Ward Melville baseball
Max Nielsen: What I’m Thankful For
UCONN-commit Max Nielsen in to pitch for Motus pic.twitter.com/tBziUcLSt6 — Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) October 13, 2017 (Editor’s Note: Max Nielsen is a 2019 graduate of Ward Melville HS. He committed to UCONN during his sophomore season and he followed that up with a dynamic season for the Patriots. He is among the top LHP in the state. The following words are his own.) Thanksgiving to me is all about thanking all the people that make my life so special and meaningful. I am thankful for all my coaches; they always push me more and more everyday. Some coaches that I am very blessed to have in my life are Matt Marsh, Chris Lemorocco and Lou Petrucci; they had such a big impact on the baseball player that I am now. They all have really pushed me to get better whether it was...
PODCAST: Special Guests Gregg Sarra and Lou Petrucci
In this week’s podcast we have a great show with special guests Gregg Sarra of Newsday and Ward Melville HC Lou Petrucci as we discussed the best teams in Class AA history. The re-classification in 2003 introduced Class AA, but prior to that all large schools were in Class A. Gregg shares the stories of the 2006 Massapequa State champs (29-0), 2010 Lindenhurst that nearly went undefeated and 1998 Longwood team that qualified for a playoff berth on an unprecedented rule and wound up winning a title. Lou goes in depth about his 2013 Long Island Championship team at Ward Melville. We also made our predictions for the 2018 winner. Enjoy!
Chris Buehler Commits to LIU Brooklyn
Stop me if you’ve heard this before–a Ward Melville pitcher has announced his verbal commitment to a Div-I school. Chris Buehler, 2018 LHP, became the latest pitcher from the Patriots to vindicate his potential as a high-ceiling pitcher. He is coming off a very strong 2017 campaign in which he was part of the vaunted rotation of Ben Brown (MLB Draft pick) and Max Nielsen (UCONN). He compiled a record of 5-2 with a 0.66 ERA and 45 Ks over 42 IP during the school season and has continued that strong season into the summer where he has compiled a 2.23 ERA wwwith a 4-1 record over 37.2 IP. I had the chance to speak to him and here’s what he had to say… Talk a little about the recruiting process and why you decided to verbally commit to LIU Brooklyn The recruiting proces...
Ben Brown on Getting Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies
(Ben is a 2017 graduate of Ward Melville HS. He just finished up a tremendous season in which he led the Patriots to the League I title and an appearance in the Suffolk Count semifinals. He compiled a record of 5-1 with 67 K over 40 IP while allowing only 17 hits. Today he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 33rd round of the 2017 MLB Draft. The following words are his own.) So, in the weeks leading up to the draft, I knew I had a chance of having my name selected–I was invited to a few pre-draft workouts but I decided to go to the Twins and Phillies ones. They were both great experiences and there were a lot of draft picks there. I knew there was no shot I would go in the top 10 rounds, but I had an idea that I would go today but I had no clue which round or which team&#...
West Islip Advances to Class AA Finals With 5-1 Victory Over Ward Melville
Final: West Islip 5, Ward Melville 1 WP: Tom Gatto (complete game) West Islip advances to face Commack in Class AA finals pic.twitter.com/64j8cplbbn — aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2017 Plenty of obstacles have stood in the way of West Islip this season. To this point, none have been able to hinder their success. Despite graduating a number of impact seniors last year, losing a pre-season aXcess Top 30 player to season-ending injury, dealing with two other playoff teams in their own league and now facing one of the top pitchers in the county in Ben Brown, they have passed every challenge with flying colors. They won two of three from No. 1 seed Ward Melville, 5-1, behind a complete game gem from Tom Gatto to advance to the finals where they will face No. 2 Commack. “...
West Islip Takes Game 1 Over Ward Melville With 1-0 Win
West Islip accomplished the main goal in a Class AA Suffolk County semifinal three-game series; win on the road to play tomorrow at home with a 1-0 series lead. Senior RHP Joe Valentino stepped up for WI and earned the W, throwing 6.2 scoreless innings with seven Ks, five walks and four hits. The Patriots called upon LHP Chris Buehler to face WI at home, he was tagged with the tough-luck loss after allowing one earned run over seven innings with seven Ks, four walks and three hits. “It has been like this every game, we’re a team that prides itself on pitching and defense, Ward Melville is a very similar team to us,” said WI head coach Shawn Rush. “Throughout the season we’ve had numerous games like this; this is what we’re bred for, this is our style of play.” Despite being known for stron...
Preview for the Suffolk County Class AA Semifinals
This week the stage is set for the Suffolk County Class AA semifinals. Due to the suspended game on Friday between No. 2 Ward Melville-No. 9 Smithtown East, they will play tomorrow (weather pending) for the chance to play No. 4 West Islip on Tuesday in the first game of a best-of-three series. Also on Tuesday, No. 2 Commack will square off with No. 13 Pat-Med. Ward Melville vs Smithtown East: What to Expect: These teams have met twice so far, with Smithtown East winning last Wednesday, while Ward Melville won Friday/Saturday’s suspended game. Ward Melville will most likely throw ace Ben Brown, who has been tremendous all season, and Smithtown East will either throw Doug Goodwin or Nick Harvey. Both teams are well-disciplined, play great defense and can win close games. Ward Melville...
Ward Melville takes a must-win game from Smithtown East, 6-0.
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Farino made only his second start of the season for the Ward Melville Patriots (19-3), but he threw a CG shutout gem in their 6-0 win over Smithtown East. The Patriots came out hungry for a win after a short rainstorm yesterday forced both teams to pack it in and continue the game today. WM scratched a run across before the rain rolled through and picked up right where they left off. “Smithtown East has had our number for the past two years; they came back and beat us in the seventh inning last Wednesday, so we knew we had a tough road ahead,” said WM head coach Lou Petrucci. “Ethan Farino, sophomore, is a great competitor; that was his second start of the year and he came up big time for us.” RHP Farino and his deceptive three-quarter delivery kept a strong SE line...
Suffolk Class AA Predictions
We’ve given you the top story lines to follow this year. We’ve given you the top individuals that could get drafted. Now it’s time to take a stab at who will be the league champs when it’s all said and done. League play opens up on Monday. Class AA Player of the Year: Peter Theodorellis (Commack) Pitcher of the Year: Ben Brown (Ward Melville) League 1: There is a ton of parity in the league this year. With the emergence of Longwood last year, the expected improvement of Sachem East and the usual head-butting of Ward Melville and Pat-Med for the league title, things will get interesting. Brentwood could make some noise too with ace pitcher Justin Aviles getting rave reviews as a sleeper pick this year for All-County. Floyd has a pitching staff led by Robert Brust an...
Ward Melville Not Taking Anyone Lightly in League I
Ward Melville has been a Suffolk County powerhouse since Head Coach Lou Petrucci took over in 2007. The effervescent skipper is not one to take credit for that success, though. “Like the great Jimmy Leyland said, ‘A great coach has great players”, he said. They have certainly had some sensational players in recent memory. They’ve had two Carl Yastrzemski Award winners in A.J. Nunziato (2007) and Steven Matz (2009) and two Paul Gibson Award winners in Anthony Kay (2013) and Joe Flynn (2015). But Petrucci said they will not be taking anyone lightly this year with the level of competition across League I. “Sachem East will shock everyone this year–mark my words.” He added that teams like Pat-Med, Brentwood, Longwood and Lindenhurst have legit players ...
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