West Islip
West Islip Has Become the Gold Standard for Suffolk County Programs
When it comes to the Mount Rushmore of Long Island baseball, there is no doubt that West Islip is firmly entrenched with their recent run of success. Head Coach Shawn Rush has been at the helm for nine years and has won Suffolk County Class AA Championships in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Additionally, they have 14 graduates currently on college rosters and one active player in the Major Leagues (Nick Tropeano). It’s been a run that only Massapequa can trump. Speaking of them, it was those Chiefs of Massapequa that finally ended West Islip’s 21-game win streak that culminated with winning the Class AA title over Eastport-South Manor. It was a battle of two red-hot teams but it was Massapequa that came out on top, avenging the 2014 Long Island Championship in which West Islip was victor...
Frank Valentino Signs Pro Contract
Frank Valentino (NYIT ’17) has extended his baseball career for at least another season as he signed a pro contract with the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League. The 23-year-old RHP attended West Islip HS and graduated in 2013. Last season, he played with the Vallejo Admirals in the Pacific Association, going 5-8 with 5.05 ERA and striking out 92 in 98 innings in 16 starts. The 6’3″ RHP has a low-to-mid 90s fastball which helped him dominate at Suffolk CC before transferring to NYIT and leading the rotation for two seasons along with fellow RHPs Elias Martinez and Matt Diaz. During his senior year, he suffered from some extremely difficult luck. His seasons defied all logic by going winless at 0-9, despite pitching two complete games and pitching deep into every game....
Preview for the Suffolk County Class AA Semifinals
This week the stage is set for the Suffolk County Class AA semifinals. Due to the suspended game on Friday between No. 2 Ward Melville-No. 9 Smithtown East, they will play tomorrow (weather pending) for the chance to play No. 4 West Islip on Tuesday in the first game of a best-of-three series. Also on Tuesday, No. 2 Commack will square off with No. 13 Pat-Med. Ward Melville vs Smithtown East: What to Expect: These teams have met twice so far, with Smithtown East winning last Wednesday, while Ward Melville won Friday/Saturday’s suspended game. Ward Melville will most likely throw ace Ben Brown, who has been tremendous all season, and Smithtown East will either throw Doug Goodwin or Nick Harvey. Both teams are well-disciplined, play great defense and can win close games. Ward Melville...
Kyle O’Neill Delivers West Islip to Dramatic Walk-off Win
In a game for the ages, the West Islip Lions came out on top against the Deer Park Falcons by a score of 10-9 on a walk-off hit from Kyle O’Neill. This game had everything, so it was only appropriate that it ended in a walk-off. For starters, the first inning took a whopping 43 minutes. O’Neill got the starting not for West Islip, but he got off to a shaky start. He walked in two consecutive batters to give the Falcons an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. The Lions bounced back quickly in the bottom of the 1st on RBI hits from Anthony Ippolito and Joe Valentino. This would not be the last you hear of Valentino in this game. O’Neill’s struggles carried over into the third inning in which he could not find the strike zone, walking six batters over two innings and bein...
Suffolk Class AA Power Rankings
Prior to the season, I wrote up some predictions for Suffolk Class AA based on my observations from the previous season and the improvement I saw from each team in the off season. So far, those predictions are looking pretty good. Here’s the top 10 teams in Suffolk Class AA right now. The obvious limitations to this list is that I’ve been covering games in Nassau and the CHSAA as well, so I haven’t yet gotten to see all the teams in Class AA, but within the next two weeks I should be able to. Here’s my best stab at it. 10) Deer Park (8-4) One of the biggest surprises this year, they have been led by senior Connor Hewlette, who already has four wins and Robert Belotti, who has three. They also have a fairly easy schedule remaining, which gives them a good chance at a...
North Babylon Wins 5-4 On Walk-Off Error, Honor Slain NYPD Sgt. Tuozzolo in Pregame Ceremony
What started with an emotional ceremony to the family of slain NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, ended with a dramatic 5-4 walk-off victory for North Babylon against the reigning Class AA Long Island Champs. With North Babylon down to their final out trailing 4-2 against Kyle O’Neill (Felician-commit), Paul Tchinnis ripped a game-tying two-run single to center field with Argenis Escarfullery scoring the tying run. The game went to extra innings after Tom Gatto retired the next batter. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases and scored on a walk-off error on a controversial play in which West Islip contested that the runner interfered with Greg Tsouprakos, but the run would stand resulting in a huge win for North Babylon. Their starter Pat Solomita did a terrific job ...
Brandon Isolano’s Clutch Hit Gives West Islip Extra-Inning Victory
Having been around a winning culture, Brandon Isolano learned a thing or two about winning from competing for a New York State Class AA championship last season. It paid off in the eighth inning today, when he lined the go-ahead RBI single to right field to score Frank Genise and give West Islip a crucial 4-3 series win over Bellport. “They just showed us how to play as a team, just play hard and practice hard,” said the senior. The victory gave Mike LaDonna his first varsity win in an exhilarating back-and-forth affair that featured plenty of drama. West Islip got off to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning off Sacred Heart-commit Joe Greco when Kyle O’Neill (Felician-commit) ripped an opposite field double and scored on Greg Tsouprakos‘ (Pace-commit) RBI sin...
West Islip Looks to Protect their Crown
Watch our West Islip season preview. They are coming off their second Class AA Long Island Championship in three years, They compiled an overall record of 25-6 last year and will be returning some significant talent, headlined by Fordham-commit Jake Guercio, Pace-commit Greg Tsouprakos, Felician-commit Kyle O’Neill and uncommitted senior Joe Valentino.
