Center Moriches
Who Was The Best Team of The 2010s?
When it comes to being considered the best–the bar is set high. Over the course of the past 10 seasons, there have been undefeated seasons, there have been back-to-back state champs, there have been pitching staffs loaded with Division-I talent and pro pitchers. But there can only be one team considered the best. I have watched a lot of baseball, but I didn’t trust my own instinct so I solicited the help of some trusted sources to put together my definitive list of the best teams of the decade. To make it a bit easier, we narrowed it down to teams that have won a Long Island Championship, because plenty of talented teams have made it to the finish line only to come up short. We also did not list any school more than once on purpose because many of the back-to-back champions fea...
Where Are They Now: Glenn Gibson
(Photo Credit: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images) It’s Opening Day 2006 and the best pitching prospect on Long Island is on the mound against Centereach HS. The area behind home plate is packed with representatives from virtually all Major League teams plus cross checkers to watch Glenn Gibson. The 6’4 southpaw is the son of former New York Mets and New York Yankees LHP Paul Gibson. Glenn is armed with a 90 MPH fastball and–barring injury– will be drafted in June. The scouts and everyone else in attendance are expecting to watch a pitching clinic by the flame-throwing southpaw. That’s not what happened, and that’s why they play the games. “I threw four innings and it was just a struggle,” said Gibson. “I think I gave up 11 hits that year and ...
Perfection! Center Moriches Captures NYS Class B Title to Finish Undefeated Season
For the past two seasons, Center Moriches has dispelled the theory that baseball is a game of failure. After yesterday’s 11-1 victory in the New York State Class B State Championship against Schuyersvile, the Red Devils captured their second straight title to cement themselves into the history books. They are the first team to finish a season undefeated (26-0) since Bayport-Blue Point in 2013–who also was able to pull off the distinction of back-to-back State Championships the next season. They have also not lost a game since April 18, 2018. Any way you slice it, this is truly a special group. In this game, they jumped out ahead immediately with a three-run shot by catcher Alec Maag. The Axcess League MVP has been the straw that stirs the drink all season and has been playing o...
Recap of Day 1 of the New York State Championship
Yesterday, four Long Island teams made the five (ish) hour trek up north to Binghamton to participate in the New York State tournament. The four teams (Massapequa, Sayville, Center Moriches and Pierson) qualified by capturing the Long Island (southeast regional) Championship and advancing in hopes of being crowned the best in the state among their classification. For Massapequa and Center Moriches, they were both looking to repeat as champions, while Sayville is already in unprecedented territory, winning their first Long Island Championship in program history last week. Here’s a quick recap of how it went down: Class AA: Massapequa vs Shenendehowa The teams traded zeros through three innings, but Shenendehowa broke through with a four-run fourth inning against Chiefs’ RHP Bobb...
Center Moriches Captures Back-to-Back Class B Long Island Championships
Robert Copozzi wen 3-for-3 with a long HR to deliver Center Moriches their second straight Class B Long Island Championship @BsbLifestyle101 pic.twitter.com/7MGHvj1LZ5 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 6, 2019 Center Moriches has made no secret that their goal was to repeat as New York State Class B Champions this season. They moved one step closer to that goal with a 3-0 victory over Cold Spring Harbor to capture their second straight Long Island Championship. The Red Devils made quick work of their Suffolk County opponents on the way to a 22-0 record entering the day. They proved that the best of Nassau County was no match for them either. The Seahawks hung tough, but ultimately they couldn’t muster much offense against Franklin Pierce-commit Andres Auffant. The hard-thro...
Rewind: Lindenhurst’s 2010 State Championship
(Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy) It’s been nine seasons since Lindenhurst‘s incredible State Championship winning season in which they went 26-1. They are the last Suffolk AA team to win the state title . Not only did they have 29th round draft pick Jon McGibbon but also the Yaz Award Winner, Jimmy Briggs. The season before, I had the misfortune of facing them in a playoff game. They were the No. 12 seed, Centereach was the No. 5 seed and they were the far superior team. McGibbon, then a junior, cranked two home runs and put Long Island on notice. The next year, they put it all together and the rest, as they say, is history. I had a chance to sit down and speak with their ace, Rich Vrana, who went 10-0 that season and we spoke about a host of topics regarding that team and h...
Reigning Class B Champs Continue to Steamroll Competition
Andres Auffant is our @BsbLifestyle101 Player of the Game he allowed just two hits with nine strikeouts over five shutout innings and also had 3 hits at the plate including a 3-R home run for Center Moriches pic.twitter.com/6AhOdQU8rE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 16, 2019 When you are supremely talented, sometimes it can be difficult to avoid complacency. Center Moriches, the reigning New York State Class B champs, has not succumbed to that. They cruised past Babylon, 20-0, behind Andres Auffant‘s incredible day. The Franklin Pierce-commit fired five shutout innings, allowing just two hits, both singles, while striking out nine batters. He also was a menace at the dish. He had three hits, including a three-run HR in the second and a two-run single in the third which o...
The Reigning Class B State Champs Enter 2019 With Target on Back
Center Moriches defeats Marlboro, 5-1, to advance to the Class B New York State semifinals pic.twitter.com/9h7Q3GRINq — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 2, 2018 Losing the New York State Class B Championship was not something Center Moriches was interested in. Trailing by four runs in the sixth inning against Binghamton Seton Catholic Central, the Red Devils were staring defeat in the face and the prospects of a long bus ride back to Long Island as runner-ups. A seemingly innocuous at bat by DH Brad Sakellarides, however, mounted an improbable seven-run rally which featured a go-ahead hit by 1B Robert Copozzi. The Red Devils handed the ball to reliever David Franchi, who promptly slammed the door and delivered the first State Championship in program history. They had previously co...
Babylon Avenges County Championship Loss, Defeating Center Moriches 3-0
Babylon senior pitcher Shaun Kaminski went head-to-head with Center Moriches junior LHP Liam Pulsipher–one of the best pitchers in the county. Kaminski fired a complete game, recording the 3-0 victory with five strikeouts, five hits and two walks. “It’s nice to finally beat Pulsipher, we dropped two games to him, the one last year in the county championship, 1-0, and early in the season, 3-1,” said Babylon head coach Victor Manzella. “I couldn’t be more proud of my boys, I couldn’t be more proud of Shaun [Kaminski]; the way he pitched and it was good to get a W in the first game of the playoffs.” The SUNY Old Westbury-commit opened up the scoring for Babylon after leading off the sixth inning with a single. Kaminski came across on an error off the bat of Joe Rende. This would end up ...
