Ryan Pembroke
Sunday Spotlight: Bennie Franquiz
(This is the fourth installment of the Sunday Spotlight Series. Previously, we featured Jacob Schmutz, Cooper Fuller and Michael Oliveto.) In 2021, Mount Sinai was in the thick of the playoff race. They featured a very young team, led by a group of underclass pitchers that dominated their way through the best lineups in Suffolk County. Longtime head coach Eric Reichenbach, who had been at the helm when the team won the Class A Suffolk County Championship in 2016, knew what it took to win a title. He also knew his team was lacking one thing. “Bennie was a good fit,” said Reichenbach in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “We had Matty Carrera playing shortstop but we needed another infielder. About 10 games in, we realized that this kid was the real deal. He was the shortst...
Get to Know: Jacob Schmutz
Most amateur ballplayers have the vision that there will be a linear path to success. The reality is that often times it is more like an EKG with plenty of fluctuations along the way. Jacob Schmutz began his high school career at Patchogue-Medford as a right-handed pitcher and switch hitter. Just three years later, he’s at a new school (St. John the Baptist), doesn’t pitch, hits lefty and is a Division-I signee. Quite a bit of change. Schmutz, who is among the leading hitters in the Catholic League in a variety of categories, has put himself on the short list of top players on Long Island through hard work and resiliency. As of the time of this writing, he is batting .364 with a .517 OBP, .705 SLG (1.222 OPS) with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 13 RBIs, 12 runs scored, 12 w...
Mount Sinai Motivated by Last Year’s Finish
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Jacob Rentz earned his second win of the season and Bennie Franquiz continued his incredible start to the season with a 3-hit day including an RBI single to break a scoreless tie in the fourth. @GCsports pic.twitter.com/fQAazht5Tf — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 22, 2023 In his first season as head coach of the Mount Sinai Mustangs, falling short of the playoffs in the final game of the season was disappointing for Ryan Pembroke’s team. However, with plenty of talent returning, the Mustangs are primed to make it back to the playoffs in 2025. “We went 9-11 and missed the playoffs by one game.” Pembroke said. “We started off 1-10 in a very tough league with an inexperienced te...
Ryan Pembroke Takes Over as Mount Sinai Head Coach
by Max Edelman (Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.) Final: Mount Sinai 20, Rocky Point 6 WP: JT Caruso (5 IP, 6 Ks) Derek Menechino: 4 hits, 2 runs, RBI JT Caruso: 2 hits, 3 runs, 4 RBIs Castro: 3 hits, 4 runs Mount Sinai advances to face Sayville pic.twitter.com/q4VJ3bmYVQ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 19, 2023 After serving as an assistant coach for the Mount Sinai Mustangs since 2016, Ryan Pembroke is preparing for a new challenge in 2024, as he is taking over as the head coach.The Mustangs, who finished the 2023 season with a 12-12 record, look to improve upon a season in which they just barely got into the playoffs. “We actually just squeaked by to get in.” Head Coach Ryan Pembroke said. “We were hampe...
East Coast Lumberjacks Working Hard Entering 2024 Season
This past Sunday, I was down at 365 Athletics to watch the Winter Workout for the East Coast Lumberjacks organization. It was an incredibly talented group with plenty of future college players. Here’s a quick rundown of the top performers from this past summer from throughout their program: Season stats for Mount Sinai sophomore Bennie Franquiz (11 games) 23-for-35 (.657 AVG), 15 runs, 19 RBIs, 6 doubles, 10 BBs, 0 Ks, .717 OBP, .828 SLG, 17 stolen bases pic.twitter.com/RDDmdtXBB6 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 22, 2023 2024 grads Nicholas Mirabile (2025 grad, College of Charleston-commit): .349 AVG, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HRs, 21 SBs Bennie Franquiz (2025 grad, Army-commit): .340 AVG, 6 doubles, 2 triples, only 8 strikeouts in 165 PA Robbie Melo (Army-commit): .345 A...
Observations From East Coast Lumberjacks’ Workout
Yesterday I went down to 365 Athletics to check out the East Coast Lumberjacks’ organization workout. The travel organization, founded by Ryan and Daniel Pembroke, is coming off a big year in which their 2022 grad team captured the BCS National Championship and compiled an overall record of 48-14-3. Remarkably, that’s not the team that Ryan called the most talented team he’s ever had. We’ll get to that in a bit. But first, some observations from the workout. Josh Knoth (Pat-Med 2023) Charleston-commit Josh Knoth (Pat-Med 2023) up to 96 (!) today. Not shown – CB at 83 (2995 RPMs). @FlatgroundApp @BenBadler pic.twitter.com/cTYQmbFPEJ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) February 6, 2022 This is a pro-level pitcher and he looked outstanding. Knoth solidified hi...
Some Observations From East Coast Lumberjacks Workout on Sunday
On Sunday I went down to the East Coast Lumberjacks workout at 365 Athletics to get some video on their top players. It was a great day to do so as they had virtually every member of their organization in attendance including some of the 2020 grads that are on break from college and getting their final preparation in for their freshmen collegiate season. Before I get into the notes on them, the Lumberjacks are coming off a wild season in which they were able to navigate through the coronavirus pandemic and still travel all over to top Perfect Game tournaments. Ryan Pembroke and Daniel Pembroke, the owners of the organization, stated that they played in Perfect Game tournaments in Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Ohio. They were constantly on the move, and surely that was tough...
Q & A With Ryan Pembroke of the East Coast Lumberjacks
We were in attendance for the East Coast Lumberjacks winter workout on Sunday at 365 Athletics. The organization, which began in 2015, has consistently been ranked among the top teams in the region. Additionally, they have been successful in terms of getting their players committed to Division-I programs. At Sunday’s practice, the group featured Marist-commit Marco Ali, who is one of the best middle infielders on Long Island. He will be a key piece for St. Anthony’s in the upcoming season. Additionally, Farleigh-Dickinson-commit T.J. Werner was in the building. He is the reigning League 7 MVP despite standing just 5’4. Some people found it hard to believe he was called up to varsity as a 9th grader. All he’s done is prove he belongs–he batted .375 with 25 stol...
