Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Anthony DiCocco
Final: Bayport-Blue Point 6, Southampton 1
WP: Mike Messina (CG, 5 H, 1 R, 10 Ks)Guytano Kiesel: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBIs
Bayport-Blue Point improves to 20-0 on the season pic.twitter.com/E0nO4uxrQV
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2025
‘Almost’ is no longer going to cut it for head coach Victor Manzella and the Bayport-Blue Point Phantom.
Manzella took over the Phantoms in 2024 and immediately led the team to a 15-3 spring and Suffolk County Championship appearance. Last year was even better, as Bayport-Blue Point went 20-0 in League 7 play to win the league and posted a 22-2 record overall.
However, both of those losses came at the hands of the Suffolk County Champions, Sayville, leaving the Phantoms as runners-up at the Class A level for a second straight year.
“No more almost,” Manzella said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “Our goals are always consistent. No. 1 is playoffs, No. 2 is winning the league, No. 3 is counties and No. 4 is the Long Island Championship.”
Though Bayport-Blue Point has its eyes set on gold, it will have to try to achieve that goal without some major players from last year’s team. All-County RHP Cooper Fuller, who was League 7 Player of the Year and the Phantoms’ ace, graduated and is now pursuing a career as a pilot.
All-County players in SS/P Tyler McKillop and C Guytano Kiesel are continuing their playing careers at UMass-Lowell and Maritime, respectively.
As for All-League honorees, Mike Messina is pitching at Johnson & Wales while Brady Gelling will toe the rubber at St. Olaf. To round out the list, 3B Brandon Mattimore and OF Sam DeVore both graduated as well.
Senior Day for Bayport-Blue Point (19-0). They’ll send Mike Messina to the hill looking to continue their pursuit of perfection pic.twitter.com/Cj7i44oddb
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 10, 2025
Despite losing a plethora of talented contributors, Manzella expects both returning and new players to step up to fill the void that has been left.
“We have been very fortunate to have really good players come through Bayport-Blue Point and last year was no exception,” Manzella said. “However, in order to be a playoff contender year after year, there needs to be a next-guy-up mentality.”
One impact player that will be back with the Phantoms is sophomore Ryan Kloss. As a freshman, Kloss started every day at first base while also making one start on the bump against Port Jefferson, during which he went six strong innings and struck out eight batters. This year, he is set to see a bigger role as one of Bayport-Blue Point’s regular starting pitchers.
“Ryan is a strong kid with tremendous upside,” Manzella said. “His fastball is sitting around 85 [miles per hour] and he has some really good off-speed pitches. Ryan also hits for power at the plate and he’ll be right in the middle of our lineup this season.”
With Fuller’s exit, senior RHP Liam Phillips will join Kloss in the starting rotation and be counted on as the team’s No. 1, as Manzella pinpointed him as a “top-of-the-rotation guy.”
Senior Aiden Richman, who has been with the varsity squad since he was a sophomore, will post up at shortstop. Richman is known for his glove, as Manzella called him “smooth as butter in the field.”
Though they are big shoes to fill, junior C Kieran Diemer will take over for Kiesel at the team’s starting backstop and Manzella believes he is more than capable in doing so. When behind the plate, Diemer has a strong arm and is a reliable defender. Like Kloss, Diemer is also a slugger at the dish.
As a two-year starter, senior Colin Most will reprise his role as the Phantoms’ center fielder. Along with possessing a strong arm while patrolling the outfield grass, Manzella stated that Most covers ground in center “better than anyone.” While Kloss and Diemer bring thump to the lineup, Most is known for his bat-to-ball skills as a contact hitter, though he does display some pop on occasion.
LF Vin Scimone will join Most in the outfield. Manzella has high hopes for the senior in his final season at Bayport-Blue Point.
“[Scimone]’s a leader at the top of the lineup,” Scimone said. “He’ll be the engine of the team.”
Senior 3B Roy Ricci, who Manzella described as “the hardest worker out there,” will man the hot corner.
As Bayport-Blue Point finally tries to get over the hump to claim the Suffolk County crown that has eluded it in each of the past two seasons, the team will have a tough schedule right off the bat. The Phantoms open up their 2026 campaign against Babylon, who are the defending New York State Class B Champions, on Friday, March 27. Following that series, they will take on a talented Center Moriches team before locking horns with Shoreham-Wading River, who is consistently deep in the pitching department.
Nonetheless, Manzella and Bayport-Blue Points are looking forward to the challenge.
“We’ll be tested right away with our first three series,” Manzella said. “I’m very excited for the season.”
