SPRING OUTLOOK BASEBALL: SUFFOLK

Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 11 Apr 2010

CLASS AA

Lindenhurst, which hasn’t won a county crown since 1963, is loaded with experience. Senior first baseman Jon McGibbon, junior shortstop Steve Skon and senior outfielder Jimmy Briggs, who led Long Island with 13 home runs and 33 RBIs as a junior, give Lindy an intimidating lineup. The Bulldogs dropped into League II, where Connetquot, the defending champion, returns three All-County outfielders in seniors Kenny Jackson and Joey Russo and junior Jimmy Guiliano.

The team to watch is Longwood. The Lions have senior J.J. Bessel on the mound and a bevy of hitting. They had seven players homer in the League I opener. 

“Don’t count us out,” Half Hollow Hills West coach Tom Migliozzi said. “We’ll be right there at the end.” Colts ace T.J. Pecoraro could hook up with Smithtown West’s Anthony Gatto, the League IV player of the year, in an interesting showdown.

Longwood 15 Bay Shore 11, WP – LW: Beekman. LP – Priveori. April 4

Longwood 17 Brentwood 1; Longwood was fond of the long ball yesterday in its 17-1 League I win over Brentwood. Seven different players, all righthanded, went deep for the home Lions (1-0), including four in the first inning. Bobby Gazzola, J.J. Bessell and Thomas Scala each hit two-run shots in the first, while Dan Parisi, the third batter of the game, hit a solo shot with two outs to start the rally. Nick Leggio, the Lions’ No. 9 hitter, went yard in the fourth, while backups Steven Fitzpatrick and Nick Smith hit two-run homers in the fifth and sixth. Brandon McClain picked up the win after tossing six innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. Brentwood is 0-1. WP – LW: McClain. LP – Atanasio. HR – LW: Gazzola 1, Parisi 1, Scala 1, Fitzpatrick 1, Smith 1, Bessell 1, Leggio 1.  April 6

Longwood 9 Brentwood 1

WP – LW: Bessel. LP – Jiminez. HR – LW: Beekman 1. April 7

Longwood 5 Brentwood 0

WP – LW: Beekman. LP – Santagata. HR – LW: Scala 1. April 9

Deer Park 13 Longwood 3

WP – DP: Pfundstein. LP – McClain. April 13

Longwood 10 Floyd 1

WP – LW: Bessell. LP – Brass. April 21

Longwood 5 Floyd 1

WP – LW: Beekman. LP – Buckman. April 24

Longwood 1, Ward Melville 0: Bobby Gazzola’s sacrifice fly drove in Thomas Scala in the first inning for Longwood. Brandon McClain struck out eight and allowed six hits for Longwood (7-0 Suffolk League I). April 28

Ward Melville 2 Longwood 1, WP – WM: Maurer. LP – Bessell. April 29

Longwood 13 Ward Melville 6, WP – LW: Smith. LP – LaRocca. April 30

Longwood 5 Commack 1, WP – LW: McClain. LP – Sparacino. HR – LW: Moore 1. May

COMMACK 7, LONGWOOD 3 Leonello frustrates Lions Works out of many jams and hits two-run homer Longwood’s attempts to rally fall short in League I

Albanese, Laura. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 06 May 2010:

Commack starter Peter Leonello drags his right leg heavily when he releases the ball, leaving a rising dust cloud that doesn’t settle until the ball hits the catcher’s mitt. 

It wasn’t something Longwood‘s J.J. Bessell took a particular liking to. Each inning, he’d take a few seconds to compact the mound with his cleats and tidy up whatever was left of the hill, only to have Leonello take his toll moments later. 

But maybe it was that sort of day for the Lions: Every time Longwood attempted, after an early deficit, to groom a comeback, Commack would just mess it all back up again. 

Commack (7-4) took a 2-0 lead in the second and never wavered, as the Cougars defeated Longwood, 7-3, yesterday in League I. 

The Lions (9-2) not only missed their first opportunity to win 10 and qualify for the playoffs, but the game also exacted a greater cost. A collision on an attempted double play in the third sent second baseman Rob Moore to the hospital with a broken left leg. Moore, a sophomore, broke his tibia and fibula, said coach John Davide. 

