Wantagh
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...
Wantagh Gets to Morrell Early, Repeats As Long Island Champions
THE WANTAGH WARRIORS ARE BACK TO BACK CLASS A LONG ISLAND CHAMPIONS! FINAL: Wantagh 4 Shoreham-Wading River 2 pic.twitter.com/JFdQ2tqOgN — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) June 3, 2017 Much like they have for the past two seasons. Wantagh‘s star players shined when it mattered most. This time it was in the Long Island Championship, defeating the 24-1 Shoreham-Wading River WIldcats 4-2. From the first pitch of this championship contest, the atmosphere could’ve been mistaken for a Wantagh home game. The first pitch of this game was driven for a lead off double over the left fielder’s head courtesy of Anthony D’Onofrio. This was just the beginning. When the first inning was all said and done, Morrell was forced to throw 32 pitches an...
Wantagh Overcomes Early Deficit To Repeat As Class A County Champions
THE WANTAGH WARRIORS ARE YOUR BACK TO BACK CLASS A CHAMPIONS!!!!! FINAL: Wantagh 4 Garden City 2 pic.twitter.com/zX5QpNE4Uh — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 30, 2017 Despite the struggles, despite the losses, despite the deficits, Wantagh overcame every single obstacle in their path and are now back-to-back county champions. Although winning may seem like a normal day at the office for the Wantagh Warriors, this wasn’t just any other victory. This was a victory with a great amount of emotion that solidified their team’s legacy. On the mound for game 3 of the county championship, southpaw Brendan Haas got the start in the most significant game of his young career. He struggled early with his command, allowing 2 earned runs in the 1s...
Massapequa and Garden City Both Force Game 3’s
The Massapequa Chiefs and Garden City Trojans both faced elimination this afternoon–both won in blowout fashion to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Tuesday. The Chiefs defeated the Plainview Hawks in game one of the double header at SUNY Old Westbury by a score of 10-1. For the second consecutive year, Massapequa is headed to game 3 of the county championship. Last year, the Chiefs fell to the East Meadow Jets in the do-or-die game 3. This year they’re hoping to be on the other end of the spectrum. “Last year was very upsetting, we thought we should’ve won the county championship but we ended up losing to a very good East Meadow team, but this year we’re even more determined. After the win we’re in the same spot as last year but now we’re very con...
Jimmy Joyce Propels Wantagh to Game One Victory
FINA: Wantagh 6 Division 2 WP: Jimmy Joyce Anthony Fontana: 2-Run HR Trevor Fagan: 2 RBI’s pic.twitter.com/cWeM3Nk9nD — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2017 Wantagh once again proved they are a “playoff team” as they downed the Division Blue Dragons by a score of 6-2 in game one of the three-game series. From the start of this game, the Warriors seemed to have control of this game. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Trevor Fagan delivered a 2 RBI single, and later scored on a wild pitch. His 2 RBI capitalized a 4-run 1st inning, and gave star pitcher Jimmy Joyce all of the run support he needed. “When you give a pitcher like Jimmy an early cushion like that in the ballgame, it helps him and us play comfortably the rest of the way,” said Fagan...
Previewing the Nassau Class A Semifinals
And then there were four. The first two rounds of playoff baseball in Class A brought rivalry match ups, games that came down to the wire and a ton of upsets. Let’s hope the next round brings the same amount of excitement. With the first week of playoffs in the books, here’s a look at the upcoming best of three series’ in Class A. Division vs. Wantagh: The match up players and fans have been waiting patiently for is finally here. The rivalry between two of the most decorated programs in Nassau County is back, and this time, they will be playing for a trip to the county championship. Before anybody goes and makes any predictions, there are several aspects that need to be highlighted. The first aspect is that the regular season does not matter. Although Division beat Wantag...
Nassau County Class A Power Rankings (Final Edition + Playoff Predictions)
The final week of the season has ended in Class A, which means chaos is underway. The “first four” of the playoffs feature the 4 lowest seeded teams battling for 2 spots to get into the round of 16. These games will take place on Tuesday afternoon. The round of 16 is scheduled to kick off on Saturday afternoon. After yet again a crazy week of baseball, here are the top 5 teams at the end of the season AND my predictions for the postseason. 5. MacArthur (12-3) (Last week: Unranked) MacArthur was hoping that Garden City would drop one game in the series against Manhasset in order for the Generals to capture a county championship. Unfortunately for them, Garden City swept Manhasset which means that MacArthur has the 6 seed heading into the playoffs and will face their cross town r...
Nassau Class A Power Rankings (4th Edition)
With one week remaining in the regular season, things are really starting to heat up in Class A. As of right now, there is not one dominant team in Nassau County. This means that we are in for an outstanding postseason. With that being said, here’s this weeks new and improved top 5. 5) Lynbrook (9-3) (Last week: 2) After dropping the first 2 games of the series to North Shore, the Owls bounced back in game 3, winning 11-3. Last week marked Lynbrook’s first series loss all year, but they have no reason to panic. North Shore always seems to get hot at the right time, so it makes plenty of sense that they played their best baseball of the year last week. With 3 games left to play, Lynbrook still holds a 2 game lead for first place. All they have to do is beat Valley Stream South o...
Nassau Class A Power Rankings (3rd Edition)
After a crazy week of baseball, 3 new teams have earned a spot in the top 5. With only 2 weeks left of play, virtually every conference title is up for grabs. Let’s take a look at the new top 5. 5) Garden City (6-2-1) (Last week: Unranked) Being on the outside looking in for the entire season, the Trojans have finally cracked the top 5. Rich Marooney and TJ McEvoy continue to carry this experienced team offensively, along with help from Andrew Nagal on the mound. After beating MacArthur this past week, it’s safe to say Garden City is now the favorite to win conference A1. With an easy series coming up against Great Neck South, Garden City will look to solidify its spot as the top team in the conference. 4) Plainedge (7-2) (Last week: 5) Plainedge continues to impress more and m...
Mike Narbutt’s RBI Double Gives Bethpage 2-1 Victory Over Wantagh
Bases loaded, two-out, 3-2 count, one-run lead against the reigning New York State Class A Champs from Wantagh. Gianni Sozio was on for the save and was facing Charlie Interrante–one of last year’s playoff heroes. After just missing with a 2-2 breaking ball he induced a ground out to SS to end the game to slam the door on the 2-1 victory for Bethpage. Final: Bethpage 2, Wantagh 1 pic.twitter.com/CkOHhfloh8 — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) April 19, 2017 “I was really nervous to be honest with you,” said Sozio directly following the game. “Legs were shaking–but the only thing on my mind was the win. They’re a great team with great hitters–and of course I had to face the top of the lineup which is never easy to go through. They hav...
Nassau County Class A Preview
With opening day less than a month a month away, baseball fans and players alike are beginning to get excited about the start of the season. With tons of talent across the board in 2017, it should be an extremely exciting season to watch. With that being said, here’s a preview of what to expect in the upcoming season. Conference A1 Conference Champs – Garden City (10-5) 2nd Place – MacArthur (10-5) 3rd Place – Mepham (9-5) Conference MVP – Jason Coules (Bellmore JFK) Cy Young – Bobby Lewis (MacArthur) Coming off of a stellar postseason run in which they knocked off the defending county champion Division Blue Dragons, the Trojans enter the 2017 season with plenty of experience under their belt and a real shot at a county championship. The Garden City roster has...
