Longwood
Ventimiglia, Johnson and Rizzo Throw Gems on Day 2
What a thrilling day of baseball on Saturday it was for Day 2 of the Coaches Memorial Weekend hosted by the Town of Brookhaven. I bounced around from field-to-field but was locked in on Sayville-Westhampton Beach at 2pm, Longwood,-William Floyd at 4, then Newfield-Smithtown West & East Islip-Hills West at 8pm. It was a sensory overload of baseball and during one stretch in the evening there was just screaming and pure jubilation from all four fields at Moriches Complex. Just a few thoughts from the day: Sayville defeated Westhampton Beach 7-0, with Felician-commit Jack Turner starting and getting the win for the Golden Flashes. He is their staff ace and looked every bit that part even against a really tough lineup which will score a lot of runs this year – led by Jack Halloran, F...
Led by Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Longwood is Ready to Compete
Final: Longwood 1, Connetquot 0 WP: Danny Gargano S: Tommy Ventimiglia Sac fly Vicidomini in the second. Game 3 tomorrow pic.twitter.com/DZxXwSfXXv — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 29, 2019 In 2019, Longwood took Connetquot to the brink in the Suffolk Class AA semifinals. The teams traded wins in the first two games before Connetquot captured the decisive Game 3 by the score of 2-0 to move to the Finals while Longwood had their season end with a record of 18-8. Heading into last year, they appeared to be in great shape once again. They were going to be led by a strong group of seniors which included: Kyle Allen (New Haven), Justin Classie, Nick Classie (Ulster), Derek Hardison, Ryan Kilcarr, Brian Monahan, James Myler (Bryant), Ty Orologio (Ulster), Ryan Owens, Brayden Pollock, D...
Bobby Molinaro, Babylon Defeat Center Moriches and Mike DeFilippo Outduels Ventimiglia
It was another entertaining day of baseball at Moriches Complex in day 3 of the Town of Brookhaven tournament. As I suspected, this quickly went from a recreational summer tournament to an intense revisiting of deeply rooted rivalries and I love it. The passion that was on display yesterday is not typical for a tournament in July that includes several players that have already graduated. So much so, in fact, that Friday’s rainouts initially meant no playoffs for the tournament but enough coaches voted for it so Monday will now feature semifinals and finals. At 3pm, I covered Babylon and Center Moriches. This is a rivalry matchup that has been completely one-sided in recent years due to the unprecedented success of Center Moriches. Babylon has always been a quality team, but last year...
OTD: Ward Melville Ends Longwood’s 7-0 Start
(Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on April 13, 2018.) Drake Eggleston fires a 90-MPH fastball past James Myler and Ward Melville holds on, 3-1, to end Longwood’s 7-game winning streak pic.twitter.com/ydecyfY71N — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 13, 2018 This one had playoff intensity from the first pitch. It had an ejection before most fans even made their way to a seat and it had excitement right up until the last pitch, when flame-throwing closer Drake Eggleston (UPENN-commit) fired a 90-MPH heater past James Myler with two runners on to slam the door shut on a crucial 3-1 victory over the upstart Longwood Lions. Everyone in attendance was on edge with the potential go-ahead run at the plate. Everyone except for Eggleston. “I knew what I had to do an...
My Favorite Player Growing Up
by Ryan McSherry, Longwood Head Coach First off, I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to the day we can all step on the baseball field again to compete. When thinking about my favorite player growing up, I’m obviously a product of the Derek Jeter Generation, but I’ll go in a different direction here. As a lefty batter, my dad always pointed out good hitting lefties when they were in the box. So here, I have my choice of guys like Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Tino Martinez, and Paul O’Neill. These are of course, ALL YANKEES! I would have to say one of my favorite players growing up was definitely Paul O’Neill. He was an absolute warrior when he played the game. You can look up any footage on the guy and he was always in the game and had a passion for competing and winning. He wore...