“It was just one of those days,” Davide said.

That much was clear early on, as Bessell, a masterful righthander, struggled to maintain movement on his fastball. Commack got on the board in the second with Joe Angelucci’s one-out, two-run triple to deep rightfield. The Cougars added a run in the third to make it 3-0. 

And, although a handful of college scouts were on hand to watch Bessell’s rare off day, it was Leonello who put on a show. 

The senior made ample use of Commack’s expansive (and, in most places, fenceless) field, recording his first four outs on fly balls, including a nearly 400-foot shot to left by Danny Parisi. 

“I trust my fielders,” Leonello said. “And I try to keep it low.” 

In the second, Longwood loaded the bases with one out, but this time, Leonello relied on his surehanded infielders to close out the inning unscathed. Leonello, who allowed seven singles over six, with three strikeouts and nine flyouts, saved his elegance for the plate. His two-run homer to the empty space in rightfield made it 5-1. 

Longwood staged a comeback in the sixth. Steven Fitzpatrick scored Jonathan Beekman on a sacrifice fly to center. Thomas Scala induced a rundown between first and second to score Fitzpatrick from third. Leonello again tap-danced out of trouble with a fly ball to center. 

Commack must win three of the next seven to qualify for the playoffs, after ascending to League I only this year. 

“It’s a little more difficult than League II,” Leonello said. “But we’re pretty confident.” 

Said the pitcher who messed up the mound and won the turf.

Longwood 8 Commack 5, Longwood 8, Commack 5: Nick Leggio hit a three-run triple in the top of the seventh to give Longwood (10-2) an 8-5 lead in League I. Longwood led 5-0 after two innings, but Commack chipped away and tied the score in the sixth. Longwood‘s Brandon McClain had a home run and two runs. WP – LW: Beekman. LP – Kitt. HR – LW: McClain 1. May 7

Longwood 6 Patchogue-Medford 1, WP – LW: McClain. LP – Schwartz. HR – LW: Parisi 1. May 11

Longwood 2 Patchogue-Medford 1, J.J. Bessell threw a four-hitter, walked one and struck out seven for Longwood (12-2) in League I. WP – LW: Bessell. LP – Mendez. May 12

Longwood 5 Patchogue-Medford 3

WP – LW: Beekman. LP – D’Onofrio. HR – LW: Parisi 1. May 14

Longwood 11 Sachem East 1

WP – LW: McClain. LP – Castles. HR – LW: Bessell 1, Parisi 1. May 18

CLASS AA QUARTERFINALS

Longwood 7, Sachem North 6: Mario Parisi’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh won it for No. 2 Longwood (18-3), which trailed 6-3 at the start of the inning against No. 7 Sachem North in the winners’ bracket of the Suffolk Class AA quarterfinals. Longwood‘s Marc Calabro drove in Robbie Mancuso with a pinch-hit single and Brandon McLain drove in Steven Fitzpatrick with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-5. In the top of the seventh, Brendan Garry hit a three-run home run to give the Flaming Arrows a 6-3 lead. Longwood will host Hills West at 4 p.m. tomorrow. Sachem North will play at Smithtown West at 4 p.m. today in an elimination game. May 25

Longwood 3, Half Hollow Hills West 2: Bobby Gazzola hit a no-out, three-run walk-off home run to win it for No.2 Longwood, 3-2, over No.3 Hills West in the Suffolk Class AA winner’s bracket semifinals. Danny Parisi singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and Mario Parisi drew a walk before Gazzola hit the first pitch to left center. J.J. Bessel struck out 10, walked two and allowed one earned run in a five-hitter. Longwood (19-3) will play Lindenhurst at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Lindenhurst. May 27

LINDENHURST 3, LONGWOOD 1: Gutsy Bammann leads Lindy Helps put Bulldogs one win from Suffolk AA title Goes the distance in third start since liner to face

Ronis, Adam. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 May 2010

After a line drive struck Lindenhurst righthander Tom Bammann in the right side of his face April 12, teammate Dan DiBlasi thought he wouldn’t see Bammann on the mound the rest of the season.

