West Islip
Kyle O’Neill Delivers West Islip to Dramatic Walk-off Win
In a game for the ages, the West Islip Lions came out on top against the Deer Park Falcons by a score of 10-9 on a walk-off hit from Kyle O’Neill. This game had everything, so it was only appropriate that it ended in a walk-off. For starters, the first inning took a whopping 43 minutes. O’Neill got the starting not for West Islip, but he got off to a shaky start. He walked in two consecutive batters to give the Falcons an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. The Lions bounced back quickly in the bottom of the 1st on RBI hits from Anthony Ippolito and Joe Valentino. This would not be the last you hear of Valentino in this game. O’Neill’s struggles carried over into the third inning in which he could not find the strike zone, walking six batters over two innings and bein...
Suffolk Class AA Power Rankings
Prior to the season, I wrote up some predictions for Suffolk Class AA based on my observations from the previous season and the improvement I saw from each team in the off season. So far, those predictions are looking pretty good. Here’s the top 10 teams in Suffolk Class AA right now. The obvious limitations to this list is that I’ve been covering games in Nassau and the CHSAA as well, so I haven’t yet gotten to see all the teams in Class AA, but within the next two weeks I should be able to. Here’s my best stab at it. 10) Deer Park (8-4) One of the biggest surprises this year, they have been led by senior Connor Hewlette, who already has four wins and Robert Belotti, who has three. They also have a fairly easy schedule remaining, which gives them a good chance at a...
North Babylon Wins 5-4 On Walk-Off Error, Honor Slain NYPD Sgt. Tuozzolo in Pregame Ceremony
What started with an emotional ceremony to the family of slain NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, ended with a dramatic 5-4 walk-off victory for North Babylon against the reigning Class AA Long Island Champs. With North Babylon down to their final out trailing 4-2 against Kyle O’Neill (Felician-commit), Paul Tchinnis ripped a game-tying two-run single to center field with Argenis Escarfullery scoring the tying run. The game went to extra innings after Tom Gatto retired the next batter. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases and scored on a walk-off error on a controversial play in which West Islip contested that the runner interfered with Greg Tsouprakos, but the run would stand resulting in a huge win for North Babylon. Their starter Pat Solomita did a terrific job ...
Brandon Isolano’s Clutch Hit Gives West Islip Extra-Inning Victory
Having been around a winning culture, Brandon Isolano learned a thing or two about winning from competing for a New York State Class AA championship last season. It paid off in the eighth inning today, when he lined the go-ahead RBI single to right field to score Frank Genise and give West Islip a crucial 4-3 series win over Bellport. “They just showed us how to play as a team, just play hard and practice hard,” said the senior. The victory gave Mike LaDonna his first varsity win in an exhilarating back-and-forth affair that featured plenty of drama. West Islip got off to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning off Sacred Heart-commit Joe Greco when Kyle O’Neill (Felician-commit) ripped an opposite field double and scored on Greg Tsouprakos‘ (Pace-commit) RBI sin...
West Islip Looks to Protect their Crown
Watch our West Islip season preview. They are coming off their second Class AA Long Island Championship in three years, They compiled an overall record of 25-6 last year and will be returning some significant talent, headlined by Fordham-commit Jake Guercio, Pace-commit Greg Tsouprakos, Felician-commit Kyle O’Neill and uncommitted senior Joe Valentino.
