Sachem North
Neal Heaton: The Best Hitters I Ever Faced
by Neal Heaton There were so many tough hitters that I faced in my career. I was lucky enough to face Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski. Believe it or not, the big power sluggers were not the ones that gave me the most trouble. I did pretty well against Ken Griffey (both of them), Don Mattingly and George Brett. The free swingers with long swings weren’t the problem. It was the guys with good bat control that could foul of tough pitches on two strikes. Here are some that come to mind: Wade Boggs – (Career Line: .328 AVG, 3,010 hits, 118 HRs, 1513 runs) He was the toughest hitter I ever faced. Inside-out hitters are the toughest to get out. I never faced Derek Jeter – but players like him that could take the inside pitch and hit it the other way....
Neal Heaton: The Importance of Throwing a Changeup
by Neal Heaton When you look at the strikeout numbers for top pitchers, how many of them are at the top of the lineup? When you go to a big-time Division-I they are all legit hitters that batted in the middle of the order in high school. If you don’t develop your change up early in high school, you will get shellshocked. Many of the top pitchers on Long Island blow kids away, but it won’t be the same when you get to the next level. Coaches should be forcing their pitchers to throw changeups multiples times per game so they develop it. For me, it didn’t click until I got to Miami when they started to turn around my fastball and I said to myself I need to make an adjustment or I won’t make it. Then I had to make another adjustment in pro ball where I had to actually locate it and not just th...
GAME RECAP: Connetquot Wins Thriller to Capture Suffolk Class AAA Championship
For the first time since 2019, Connetquot captures the Suffolk County Championship! 🏆 They will face Massapequa next Saturday at 7pm for the Long Island Championship pic.twitter.com/dOrZyukw8q — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2025 Five straight wins in elimination games. All in the same week. As far as paths to winning a County Championship, this came on Expert Mode. The Connetquot Thunderbirds (23-4), who lost to Sachem North (19-7) last Saturday, rattled off wins against Pat-Med, Longwood and Smithtown East to reach the Suffolk Class AAA Finals, in a rematch against the Arrows. The T-Birds won 7-0 on Saturday night behind a 2-hit shutout by Dylan Wilkinson to force a winner-take-all game on Sunday at Middle Country Park. With the bases loaded, clinging to a 3-1 lead they ca...
Game of the Week Powered by Ken Kortright State Farm: Dylan Wilkinson Fires 2-Hit Shutout to Force Winner-Take-All
No. 1 Connetquot forces a winner-take-all against No.4 Sachem North with a 7-0 victory. Dylan Wilkinson fired a 2-hit shutout with 8 Ks. Aaron Pace had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs pic.twitter.com/kYQETm9CsH — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2025 Dylan Wilkinson saved his best for the biggest moment of the season. The hard-throwing RHP took a perfect game into the fifth inning as the No. 1 Connetquot Thunderbirds staved off elimination and forced and winner-take-all with a 7-0 win over No. 4 Sachem North on Saturday night at Middle Country Park. It was a primetime pitching match up between Wilkinson and Ryan Palm, who entered the game with a record of 15-1 over the last two seasons. The Connetquot offense was up to the task, however, putting up 4 runs in the fourth inning, much ...
Neal Heaton: The Best Hitters I Ever Faced
There were so many tough hitters that I faced in my career. I was lucky enough to face Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski. Believe it or not, the big power sluggers were not the ones that gave me the most trouble. I did pretty well against Ken Griffey (both of them), Don Mattingly and George Brett. The free swingers with long swings weren’t the problem. It was the guys with good bat control that could foul of tough pitches on two strikes. Here are some that come to mind: Wade Boggs – (Career Line: .328 AVG, 3,010 hits, 118 HRs, 1513 runs) He was the toughest hitter I ever faced. Inside-out hitters are the toughest to get out. I never faced Derek Jeter – but players like him that could take the inside pitch and hit it the other way. Boggs would l...
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 North Enters 2025 Coming Off Appearance in AAA County Finals
Final: Sachem North 4, Commack 1 WP: Ryan Palm (CG, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 Ks) Lucas Singleton: 3-4, 2 R Rob Kienzle: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI Winner-take-all Sunday 4pm at Middle Country Complex for Suffolk AAA Championship pic.twitter.com/7EuLjx4Wpz — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024 Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman In his 21st season as head coach of the Sachem North baseball Team, Tom Gambino led his team to a 19-7 record, ultimately falling just short of its goal, losing in the finals of the Class AAA Suffolk County championship to Commack in a pair of highly-competitive games. Despite not finishing the year on top, Gambino believed that his team went above and beyond last season. “I think we exceeded expectatio...
Neal’s Knowledge: How to Approach Your Draft Season
by Neal Heaton You only get one shot at this. For me it was in 1979, when I was a senior at Sachem High School. When you have dreams of getting drafted, you have to learn how to make sacrifices. That means staying in when you’re friends are going out. It could mean not going to prom. It means not going to the beach when your friends are. Not many kids now want to make the sacrifices necessary or put in the work. If it’s raining, that’s no excuse not to run outside. In fact, that’s the best time–because most likely nobody else is getting that work in. You need to have the mentality that you’re trying to get a little bit of an edge. That’s really what it takes to have success at the higher levels. It means doing more things that involve the game of baseball–running, fielding, throwing. When ...
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...
Ken Kortright State Farm Agency Game of the Week: Billy Bullock Fires Gem in 4-1 Win to Sweep Ward Melville
Postgame interview with Sachem North RHP Billy Bullock pic.twitter.com/rZxjlojBeP — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 30, 2022 Whether you scored it a hit or an error, it’s undisputable that Billy Bullock fired a gem and Sachem North completed a huge sweep over League II rival Ward Melville in a 4-1 victory at Bill Batewell Field. Bullock has been outstanding all season for the Arrows who improved to 8-4 in league play. He noted that “nobody was talking about us when the season started,” and now they are three games behind the reigning Long Island Champs, Commack, in the standings. The Arrows wasted no time getting on the board against Ward Melville starter and UCONN-commit Charles West. They got a leadoff single by Bullock, and RBI double by Billy McKinney and R...
Sachem North Returns Talented Roster from Playoff Appearance
By Michael Malaszczyk Sachem North has come out swinging in the first Back-to-back doubles by Billy Bullock and Steven Kiendle followed by a 2-R shot by sophomore Brandon O’Neill and the Arrows have a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/kWIsRgWq9f — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2021 The 2022 varsity baseball season is almost upon us, and Coach Tom Gambino of Sachem North is getting right down to business this season. Sachem North finished with an 8-11 overall record, which included a playoff appearance. They lost in the playoffs to Longwood, but Coach Gambino returns plenty of talent for this year. “A couple of injuries hurt us at the end of the year,” Coach Gambino said. Sachem North did see a few players graduate last year. Those players were Sean Kruse (now at Gettysburg Col...
Brandon O’Neill Commits to Central Connecticut State University
Sachem North has come out swinging in the first Back-to-back doubles by Billy Bullock and Steven Kiendle followed by a 2-R shot by sophomore Brandon O’Neill and the Arrows have a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/kWIsRgWq9f — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2021 One of the top hitters in the 2023 class has found a home. Sachem North 3B/C announced his commitment to Central Connecticut State University. O’Neill is an athletic player that is a baseball junkie. We featured him as part of our “Up Next” series back in December 2020. He had a terrific sophomore season for the Arrows and even crushed a homer against Charleston-commit Josh Knoth late in the season. Below is our conversation from last season. Who are some people that have had a positive influence on your...
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