Ty Orologio: Why I Chose a JUCO
(Editor’s Note: Ty Orologio is a 2020 graduate of Longwood HS and the younger brother of Camden–who played at Adelphi University. He was with us at the August 23 Showcase at Ducks Stadium. Yesterday he announced his commitment to attend Dutchess CC. The following words are his own.) People who know me, know exactly why I chose to attend a JUCO. It’s because I don’t prepare for the now, I prepare for the future. I want to set myself up for a successful future, whether it’s on the baseball field or not–I want to be successful. Going to a JUCO, mentally I feel relieved and my drive for determination and success on the baseball field could not be any higher. I’m going to go there and work–that’s it. The first thing I saw when I got out of t...
Busy Week of College Commitments
With the conclusion of the summer season typically comes a flurry of college commitments as players decide where they’d like to continue their baseball playing career and college coaches ready to solidify their next crop of incoming players. This year is no different as the passed weak has featured several players announcing their verbal commitments. Here’s how it went down. Gavin McAlonie (Miller Place) – Molloy College Quick Hit: Raised his stock significantly beginning with his 4-for-4 performance against Shoreham-Wading River back in late April when Aidan Crowley was going for his fourth consecutive no-hitter in front of a huge crowd. Since then, he proved he is an impact player every step of the way especially with his in-game performances with Body Armor. He also th...
Tommy Ventimiglia Commits to Stony Brook
Final: Longwood 2, Smithtown East 0 WP: Danny Gargano S: Tommy Ventimiglia James Myler game-winning HR pic.twitter.com/2noaf3lu31 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 21, 2019 If you followed the 2019 high school season closely then you are familiar with the rise of Longwood RHP Tommy Ventimiglia. Ventimiglia, which is a town in Northern Italy, is also an ace pitcher that is now off the board for college coaches after announcing his commitment to Stony Brook University last night. Head Coach Matt Senk knows pitchers, and he was able to watch him up close on Wednesday in a dominant outing. During the high school season, ‘Venti’ started out as an unknown sophomore getting called up to varsity and wound up as one of the most effective pitchers in the Class AA playoffs. Time ...
Matt Brown-Eiring Throws CG Shutout to Send Connetquot to AA Finals
Coach Rob Burger is going to the Suffolk AA Finals in his first year at the helm for Connetquot pic.twitter.com/0IhOa1ufp0 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 30, 2019 There are a lot of similarities between 2017 Commack and this year’s Connetquot team from the insane amount of talent right down to having a first-year Head Coach. Just as those Cougars did two years ago, the T-Birds are headed to the Suffolk AA Finals, one year after losing in the Final 4 on their home field to Eastport-South Manor. This year’s team was not going to be denied. They defeated No. 7 Longwood, 2-0, in Game 3 of the semifinals. Coach Burger was undecided about who to send to the mound following yesterday’s loss. “We were in the office just sitting around for about 45 minutes and Ma...
Connetquot One Win Away From Suffolk AA Finals
Alex Ungar went 3-for-3 and Derek Yalon drove in 3 runs including a 2-R HR in Connetquot’s 7-2 victory pic.twitter.com/0pMIl6xXBo — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2019 With the forecast calling for thunder and rain, there was some doubt whether this game would be played today. It turns out the only thunder came from the bat of Connetquot LF Derek Yalon, who crushed a two-run HR and also ripped an RBI single in the first inning which game the T-Birds an early 1-0 lead. With ace Joe Savino on the mound, they didn’t need much offense today as the T-Birds took Game 1 of the best-of-three Suffolk AA Semifinals over Longwood, 7-2. The Elon-commit making his final start before next week’s MLB Draft was outstanding once again. He carried a shutout into the 7th innin...
Matt Encizo’s 3-R Home Run, Tommy Ventimiglia’s Arm Sends Longwood Into AA Semifinals
Final: Longwood 5, Smithtown East 1 WP: Tommy Ventimiglia (6 IP, 8 K) Longwood advances to face winner of Connetquot-Sachem East pic.twitter.com/em7yQciKIb — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2019 With a trip to the Suffolk AA semifinals on the line, Longwood sent sophomore sensation Tommy Ventimiglia to the mound against No. 2 Smithtown East. The talented youngster answered the bell by throwing six strong innings, striking out six and holding the Bulls to one run. Longwood came away with a 5-1 victory. With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third inning, the first two Lions’ batters were retired. The next two batters drew walks to bring up the middle of the order. SS Matt Encizo turned on an inside fastball and deposited it over the fence in right field for a 3-run ...
