St. John the Baptist
St. John the Baptist Returns Key Contributors and Hopes to Contend for League Title
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Final: St. John the Baptist 4, Holy Trinity 1 WP: Joseph Randello S: Ryan Audette Jacob Schmutz went 2-for-2 with a walk, HBP and RBI pic.twitter.com/K6Rx4Am4nc — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2025 In one of New York’s toughest leagues, the St. John’s the Baptist Cougars have constantly put winning teams on the field, and last season was no different. The team finished with a 16-10 record. However, St. John’s came up short of their goal of winning the Catholic League championship. Head coach Ryan Dalton, who is entering his fourth year as the team’s head coach, looked back fondly on last season. “We dealt with a lot of adversity last year.” Dalton said. “We ha...
Up Next Powered by Ken Kortright State Farm: Michael Garcia
(Editor’s Note: This is the 12th installment of the Up Next series in which we highlight the top underclassmen on Long Island. Previously, we featured Jack Mulligan, Alex Pagano, Quincy Gibbs, Michael Cotto, Charlie Edwards, Evan Picciano, Nick Lawrence, Robbie Mascia, Jacob Abran, Tyler Camastro and Jason Davis. Special thanks to Ken Kortright State Farm for sponsoring this year’s series.) Michael Garcia (St. John the Baptist 2028) pic.twitter.com/eP6ALc4R3R — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 12, 2026 Rarely does a freshman have an impact role at the varsity level in the CHSAA. Especially on a competitive team. Last year, St. John the Baptist, who wound up with an overall record of 16-10 and won two playoff games over Holy Trinity and St. Anthony’s, had freshman Michael ...
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...
Game of the Week Powered by Ken Kortright State Farm: Jacob Schmutz Has Big Game, St. John the Baptist Wins 4-1
Final: St. John the Baptist 4, Holy Trinity 1 WP: Joseph Randello S: Ryan Audette Jacob Schmutz went 2-for-2 with a walk, HBP and RBI pic.twitter.com/K6Rx4Am4nc — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2025 The season is just a week old, but St. John the Baptist has already faced their share of adversity – losing their top two starting pitchers to injury that will have them on the shelf for much of the season. Good teams, however, can find a way to overcome injuries especially during the sprint of a high school season. “We’ve talked about adversity a lot, getting knocked down and getting back up, and it’s been part of our motto this year and the guys have done a great job of fighting through it and battling each game,” said head coach Ryan Dalton. On We...
St. John the Baptist Looking to Take Next Step In CHSAA
Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series by Max Edelman Varsity baseball beat Kellenberg 6-5 in an elimination game. Aidan Casey earned the win striking out 6 over 4 2/3. Jacob Schmutz had the game winning 2 rbi double. Ethan Schmutz made a diving catch to end the game. They will play St. Dominic’s on Tuesday. Great team win! pic.twitter.com/XmXrBxdO9j — St. John the Baptist Cougars (@SJBDHSCougars) May 21, 2024 In the always competitive Catholic League, three separate teams lost at the hands of the St. John the Baptist Cougars during the 2024 playoffs. Head Coach Ryan Dalton, who is entering his third year in charge, looked back on what was a strong year for his program. “We were 13-11 overall and 11-11 in league play last season.” Dalton sa...
OTD in 2017: Recap of Mariano Rivera Clinic at St. John the Baptist
(Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 14, 2017) What an unbelievable experience it was for 50 young ballplayers this afternoon at St. John the Baptist‘s baseball clinic. Major League Baseball’s all-time save leader (652) and five-time World Series Champion Mariano Rivera spent nearly three hours signing autographs, speaking to the players, running drills and even providing personal pitching instructions. Everyone in attendance marveled at Rivera’s incredible down-to-earth demeanor despite the massive success he’s attained in his illustrious career. With rain in the early portion of the morning, the clinic began inside with Rivera taking plenty of time to sign an autograph and take photographs with every athlete. The other instructors–all with professional e...