“I didn’t expect him back at all,” DiBlasi said. “You heard it from the outfield. When you take a hit like that, you don’t think you’re going to come back.”

“I’m shocked he’s back,” Lindenhurst coach Mike Canobbio said. “If you saw the injury when he got hit, you would never expect him to pitch this year.”

But Bammann, who suffered multiple facial fractures, is not only back, he’s effective. He made his third start since getting struck and DiBlasi drove in two runs in No.1 Lindenhurst’s 3-1 win over No.2 Longwood in a Suffolk Class AA winner’s bracket baseball final Friday.

“I didn’t think I would be back,” said Bammann, who allowed eight hits, walked none and struck out seven in the complete game. “It was pretty bad. I am lucky to get back.”

Longwood (19-4) will host Half Hollow Hills West in a loser’s bracket final at 11 a.m. Saturday. The winner plays at Lindenhurst at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Lindenhurst (22-1) needs one win to earn the county championship.

Like Bammann, Longwood‘s Brandon McClain threw a gem. He allowed three hits and three runs (two earned) in six innings, walking three and striking out three.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Longwood coach John Davide said. “He kept us in the game. We just couldn’t get the bats going.”

DiBlasi had two-out RBI singles in the fourth and sixth, and the Bulldogs added another run in the sixth on an error.

Longwood, which rallied from a 2-0 seventh-inning deficit on Wednesday for a 3-2 victory over Hills West, attempted another comeback in the seventh. J.J. Bessell doubled home a run, but with runners on first and third, Bammann got a line drive to center to end the game.

“I mixed up my pitches a lot and kept the ball away,” he said. “I know Brandon’s a tough pitcher, so I knew it would be tight.”

Bammann said it took some time to get used to being back on the mound. He made his return May 15.

“In the beginning I was a little tentative and was throwing away from hitters,” he said. “Once I got a ground ball back to me, I settled down.”

Said Canobbio: “I feel so good for him that he was able to pitch well in this situation.”

LONGWOOD 7, HALF HOLLOW HILLS WEST 4: Scala’s home run puts it in the bank Ensures Longwood win in the losers’ bracket final Lions face Lindenhurst for ‘AA’ championship

Ronis, Adam. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 30 May 2010:

Thomas Scala has experienced enough tense moments in the final innings of the playoffs this season. His LongwoodLions had two walk-off wins this week and it appeared they might be headed for another drama-filled ending yesterday.

But Scala ensured that wouldn’t be the case. After No. 3 Half Hollow Hills West trimmed a five-run deficit to one in the top of the sixth, Scala hit a two-run homer over the leftfield fence in the bottom of the inning to give host Longwood the insurance it needed in a 7-4 win in a Suffolk Class AA losers’ bracket baseball final.

“If we don’t score and they score a run, we have to come back again like we have the past few games,” Scala said. “We needed a big hit. I was looking to drive a ball to get something going. It was a little low, but I put a good swing on it. Anything can happen in a one-run game. Once we got the lead to three, we had some more breathing room.”

Second-seeded Longwood (20-4) will play No. 1 Lindenhurst at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Lindenhurst Middle School. Lindenhurst would be the champion with a win. If Longwood wins, the teams meet again at 4 p.m. Wednesday to determine the champion. 

Longwood, which lost in the finals last season, led 5-0 going into the sixth inning. Matt Cabezon and T.J. Pecoraro (3-for-4) singled and James Barone was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. After a 1-2 fielder’s choice, Mike Kaufman hit a grand slam for Hills West (20-6) to trim the Lions’ lead to 5-4.

In the bottom of the inning, Nick Leggio walked before Scala‘s homer.

“The walk was big, too,” Longwood coach John Davide Jr. said. “Leggio did a nice job working the count and getting the walk to get us back to the top of the lineup. Scala is dangerous. He hits the ball hard every time up. It gave us comfort going out there. There’s a big difference between a one-run lead and a three-run lead.”

Scala (2-for-4) started the first inning with a double off the fence and scored on a single by Bobby Gazzola (2-for-4), who later scored on a double play to make it 2-0. J.J. Bessell (2-for-3) hit a two-run homer in the fourth for a 4-0 lead.

