Wantagh baseball
Catching Up With Will O’Brien
One of the forgotten story lines of Wantagh‘s championship run in 2016 was that they were able to withstand the loss of their two-time All-State RHP Will O’Brien, who suffered an arm injury. Although Jimmy Joyce and Bobby Hegarty did just fine in his absence, the Warriors had a pitcher that had compiled other-worldly numbers over the course of a two-year stretch. 2015: 5-1 record, 0.71 ERA, 66 K (5th team All-State) 2016: 7-0 record, 1.21 ERA, 88 K (1st team All-State) He is currently at St. Thomas Aquinas. He spoke with Vinny Messana and here’s what he had to say… Describe the 2016 run by Wantagh. How difficult was it being sidelined with injury but also how proud of your teammates were you to pick up the slack? I think what made the 2016 playoff run so special was...
Long Island Titans Hold Media Day
The Long Island Titans held their annual college signing day to celebrate their high school seniors that have committed to play college baseball at the Div. I, II, III or Ju-Co level. In total, 51 players are committed to play at the next level from their Class of 2018. Some of the most notable programs include Vanderbilt, Fordham, Stony Brook, Northeastern, Furman, East Carolina, Creighton and Cornell. Sixteen of the 51 are Div-I scholarships. Those players are Chris Buehler (LIU Brooklyn), James Cardinale (Hofstra), Jason Coules (Fordham), Anthony D’Onofrio (Hofstra), Mark Faello (Hofstra), Will Feil (Albany), Anthony Fontana (Furman), William Gilbert (Cornell), Mike Handal (Fairfield), Matt Hogan (Vanderbilt), Edward Jarvis (Northeastern), Kyle Johnson (Stony Brook), Tyler Ma...
Spencer Gustafson Opens Up On His Unusual Injury, Difficult Road Back
Athletes understand the inherit risks of playing sports competitively. You are at the peril of injuries at all times, and it’s not always your fault. That much is true. The silver lining is that almost every injury you can sustain has been endured by countless athletes before you and will be treated by the best in the medical field. What happens, however, when you suffer an injury so unsual that it’s tough to find a surgeon able to operate? Wantagh junior, Spencer Gustafson, suffered an unusually rare injury on a freak accident during his eighth grade year. He spoke to Vinny Messana, and here’s what he had to say… Tell us about the injury you sustained and what the journey back has been like… On the last day of 8th grade baseball tryouts, we were inside hittin...
Who Are the Top Uncommitted 2018s Remaining?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM6KEX5XWiY&t=1s With the Blue Chip Prospect 18U tournament taking place this weekend at Baseball Heaven, now is a great time to go over who the top available players in the 2018 class. Surprisingly, there are several high-end players still on the table. A number of them have scholarship offers currently on the table, but are waiting to make their decision. Here’s our top 25, organized by position in alphabetical order Catchers: Anthony Carleo (North Shore) Dylan Judd (Oceanside) Anthony Lamar (Freeport) Josh Lester (Copiague) Andrew Primm (Massapequa) Charles Rainone (Deer Park) Nick Ungar (Connetquot) Pitchers: Justin Aviles, Brentwood Jacob Cheshire (Sayville) Drake Eggleston (Ward Melville) Anthony Jacabacci (Bellport) Joe Litchhult (Hills East...
Team Fontana Takes Inaugural Home Run Derby 35-31
We couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better match up for our inaugural Home Run Derby today at NYIT. In what looked like it would be a blowout, Team McHugh made a furious comeback from a 26-10 deficit to come up just short, by the score of 35-31. Below are some of the highlights from the contest…. Anthony Fontana led off the bottom of the first with a huge round. He hit three home runs and compiled 14 points overall. His sweet swing produced several long blasts pasts the cone in deep right field. The Furman-commit got his team out to a quick 14-0 lead. Both teams exchanged two points in the second inning from James Myler and Jarred Vanderhoof. In the top of the third, the captain Tim McHugh put up four on the board. His power bat generated several massive flies out to...
