bases loaded with no out in the second inning and failed to score. Whatever he said paid immediate dividends as Island Trees woke up in the top of the third inning, taking a 2-1 lead on an E5 and an RBI ground out by Connor Waiting. Starting pitcher Vinny Giambona allowed just a run inthe second on a sac fly off the bat of Andrew Thaler. From that point on, he was untouchable. He finished with a CG, allowing just the one run, yielding five hits and striking out six batters. Vinny Giambona fired a complete game allowing just 1 run in a 10-1 victory for Island Trees pic.twitter.com/CA0ozwcjuD — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbasebal...
