Rocky Point
Joey Grillo Transfers To Limestone College
One of the fallouts of the pandemic was all the impacts on the college athletics landscapes. While all schools were hit hard, others were hit worse. Schools like Bridgeport still have uncertainly – at one point they were going to be acquired by Sacred Heart, but this article claims the deal fell through. Regardless, athletes were forced to make tough decisions and some players opted to go in a different direction. One of those athletes is Joey Grillo. He announced he will be transferring to Division-II powerhouse Limestone College in South Carolina. The 2018 Rocky Point grad led the Eagles to their first and only Suffolk County Class A title in program history during his senior season. He had a phenomenal postseason run including a walk-off against Sayville. For his career, he compil...
OTD: Fontana Deals, Leads Wantagh To Third Consecutive Long Island Championship
THEY HAVE DONE IT AGAIN. Wantagh completes the three-peat as Class A Long Island Champions! FINAL: Wantagh 4 Rocky Point 2 WP – Anthony Fontana (Complete Game) pic.twitter.com/9HcJj90Tin — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 2, 2018 Nobody knows how to win championships better than Wantagh. On Sunday, the Wantagh Warriors defeated the Rocky Point Eagles by a score of 4-2 to capture their third consecutive Class A Long Island Championship. The highly anticipated pitching matchup between Joe Grillo and Anthony Fontana was everything that was expected, as both starters produced for their team. However, Fontana got the best of the Rocky Point lineup. He went the distance, allowing no earned runs on four hits. “This is incredible, three years in a row I could cry right now this is o...
OTD: Grillo’s Walk-off Homer sends Rocky Point to Class A Final
The Eagles win 4-3, on a walkoff home run by Joe Grillo. pic.twitter.com/qJ9WHNLQ3c — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2018 With one swing of the bat, Joe Grillo sent Rocky Point to the Suffolk Class A Finals to face Shoreham-Wading River in a rematch of 2016 semifinals. Grillo is no stranger to big games. He’s been a key cog for the Eagles since he debuted on varsity. Saturday, he was in the same spot. A Rocky Point win would send them to the county championship, but a loss would mean elimination. Grillo went five innings allowing three runs on four hits and four walks, to go with six strikeouts, effectively keeping his team in the game. The first two innings were relatively quiet, with neither team able to muster up much offense. Sayville looked to strike in the third innin...
Transcript from IG Live With Anthony Anzalone
Vinny Messana (VM): First, looking at your stats is your batting average in 2005-06, led the county. .550 in ’05 and .552 the next year. What do you remember about that? Anthony Anzalone (AA): It was all about the process. I remember a few years back [head coach Andrew Aschettino] brought me up as a freshman. I remember playing Kings Park and remember rolling everything over. If I’m going to be a good player , I’m going to need to hit the ball all over the field so I worked on my craft. I just simplified things and was a foot-down guy. Ashe, gave me the nickname ‘Slappy’ over it. VM: Would you say you developed more power as you got older? AA: I was a left-center guy. I wasn’t much of a pull guy until my college years where I let loose a little bit and didn’t worry about getting a hit and ...
OTD: Rocky Point and Mount Sinai Come Together for Annual ‘Live Like Susie’ Game
A constant drizzle on this cloudy Saturday morning could not detract from an otherwise fantastic day, as Rocky Point and Mount Sinai met for their annual Live Like Susie fundraiser game. The game, played each year since 2014, is in honor of a Rocky Point alumna, Susie Facini, who passed away suddenly in 2011. The proceeds from this game fund a scholarship in Susie’s name that is awarded to a Rocky Point student each year who exhibits many of the qualities that Susie did. Susie was described as the kind of person who’s presence could just light up a room. In a pre-game ceremony, Rocky Point head coach Anthony Anzalone said “it just epitomizes, in a world of craziness, how you’re supposed to live your life. She just made things so much better when she walked into a room.” Both Rocky Point an...
Q & A With Frankie Moscatiello
Who were some influential people in your life growing up? A lot of people influence me. Mom and dad always helped me with no matter what I needed to do – getting to the gym, getting to lessons, getting to practice games every day. They were always there for me. My grandfather was at every practice, every game, everything that I ever had. If my parents couldn’t bring me somewhere, he would bring me there. They were a big influence on me, and I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for their support. Back when Coach [Andrew Aschettino] took over, [Rocky Point] was a lacrosse town. When you were in high school, did it become more of a baseball town at that point? Yeah, while Aschettino was the coach of Rocky Point, he had a pretty good resume. I can’t remember how many years ...
