Fall Ball Series 2025
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: Long Island University
(Editor’s Note: This is the seventh stop on the Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball in which we visit the local colleges and take a look at their upcoming season. Previously, we featured Adelphi, Old Westbury, Farmingdale, St. Joseph’s, Molloy, and Hofstra. Special thanks to Max Effort Baseball for sponsoring this year’s series.) “𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟗 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄‼️…”@ccsubaseball outlasts LIU in 12 innings to add a ninth 🏆 to its case and punch its NCAA 🎟️!#NECbaseball x @CCSUBlueDevils pic.twitter.com/ziRSBjXA4Z — NEC Baseball (@necbaseball) May 25, 2025 On March 9, Central Connecticut State defeated LIU on the road to take two of three from the reigning champs in the opening weekend of Northeast Conference action. It turned out that o...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: Hofstra University
(Editor’s Note: This is the sixth stop on the Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball in which we visit the local colleges and take a look at their upcoming season. Previously, we featured Adelphi, Old Westbury, Farmingdale, St. Joseph’s and Molloy. Special thanks to Max Effort Baseball for sponsoring this year’s series.) There’s no sugar coating that 2025 was a down season for the Hofstra Pride. Frank Catalanotto’s squad challenged themselves with a tough non-conference schedule with trips to Tennessee and Kentucky, two nationally-ranked teams, but they were unable translate that into Ws when they came back up north. When reflecting on the season, the 14-year big league veteran, said it’s pretty simple to sum up what happened: “It’s ...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: Molloy University
Over the past five seasons, Molloy has become one of the best Division-II programs in the nation. Their win totals since 2021 are 25, 40, 35, 42 and 35. After coming painstakingly close to reaching the World Series in 2024, they had another strong season in 2025 – winning their fourth ECC Championship in five seasons before losing to Felician in the NCAA East Regional Tournament in the winner-take-all game. From last seasons’s team, they graduated a handful of impact players including their infield of Nicholas Dagnello, Matthew Gonchar, Patrick Sanchez and Aidan Larkin. That group provided some serious punch in the lineup and reliable defense. Dagnello was second on the team with 55 RBIs, Larkin led the team in batting (.373) and hits (82). Additionally, Coach Joe Fucarino spok...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: St. Joseph’s University
3-peat !! Marco Gullo walk-off sac fly and St. Joseph’s defeats Farmingdale, 9-8 ! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fmbNLwZIZS — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 12, 2024 During their run of three consecutive Skyline Conference Championships from 2022-2024, St. Joseph’s offense was a juggernaut. They batted .354 with an incredible .944 OPS as a team in 2022. Those number dropped slightly to .334 and .903 in 2023 – although still at elite levels. In 2024, they batted .325 with a .901 team OPS. Three years, three high-octane offenses that led them to the top of the conference. They were unable to defend their crown in 2025, as they lost to No. 3 Farmingdale 2-1, and No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s 3-2. When asked what went wrong, head coach Tom Caputo had the following to say: “As fa...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: Farmingdale State College
(Editor’s Note: This is the third stop on the annual Fall Ball Series in which we check in on the local colleges to preview the upcoming season and hear from the head coach on how the team is shaping up. Special thanks to Max Effort Baseball for sponsoring this year’s series.) Farmingdale State is your 2025 Skyline Conference Champions with a 2-1 win over USMMA ! pic.twitter.com/hg6Sh3IISp — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 11, 2025 It was a magical playoff run for the Farmingdale State Rams, who not only overcame a 1-5 start to the season but also entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and found a way to go 5-1 in the Skyline Conference playoffs and defeated top-seeded USMMA twice to capture their first championship since 2019. During Farmingdale’s incredible run...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: SUNY Old Westbury
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...
Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball: Adelphi Enters New Era Under Head Coach Mike Gaffney
Here at Adelphi University for the first stop in the Fall Ball Series Powered by Max Effort Baseball. The Panthers are coming off a 20-26 season. They are led by first year Head Coach Mike Gaffney who led LIU Post to ECC Championships in 2017 and 2019 pic.twitter.com/dZf86cSPXD — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 23, 2025 The Adelphi Panthers usher in a new era in 2026 as they are now led by Head Coach Mike Gaffney. He replaces Bill Ianniciello, who announced he was retiring following the 2025 season. Gaffney was previously the head coach for LIU Post from 2014-2019, before they abruptly announced they will be combining the athletic programs with the Division-I Brooklyn campus. Gaffney enjoyed a great deal of success with the Pioneers, leading them to ECC Championships in both...