“It seemed like he was focusing on the runner at first base,” Bessell said, “so I thought he might leave one over the plate. It was a 3-and-1 count and I was ready for it. I think the wind helped a lot, but I put a good swing on it and luckily, it went over the fence.”

Beekman threw a six-hitter, walked none and struck out five and also hit a homer.

“My two-seamer had good tail on it and my changeup felt really good,” Beekman said. “I was able to mix in my curve and the defense played good behind me.”

LINDENHURST VS. LONGWOOD Class AA final is suspended

Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 02 June 2010: A.44. 

The rumble was loud and clear as was the decision of plate umpire Joe Grady, who waved the Longwood defense off the field in Lindenhurst as scattered thunderstorms approached the South Shore. With lightning in the distance and thunder heard overhead, Grady first called for a 30-minute delay, which is mandatory by state rule, then suspended the Suffolk Class AA baseball final yesterday with two outs in the bottom of the fourth and Lindenhurst leading 5-2.

“We went over the rule before the game because there was a possibility of thunderstorms in the area,” Lindenhurst coach Mike Canobbio said. “We were hoping the boys could bring home a county title before our awards banquet [last night]. We’ll come back and try and get it done against a very good Longwood team.”

The game will be resumed with the Bulldogs’ Dan DiBlasi batting and a runner on second at 4:15 today at Lindenhurst, which is unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament. If Longwood wins, it will force a winner-take-all game tomorrow for the title. 

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Lindenhurst sent 11 men to the plate and scored five times for a 5-1 lead. Ryan Manning, Steve Skon and James Briggs had run-scoring singles and Jon McGibbon and DiBlasi drew bases-loaded walks in the inning.

Longwood loaded the bases with none out in the fourth but came away with only one run on JJ Bessel’s single to cut the deficit to 5-2.

LINDENHURST 5, LONGWOOD 4 Bammann nails down title Reliever strikes out five batters over three innings Bulldogs wrap up their 1st county crown since ’63

Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 03 June 2010:

This was an altogether different feeling. It was euphoric. The last time the Lindenhurst baseball rushed to the mound – was to aid pitching ace Tom Bammann – who was felled by a line drive to the face on April 12.

Yesterday, the Bulldogs rushed the mound in a whole different mode. They were there to congratulate Bammann and celebrate Lindenhurst’s first county baseball championship since 1963. Bammann struck out five batters in three innings of relief as Lindenhurst held on for a 5-4 win over Longwood in the completion of a game suspended on Tuesday.

With a runner on first base, Mario Parisi flew out to rightfielder Dan DiBlasi for the final out as Lindenhurst claimed the Suffolk Class AA title.

“I wanted that last out to come to me,” said DiBlasi, who ignited the decisive five-run inning with a single and a bases loaded walk. “It seemed like the ball floated forever before I caught it. I just sprinted toward the mound and threw the glove and ball in the air.”

With the out secured, Lindenhurst coach Mike Canobbio hugged long time assistant Rich Rogers and joined DiBlasi and the team at the mound.

“I didn’t think I’d play the rest of the season,” Bammann said. “I’m lucky to be here. And here we are winning the county championship. It’s all pretty amazing. When coach told me I was getting the ball to continue the suspended game I was so pumped.”

Longwood did not go quietly in yesterday’s three at-bats. In the fifth inning, Tom Scala ripped a line drive off the leftfield fence and Bobby Gazzola followed by drilling a long two-run home run to cut a 5-2 deficit to one run.

“We came back here to win this thing,” Gazzola said. “We brought it back to one. We just couldn’t push that tying run across.”

Longwood reliever Brandon McClain shut down the vaunted Lindenhurst offense to give the Lions a chance to come back. He threw 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

“We never hit McClain,” Lindenhurst coach Mike Canobbio said. “He just shuts us down and Longwood always comes back.”

The Lions threatened again in the sixth. J.J. Bessel walked and moved to third when Steve Fitzpatrick lined a one-out double down the rightfield line putting runners at second and third. Bammann induced a pop out for the second out and struck out Nick Leggio with a 2-2 fastball to end the threat.

“This feels great for everyone,” Canobbio said. “We share this achievement with our team, our school and our community.”