GAME RECAP: Holy Trinity Uses 5-Run Fifth to Defeat St. John the Baptist
Final: Holy Trinity 6, St. John the Baptist 3 WP: Atkinson S: Perino Heppner: 2-for-3, RBI Sinclair: 1-for-3, 2 RBIs Alvarez: 1-for-3, 2 runs, RBI Tyler Cook: 1-for-3, R, RBI pic.twitter.com/gWEBAJAeN1 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 23, 2024 If there was one thing that the Holy Trinity Titans proved in 2023 during this magical run to the New York State Championship, it was that they should never be counted out. Whether it’s the first or the seventh inning, they are never out of a ballgame. They proved that once again today as they overcame a 3-1 deficit against St. John the Baptist on the road against a tough lefty, as they used a five-run fifth inning to win by the score of 6-3. Catcher Andrew Heppner who had two hits and drove in a run, said “Today really showed...
St. John the Baptist Looks To Returners For Bounce Back in 2024
by Max Edelman Last year was a mix of highs and lows for the St. John’s the Baptist Cougars. After a strong start to the season filled with promise, the end wasn’t as rewarding. Coach Ryan Dalton, who is entering his second year as head coach of the Cougars, highlighted the highs and lows for St John’s last season, who finished 2023 with a 7-14-1 record overall. “Last year we started off pretty well and then we struggled towards the end of the season.” Dalton said. “ We started strong and then ended up losing in the second round of the playoffs.” Although the overall record doesn’t stand out on paper, the Cougars did get off to a strong start in conference play, starting the season with a very respectable 5-2 record. Following the strong start however, it was rough sledding for St ...
GAME RECAP: Powered by 5-Run First Inning, St. Anthony’s Cruises to 11-1 Win over St. John the Baptist
Final: St. Anthony’s 11, St. John the Baptist 1 WP: Jason Decaro (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 Ks) Kevin Baez: 2-for-4, run, 4 RBIs Jason Decaro: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB Michael Mugno: 2 RBIs pic.twitter.com/dEyxi1pVtD — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 2, 2023 When we conducted the 2023 Season Preview on St. Anthony’s, coach Paul Parsolano pointed to their exceptional starting pitching duo of Jason Decaro and Torin Kassebaum for their biggest reason for optimism heading into the season. It’s what generally carries team in the playoffs – especially if you can get one of those top two seeds and get a bye. That’s exactly what they are working for and they are currently in position to do so – with just one week remaining in the regular season. The Friars – ...
St. John the Baptist Takes Field in 2023 Under First Year Coach Ryan Dalton
by Nick Cipolla An awesome moment for Long Island baseball as Logan O’Hoppe singles in his first big league at bat! pic.twitter.com/VrtoNLTjKz — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 29, 2022 Ryan Dalton is no stranger to St. John the Baptist program. He played for the Cougars, he was the JV coach for the past two seasons and his father is well-respected Athletic Director, Ralph Dalton. Casey McKay was at the helm before him, helping lead the Cougars to the CHSAA Championship in 2018 but decided to step down and is now an assistant coach on staff. There was a lot to celebrate for the St. John the Baptist program last year as 2018 alum Logan O’Hoppe reached the big leagues with the Los Angeles Angels and his close friends and family were able to be in attendance to watch him ...
Up Next Powered by Eye Q Investigations: Keegan McElligott
(This is the ninth installment of our weekly “Up Next Series Powered by Eye Q Investigations” in which we highlight the best underclassmen from across Long Island. Previously, we featured Miguel Sime Jr, Matt Cruz, Luke Coats, Michael Gardner, Tyler Scarry, Kenny Meliere, Jaiden Zoller and Max Donacea Make sure to check out Eye Q Investigations by clicking here) Keegan McElligot (St. John the Baptist 2026) pic.twitter.com/gMh5BIlvc1 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 20, 2022 Defense up the middle is a very important aspect to building a winning ballclub. In the case of the 2026 Titans Quattrini, they have one of the best in the class with SS Keegan McElligot. The silky smooth defender showed a penchant for making incredible plays. It doesn’t hurt that he was also outsta...
Logan O’Hoppe Promoted to the Big Leagues
Surprise! It was a very short stay on the taxi squad for Logan O’Hoppe. He’s starting tomorrow.https://t.co/DFHFsHYzST — Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) September 28, 2022 Huge news out of LA: Logan O’Hoppe (St. John the Baptist 2018) has been promoted to the big leagues by the Los Angeles Angels and will be starting tonight against the Oakland Athletics. O’Hoppe was traded at the deadline by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Los Angeles Angels for CF Brandon Marsh. The move was surprising at the time considering O’Hoppe had already established himself as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball and at the premium position like catcher nonetheless. After the move was completed, he was immediately regarded as the top prospect in the Angels system. Since that ti...
