2026 Season Previews
Southampton Looks to Lean on Strong Pitching to Compete in League VII
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Anthony DiCocco With a mix of returners and new faces, head coach Zach Epley and the Southampton Mariners hope to turn the tide heading into the 2026 campaign. The Mariners have struggled over the past half decade, going 22-84 since 2021. Last year, Southampton went 6-14, and due to lower enrollment they dropped from Class A to Class B in its league. However, with an increased focus on fundamentals after sporting a .901 team fielding percentage in 2025, Epley believes his squad can enjoy a turnaround. “We can’t beat ourselves,” Epley said. “We lost a few close games in the middle of the season, which was disappointing for us in games we thought we could win. Those top teams are going to be fundamen...
Riverhead Looks to Build On First Playoff Appearance in a Decade
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman In his three seasons as head coach of the Riverhead Blue Wave, Kevin Kerman’s team has undergone a full transformation. In his first year in charge, Kerman’s squad managed only one victory in 20 games, fast forward just two years, the Blue Wave finished 14-10, the first time Riverhead finished over .500 under Kerman. “Last year was a huge step in the right direction for our program.” Kerman said. When I took this team over 4 years ago, we were in rebuild mode. We were a young group that needed to get bigger, stronger, and gain more experience. We went from 1-19 in year one to 4-16 in year two, to 14-10 with two playoff victories in year three. It was a massive improvement from our p...
Coming Off Back-to-Back Semifinals Appearances, Carey Hungry to Take Next Step
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Here is the Gamechanger player of the game…..Jayden Gigante. Gigante went 4-5 breaking the 4-4 tie in the fourth to give his team the lead, 6-4. pic.twitter.com/i9NWeduZwC — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 8, 2024 In a year leading a team with plenty of star power, Carey Seahawks head coach Doug Robins, who is entering his eighth year leading the Seahawks, looked back on what was a strong season in 2025. “We had a good year number wise.” Robins said. “We went 19-7, but we lost in the semifinals to Bellmore JFK for the second year in a row. We played well. We pitched well, we hit well and we started a lot of underclassmen. We had some big years from guys.” Every season sees...
Locust Valley Baseball Looks to Build Daily Growth and Return to Playoff Form
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Ryan Manno After several seasons of laying the foundation, the Locust Valley baseball program enters the 2026 campaign focused on steady improvement, leadership, and re-establishing itself as a playoff contender. For head coach Brian LoRusso, the vision is clear: growth first, results second. “Our main goal is to continue to get better every day,” LoRusso said. “We hold the program to a very high standard and want to keep growing not just as ballplayers, but as young adults as well.” That daily mindset has become a cornerstone of the program. Locust Valley consistently emphasizes the importance of getting “1% better” each day while also building strong relationships within the team and school commun...
Bridgehampton Aims to Break Through After Back-to-Back Regional Runs
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Ryan Manno Final: Bridgehampton 11, Amityville 1 WP: Kai Alversa (CG, 1 R, 1 R, 2 BB, 16 Ks) Foard: 2 hits, 2 R, 3 RBIs pic.twitter.com/EjVnK6mYHe — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 4, 2024 Bridgehampton baseball enters the 2026 season with high expectations after establishing itself as a consistent postseason contender in just five years since reviving the program. Following an impressive 11-5 campaign in 2025, which included capturing the Suffolk County Class C championship and advancing to the quarterfinals of the New York State tournament, where they fell, 7-6, in a nine-inning thriller to Burke Catholic, the Killer Bees now transition to Class D due to a drop in school enrollment. The c...
Coming off 15-3 Regular Season, Smithtown East Looks to Replace 11 Seniors
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman ‼️ Andrew Amarando comes through with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 8th to send Connetquot to the Suffolk AAA Finals against Sachem North ! ‼️ pic.twitter.com/PDbUi3eFqt — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2025 A spectacular regular season ended with a premature postseason exit for the Smithtown East Bulls in 2025. Head coach Rob Christensen, who is entering his fifth year as the head coach of the Bulls, summed it up: “It was excellent and disappointing.” Christensen said. “We went 15-3 in league play and won both of our non-league games. We were the three seed but ultimately lost to Sachem North in a tough game, and Connetquot walked us off to end our season.” Last y...
North Babylon Baseball Sets Sights on Playoffs in 2026 Season
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Ryan Manno 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 It was another successful season for the North Babylon Bulldogs who reached the postseason for the 7th consecutive season after a late season surge allowed them to clinch with a win over Smithtown East. After defeating Northport, they were eliminated by Sachem East. “Our main goal is to make the playoffs,” head coach Steve Corrado said. “It’s important to our program to get back there. Once we qualify, we strive for higher goals.” That mindset comes as the Bulldogs look to...
St. Dominic Returns Talent-Laden Roster Looking to Compete for Championship
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series by Max Edelman For the second consecutive year, the St. Dominic’s Bayhawks won the catholic league regular season championship, and for the second year in the row, they fell just short of their goal of a championship at the end of the playoffs, falling in the semifinals to eventual champions Kellenberg. “We got knocked out in the semifinals for the second straight year.” Head coach Joe Fusco said. “Back to back conference champions, and both years we were knocked out a game before the championship.” The main loss for the Bayhawks heading into 2026 will be the graduation of superstar pitcher Luke Lang, who posted a 6-0 record with a 1.57 ERA across 44.1 innings pitched, a two-time catholi...
North Shore Returns Talented Young Core Primed to Take Step Forward
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series by Max Edelman 2025 was a year for growth and development for the North Shore Vikings and head coach Rob Gates. Although they missed the playoffs with a 7-13 overall record, it was not a wasted season for the Vikings. “We had eight underclassmen playing on a regular basis.” Gates said. “We fell short of the playoffs, but that’s a good thing when you had eight ninth or tenth graders that played a lot. They all played on a regular basis last year.” 16 out of 20 of the players on North Shore’s varsity team are returning from last year. Of the four seniors who graduated, the biggest losses are Ryan Lau, who was an all-conference player last season, and Mateo Rincon, who went to Nichols Coll...
