Donny Whalen delivers a walk-off 2-RBI double in the bottom of the 9th to propel SUNY Old Westbury to a 6-5 win against Western Connecticut to improve to 6-1 on the season pic.twitter.com/eJMHZnXYv4
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 17, 2025
This afternoon I was at SUNY Old Westbury’s intrasquad game, checking out the Panthers squad as they prepare for the 2026 season. They are coming off a season in which they finished with an overall record of 19-16, but finished one win shy of qualifying for the Skyline Conference playoff.
Needing to sweep top-seeded St. Joseph’s LI and getting help, they split the double header. The victory knocked St. Joseph’s from the top spot, which wound up going to USMMA – who lost in the championship to Farmingdale State College.
Coach Rod Stephan, who was recently featured on WPIX for his team’s work with the Special Olympics, is very proud of his team’s off-field performance which includes their charitable work in the community and their excellence in the classroom. Stephan highlighted that four of the past five years they received the ABCA Academic Excellence award, 29 of their 32 players made the Honor Roll and they had a team 3.4 GPA.
In terms of on-the-field, they will be tasked which replacing a trio of their top players from last season. Highlighting that group is R.J. Azarieh who led the team in several categories such as AVG (.435), OPS (1.097), hits (57), doubles (17), OBP (.486), wins (3) and saves (2). He transferred to Division-I St. Peter’s following the season. His presence as a two-way player will certainly be difficult to replace.
“Every year we lose someone to the portal,” said Stephan. “That means we are doing a good job of progressing our guys.”
They also graduated Jacob Taormina, who led the team in runs (33), triples (2) and second in AVG (.356) and third in OPS (.932). He was one of their captains last season.
Infielder Ricky Fasitta also had a strong season for the Panthers, batting .315 with an .854 OPS. He transferred to SUNY Oswego following the season.
In terms of returners, senior captain Mike Petrucelly will be anchoring the offense. He smashed a school record 11 homers in 2024 and followed that up with 8 in 2025. He batted .309 last season with a 1.001 OPS over 33 games.
Petrucelly noted that he has taken on a role of a leader this season, and he was shown the way by previous captains such as Dom Felicetti and Jacob Taormina.
“They were great people, great leaders, great captains. Now it’s on me, they showed me the ropes. I feel confident,” he added.
They return JJ Palumbo, who had a great season after sitting out for a season following high school graduation. He batted .312 with 2 HRs and 25 RBIs including several clutch hits. Palumbo, who was behind the dish today, will also see time at third base. Angelo Velez batted .286 last season over 27 games. He will have a key role both behind the plate and in the infield.
2nd HR of the day for Old Westbury’s JJ Palumbo against Lehman pic.twitter.com/URELpKadpZ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 8, 2025
They also return infielder Donny Whalen who played third base today. “He can flat out hit, it’s just a matter of finding a position for him.”
The pitching staff has many returning players including Louis Pizzileo, Anthony Ponzo, Justin Aramini, Jonathan Kortright, Jimmy Strohlein and others. Strohlein played infield during today’s intrasquad, as he will be attempting to be a two-way player this year.
The Panthers have 12 incoming players including several JuCo transfers, which Coach Stephan is excited about. Brandon Hernandez is one of those players, he transferred from Westchester CC and will likely hit second or third in the order.
One player that our audience may be familiar with is Vinny Giambona. He led Island Trees to the Nassau County Championship in 2021 and was named Pitcher of the Year for Conference IV. After starting his collegiate career at Queens College, he transferred to Dominican before settling in at Old Westbury now. Coach Stephan noted that when healthy, he’s a top of the rotation arm and also will play the outfield.
Coach Stephan mentioned CSI-transfer Chris Bartnik who is a Sachem East grad. He had a great summer in the ACBL and will be one of their impact bats.
Another player he spoke highly of is freshman Joe Cavallo, who pitched and played OF today. The Babylon grad threw out a runner at home plate from RF and showed a FB in the mid 80s with a repeatable delivery. He was also pleased with what he’s seen from freshman Ryan Camier, who pitched a CG in North Babylon’s victory over Hills East back in May that we covered. His twin brother, Tim, is on the team as well. Another freshman pitcher that will likely see the mound is Joe Randello from St. John the Baptist.
Final: North Babylon 5, Hills East 2
WP: Ryan Camier (CG, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 Ks)Jordan Konig: 2-3, 3B, RBI, run
TJ Oppedisano: 2-3, RBI pic.twitter.com/fiCt7PygSX— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 2, 2025
Coach mentioned infielders Sean Maddi and AJ Giel as players that have impressed him thus far.
Farmingdale grad Dean Pasolini ran a 6.6 yesterday at practice, and Coach is excited about his skillset in the lineup. He noted that “he’s really progressed nicely”.
One player that drew mentions from multiple coaches was RHP Luke Scarangello. He is the rare college player that was cut from his high school team – albeit a powerhouse program in Commack – that used it as fuel to improve. He has grown, now stands around 6’3, was sits in the mid 80s with his FB.
The Panthers have been practicing four days a week in the fall. They will play their one day of competition next Saturday against Baruch with 18 innings.
Their coaching staff made a big addition with Tommy Beirne, who was previously the head coach of the Borough of Manhattan CC. He brings plenty of experience coaching and Coach Stephan noted he’s been doing a great job running the conditioning drills.
The Panthers will kick off their season against Penn State Berks. They will play five more games before making their Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach. They will look to take a step forward in 2026 and get back to competing for the Skyline Conference championship.
