Sachem East
Sachem East Returns Strong Core Following 17 Win Season
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Anthony DiCocco Bottom 3: AJ Vurchio rips a 2-out, 2-run double to extend Sachem East’s lead to 5-0 pic.twitter.com/AxM1n0Isjf — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 20, 2025 Under the watchful eye of head coach Kevin Schnupp, Sachem East will hope to take the next step in 2026 after a strong finish to last season. In 2025, Sachem East got off to a tough start before surging back into playoff contention. After beginning the season 2-5 while experiencing some growing pains, the team rattled off 13 straight wins, helping it finish the campaign 17-7. Sachem East — a squad that featured a large number of underclassmen last season — was ultimately bounced from the postseason, but found some playoff ...
GAME RECAP: Sachem East Cruises to 13th Straight Win, Sets Up Sachem East-North Playoff Match Up
Bottom 3: AJ Vurchio rips a 2-out, 2-run double to extend Sachem East’s lead to 5-0 pic.twitter.com/AxM1n0Isjf — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 20, 2025 Whatever was said during that team meeting worked. Back in mid April, Sachem East lost to Connetquot, 10-9, to finish off a sweep and fall to 1-5 on the season. Since that point, they’ve been flawless. They went on to sweep Bay Shore, Ward Melville, Commack and Lindenhurst to end the regular season. Playing as the No. 5 seed against No. 12 Riverhead, they continued their incredible play with an 11-4 win to move onto the winner’s bracket. “We started the season against two very talented teams in the first week vs Sachem North and off our bye vs Connetquot,” said head coach Kevin Schnupp. “The players ...
GAME RECAP: Matt Podesta Bat, Ryan Palm’s Arm Leads Sachem North to 8-1 Win
Final: Sachem North 8, Sachem East 1 WP: Ryan Palm (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 7 Ks) Matt Podesta: 3-3, BB, R, 2 RBIs, 2 doubles pic.twitter.com/HaS8i91osD — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 1, 2025 Both fan bases were fired up for the season opener between district rivals, Sachem East and Sachem North. After an eventful first inning, it was all Sachem North as the 2024 Suffolk County finalists came away with an 8-1 win. It was a terrific pitching match up between Iona-commit Jake King of East and Staten Island-commit Ryan Palm of North. In the first inning, both offenses made the starters work. Palm allowed a leadoff single to Ryan Margolis and back-to-back walks to Chris Ragona and Ryan Lane to lead the bases. Aron Brown ripped one down the line but third baseman Travis Szober made a grea...
Sachem East Looking to Bounce Back in 2025
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Vin Messana It was a difficult season for Sachem East in 2024 as they missed the postseason for the first time since 2016. The team is revitalized and looking to bounce back, as Kevin Schnupp is returning for his 21st season as head coach. “Last year was tough not having a home field,” said Schnupp. “For the preseason and the early part of the season we were going on the road, practicing and playing at Middle Country Park, Diamond in the Pines and Medford. It’s a huge benefit having access to an all-turf facility. We have two batting cages, dugouts, bullpens, everything.” The Arrows compiled a record of 6-13 in the powerhouse League II conference – which featured...
Where Are They Now Powered by Prime Performance: Billy Alvino
(Editor’s Note: This is the seventh part of a 10-part series in which we re-visit the careers of some of the top players in Long Island history. Previously, we featured James Bailin, Jeff Tyler, Jake Thomas, Luke Stampfl, Nick Trabacchi and Thomas Roulis. Special thanks to Prime Performance for sponsoring this year’s series.) In what remains their only County Championship in program history, Sachem East defeated Smithtown in the Suffolk Finals at Baseball Heaven by the score of 5-3. That Sachem team was a powerhouse, compiling a record of 24-5, despite it being the first year of the school. A major reason for their success was the presence of senior catcher Billy Aguiar (now Alvino). He batted .575 (12-for-19 in the playoffs) with 7 HRs, 17 doubles, 44 RBIs, 35 runs scored and ...
Jake King Commits to Iona University
While 2024 was not a great season for Sachem East, they did have to be thrilled with the progress of sophomore RJP Jake King. The big righty had a very solid season for the Arrows, compiling a 3.20 ERA over 6 starts with 27 strikeouts. He formed a formidable rotation along with Jamie Apicella and Austin Barrett. Following the season, King took his game to the next level for the Body Armor Titans. He notched a 6-1record while firing 37 innings with a sparkling 1.10 ERA. He struck out 52 batters while yielding just 22 hits (.170 opponent AVG). His high school coach, Kevin Schnupp had the following to say: “Jake has become a team leader this year in our fall workouts. He’s looking to build off a successful sophomore campaign in a tough league. He was the type of pitcher with a bu...