Anthony Fontana and Tim McHugh Select HR Derby Teams
We live tweeted the draft picks for the 2017 Axcess Baseball Home Run Derby last night. The event will take place on Saturday, September 9 at NYIT beginning at 2pm. Tim McHugh won the coin toss and selected James Myler first overall. Anthony Fontana used his first selection on Logan O’Hoppe. Here are the full teams. Team Fontana: Anthony Fontana, Wantagh 2018 Logan O’Hoppe, St. John the Baptist 2018 Vinny Pagano, Commack 2020 Will Feil, Wheatley 2018 Kyle Johnson, Newfield 2018 Jarred Vanderhoof, Longwood 2018 Mark Faello, Plainview-JFK 2018 Team McHugh: Tim McHugh, Commack 2019 James Myler, Longwood 2020 Johnny Castagnozzi, Massapequa 2020 Charles Rainone, Deer Park 2018 Peter Zielinski, MacArthur 2018 Chris Peralta, Valley Stream South 2018 Travis Honeyman, Massapequa 2020
NYSSWA All-State Teams Announced
The 2017 New York All-State teams were announced this morning. They are classified into Class AA, Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D. Each Class is then categorized into individuals teams in descending numerical order. Below are the Long Island players that were mentioned. Class AA First Team- Hermes Abreu, Bay Shore Mark Faello-Plainview-JFK Second Team- Dylan Judd-Oceanside Patch Dooley-Hills East Third Team- Peter Theodorellis-Commack Anthony Siroka-Sachem East Fourth Team- Jake Edwards-Calhoun Brad Malm-Pat-Med Fifth Team- Angus McCloskey-Farmingdale Oliver Tavares-Deer Park Matt Overton-Hauppauge Sixth Team- Justin Reyes-East Meadow Greg Tsouprakos-West Islip Seventh Team- Matt Pinto-Massapequa Johnny Pohlman-Commack Frank Stola-Northport Eighth Team Chris Wasson-Massapequa ...
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...
Previewing Saturday’s Mega Match Up Between SWR and Wantagh
Well, this is what the people wanted. The locomotive versus the immovable object. The reigning New York State Class A champion Wantagh Warriors (21-5) against Shoreham-Wading River (24-1). The reigning New York Class A Player of the Year (Jimmy Joyce) against the reigning Carl Yastrzemski Award winner (Brian Morrell). Two Div-I pitchers in the midst of great seasons going head-to-head in a winner-take-all. How do they stack up? The way I measure how potent a high school offense is, is by how many Div-I players they have. Wantagh has Joyce, Anthony D’Onofrio, Trevor Fagan and Anthony Fontana. They have several other key pieces such as John Conroy, Charlie Interrante, Pat Willix and Jake Castellano–who had a big game in the County Championship. D’Onofrio might be the best p...
Fontana Puts Wantagh On Verge of Nassau Class A Title Again
In a tight ballgame, in front of a huge crowd, the Wantagh Warriors defeated the Garden City Trojans 3-2 to win Game 1 of the Nassau Class A County Championship. The best part about the victory? They are now one win away from being back to back county champions. Every fan in attendance was charged $6 at the entrance to attend the Anthony Fontana show on Saturday afternoon. Despite allowing 2 runs in the 3rd inning, Fontana earned the complete game victory. “I struggled with my command in the beginning a little bit. I had to focus on keeping the ball down which I started doing later in the game and I think that’s what helped us earn the win today,” said Fontana. Not to mention, Fontana also drove in two out of the three Wantagh runs on an RBI Double to left center, raising his RBI total to ...
Wantagh Routs Bellmore JFK in Rematch of Nassau Class A Finals
Jimmy Joyce stated that the reigning New York Class A champs wanted to send a message today. That message was sent with a seven-run first inning. The hard-throwing Hofstra-commit struck out nine over four shutout innings in the season opener, while touching 92 MPH with his heater in the first inning. Wantagh put up seven runs in the first inning highlighted by an RBI single by Joyce, two-run double by Anthony Fontana and two-run double by Trevor Fagan. They added five in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth. Leadoff man Anthony D’Onofrio ripped a single, double and triple in the first two innings. Joyce battled command issues in the first two innings, but settled down and found his groove. He allowed only a single in the third inning and made quick work of his final tw...
Wantagh Will Be Tough to Beat Once Again
Head Coach Keith Sachs guided the Wantagh Warriors to their second New York State Class A championship in his 24-year tenure. They also won the Long Island championship in 2010. He will be returning the reigning Class A Player of the Year in Jimmy Joyce, first-team All-State SS Anthony D’Onofrio, All-State catcher Trevor Fagan and Furman-commit Anthony Fontana. He spoke with Vinny Messana and their championship run and what it will be like to have the targets on their back entering the season.