OTD: Kevin Sambuco Shines in 2-Hit Shutout Over Rocky Point
Final: Hauppauge 2, Rocky Point 0 WP: Kevin Sambuco (2-hit shutout) pic.twitter.com/CuxDipp61g — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2018 With the forecast calling for heavy rain beginning at 1pm, there was a 3-hour window to get in the game. Hauppauge starter Kevin Sambuco did it in less than half. The senior RHP carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but settled for a two-hit shutout in Hauppauge’s 2-0 victory over new League 6 rival Rocky Point, needing only 69 pitches to record 21 outs to improve the Eagles’ to 3-1 on the young season. He was starting opposite Bridgeport-commit Joey Grillo, who was named to our Preseason All-Long Island list last month. Grillo and Sambuco traded zeros for the first five innings; doing so in different ways. Hauppauge made Grillo work; they...
Rocky Point Looking to Return To the Class A Finals With a Young Core
by Zevan Shuster As Rocky Point baseball looks ahead to its 2020 season, one thing is on its mind: redemption. “Coming off a championship loss last year, we brought some returners back. And that left a sour taste in their mouth,” head coach Anthony Anzalone said. “They got a chance at a decent amount of success last year, especially the younger guys. I think those guys that are returning are definitely hungry to make it to that point again,” said Anzalone. Unequivocally, the goal for this season is to get back to the championship game, and to finish the job this season. Whatever motivation lingers from last season’s painful defeat may certainly help this year, but when it comes to on the field, they likely will have to grind to return to the Class A Finals. “We do have a pretty young te...
Frank Moscatiello Motivated For a Huge Year
When it comes to being a 5’8 RHP from Long Island, it goes without saying that there are some inherent obstacles during the climb to professional baseball. Rocky Point 2014 graduate Frank Moscatiello heard all the doubters and skeptics along the way. At each level, he overcame the cynics and continued to perform well. After compiling a 20-7 record with a 2.52 ERA over 232.1 IP at St. Thomas Aquinas, he built up a strong case to get drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft. Although he was not drafted, he wound up signing a pro contract with the Rockland Boulders – who happen to share a stadium with St. Thomas Aquinas. In his first pro season, all he did was compile a 2.79 ERA across 61.1 IP, striking out more than a batter per inning. He also won four games for the Boulders. Following a s...
Andrew Aschettino Joins St. Joseph’s Coaching Staff
One year after stepping away from high school baseball with a County Championship, Andrew Aschettino is back. The 17-year Head Coach of Rocky Point has joined an already sterling coaching staff St. Joseph’s College to be the first base coach. The staff features Head Coach Rick Garrett, former Dowling Head Coach Tom Caputo and assistant coach Joe Benkert. “It was always a goal of mine,” said Aschettino. “It was always in the back of my mind to face a different type of challenge or opportunity. I don’t know if I thought it would be immediate. But Tom Caputo was one of my first assistant coaches at Rocky Point and we’ve been friends over 20 years. Rick being a friend as well, it happened pretty quick,” he added. While this may seem like an insignifica...
Up Next Powered by The Yard Sports Academy: Dominick Carbone
(This is the final installment of our popular series titled ‘Up Next’ in which we highlight the next crop of superstars on Long Island. Previously, we have featured Tyler Cook, Charles West, Jayden Stroman, Liam Stemmler, Paul Napolitano , Sadier Vicioso , Frank Kelly, Matt Gileno . None of these players have appeared in a varsity game, but we are confident that they will soon. The series is Powered by The Yard Sports Academy, which you can check out here.) When it comes to the quickest path to the upper levels of baseball, there is nothing quite like the hard-throwing southpaw. Besides the fact that only 10 percent of the population is left-handed, an even fewer percentage of that is capable of firing a fastball above 85 MPH. So the ones that can do it are often rewarded for ...
Brock Murtha Goes the Distance in Game 1 of Suffolk A Finals
Brock Murtha on Sayville’s Game 1 victory. pic.twitter.com/SccMR2zoGo — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 31, 2019 Sayville took Game 1 of the Suffolk Class A finals, beating Rocky Point in eight innings by a score of 4-2. Right off the bat, it looked to be a pitchers’ duel, with Rob Milopsky getting the start for Rocky Point, facing off against Brock Murtha for Sayville. It certainly lived up to expectations, as the game required extra innings, with both starters each only allowing one run through the first seven innings. The hard throwing right handers traded zeroes for the first three innings, with Murtha particularly dominant, recording six strikeouts and only allowing one hit the first time through the order. He also contributed at the plate, leading off the top of the fourth ...