Rafe Schlesinger Selected by Cleveland in the 4th Round of 2024 MLB Draft
Rafe Schlesinger became the first Sachem East alum in their 20-year history to be selected in the MLB Draft. The 2021 grad was selected in the 4th round by the Cleveland Guardians following his three-year career at the University of Miami where he became one of the top southpaws in the nation. The last Sachem alum to get selected was Alec Sole in 2014 by Tampa Bay out of St. Louis University. Rafe has been a high-profile name in the Long Island baseball community for several years. We first profiled back in early 2019 before he stepped foot on a varsity field. His pitching coach at the time, Neal Heaton, stated that he was ahead of where Steven Matz was at the same age. Matz, of course, went on to get selected by the New York Mets in 2009 and has been in the big leagues since 2015. Schlesi...
Sachem East Prepared For Challenge of Loaded League II
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. Sachem East 17, William Floyd 8 WP: Joe Rondinella Jake Acker: 4-for-5, 2 doubles, triple, HR, 4 RBIs Patrick Krempasky: HR Joe Riccheti: 3-for-4, 4 runs pic.twitter.com/4w62PZORXh — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 3, 2023 Sachem East is coming off a season in which they were Co-League Champs along with Pat-Med and Longwood as all three teams finished with a 14-6 league record. The Arrows has the misfortune of facing a 1st round draft pick in the first round, however, and they lost 2-0 to Pat-Med. “It was a cool experience but not something you want to face in the playoffs,” Kevin Schnupp said in regards to facing Josh Knoth. He put on quite a show for the scouts as...
GAME RECAP: CJ Forman’s Arm, Ben Moscatiello’s Bat Lead Longwood to Crucial Win over Sachem East
Final: Longwood 7, Sachem East 1 WP: CJ Forman (CG, 6 Ks, 1 R) Moscatiello: 3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 stolen bases Longwood improves to 7-2 on the season to get even in standings with Sachem East pic.twitter.com/ozTZ6VMQbj — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 17, 2023 With one game separating them in the standings, today was a crucial game between Longwood and host Sachem East. The Longwood Lions sent junior CJ Forman to the mound against a formidable Sachem East team that entered with a record of 7-1. Forman was outstanding, as he went the distance and struck out five batters in the victory for the Lions as they were able to create a tie atop the standings. Sachem East countered with Austin Barrett, and he was very effective in the early going as the pitchers traded zeros for the first t...
Sixth Inning Rally Pushes Sachem East Over the Top in Pitcher’s Duel
by Andy Smith Alex Apicella on the season opener. Powered by Game Changer pic.twitter.com/hAvB1ZiEXZ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 27, 2023 The Sachem North bats gave Austin Barrett of Sachem East some trouble early by loading the bases in the opening frame and having two runners in scoring position in the third. Barrett was clutch in these situations and got out of the jams to hold the game scoreless. Ryan Barlow delivered a strong performance on the mound for Sachem North and surrendered only one hit through five innings of play. Barlow also went 2-for-3 at the plate today with two singles and one walk. Sachem North opened the scoring in the sixth inning off an RBI single by pinch hitter Yerkes. Sachem East’s offense exploded in the bottom of the sixth by tacking on fo...
Sachem East Going for a 3-Peat
by Andy Smith Sachem East 14, Brentwood 5 WP: Patrick Krampasky Nick Oelcher: 2 HRs Richie Heyder: HR pic.twitter.com/MSSUno8Bp0 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 13, 2022 Kevin Schnupp, the only varsity coach Sachem East has ever had, is preparing his team for another season. Since 2005, Schnupp has led them to numerous successful seasons during his long tenure. Schnupp, a Sachem North alum, the only high school at the time, played college baseball at Dowling College. Sachem East finished 2022 with a league record of 15-3 and an overall record of 16-6. The Arrows won their second League 1 Title in a row but lost in the playoffs. Schnupp reflected on why the team fell short in their postseason run. “We wound up losing in the playoffs after some injuries to our pitching staff...
Ken Kortright State Farm Agency Game of the Week: Riley Lake, William Floyd Pull off the Upset over No. 2 Sachem East
Final: William Floyd 6, Sachem East 4 WP: Riley Lake Jayden Zayas: 3-R HR during 6-run third inning William Floyd (10-9) advances to face Ward Melville tomorrow pic.twitter.com/80cZXW6pSC — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 19, 2022 You can throw the postseason seeds away when it comes to two teams that are familiar with one another. No. 8 William Floyd and No. 2 Sachem East squared off for the fourth time this season – in the most important game to date – and it was the upstart Colonials who came away with the 6-4 upset victory over the League I champs. During the regular season, Sachem East had won two of three, but coach Keith Kobasiuk stated that his team was “competitive all year, and we were competitive against them,” and that they are a “next day...
