Led by Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Longwood is Ready to Compete
May 4, 2021
In 2019, Longwood took Connetquot to the brink in the Suffolk Class AA semifinals. The teams traded wins in the first two games before Connetquot captured the decisive Game 3 by the score of 2-0 to move to the Finals while Longwood had their season end with a record of 18-8.
Heading into last year, they appeared to be in great shape once again. They were going to be led by a strong group of seniors which included:
Kyle Allen (New Haven), Justin Classie, Nick Classie (Ulster), Derek Hardison, Ryan Kilcarr, Brian Monahan, James Myler (Bryant), Ty Orologio (Ulster), Ryan Owens, Brayden Pollock, Dylan Toledo and Giuseppe Vicidomini.
Coach Ryan McSherry felt very good about that group but they did not get their senior season. This year’s team will open up on Friday against Brentwood at 4:30pm. They recently concluded their tryouts and McSherry noted it “was a really difficult tryout. We had a lot of genuinely good kids that made our job really tough. It was one of the more difficult years,” he said in regards to the quality of players that were at tryouts. They will enter the season with a roster of 21 that included 9 seniors.
We named Tommy Ventimiglia as the Axcess Baseball Preseason Pitcher of the Year. The Stony Brook-commit was lights-out for them in 2019 in which he went undefeated record of 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA and 2 saves. He was at his best in the biggest moments. He has a chance to get selected in the upcoming MLB Draft and has been up to 92 MPH with his heater. Simply put, when he is on the mound they have a huge advantage over their opponent. McSherry said he’s “had his fair share of interest from scouts so far.”
Joining him in the rotation is Dominican-commit Josh Dannenberg. McSherry called the RHP “a very polished arm. We like what he brings to the table.” Rounding out the rotation is Ryan McCann.
He stated that there will be a competition for the innings in the bullpen. Some of the names include Dylan Govin, John Herbst, Austin Wenz, Sean Langan, Connor Doyle and Liam Ryan.
Behind the dish is a three-way competition between Rocco Hall, Brendan Mair and Anthony Caracciolo.
Joe McDonald, who is committed to Manhattanville, is their only other player that accrued varsity time in 2019 aside from Ventimiglia. McSherry stated he has a “good bat, he runs well and is good all-around defensively”, he will play 1B and outfield.
Kyle Jones, Matt Dragotto and Justin O’Neill will compete for time in the outfield. McSherry stated that their junior class is very strong and they have SS Devin Montalvo, who “has a good approach at the plate, a very good glove, great hands and great footwork.” Classmate Preston Gerena will pitch and play the field. Mason Mehling will play outfield and contribute all around the diamond. Lastly, junior Jake Hall is another potential impact player, McSherry said he will pitch and “he plays very aggressively, he comes to play.”
Their only sophomore that was called up is second baseman Louis Kaleb who “is a very good athlete, he’s multi-dimensional and is probably the next starting QB on varsity.”
McSherry said the strength of the team is in their versatility. They have plenty of players that will be contributing all around the diamond. He said “we have very good depth and we have a lot of multi-dimensional guys.”
Speaking about the season in general, he said “we are happy to be back, we feel good about the team. They’re very coachable, it should be a very fun season – just being around everyone. They have good attitudes.”
Blast, save lift Lions: Kaleb’s homer, Dannenberg’s arm are winners
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 May 2021
Longwood leadoff hitter Joe McDonald lined a double to leftfield and the barrage began. The Lions first six hitters strung together three singles, two doubles and Louis Kaleb’s three-run home run to open a six-run first inning lead before an out was recorded.
The big inning propelled Longwood to a 9-6 win over Patchogue-Medford in a Suffolk League I baseball game Tuesday in Middle Island. Longwood improved to 3-0.
The Lions needed late inning relief help from one of its starting pitchers to save the win. Senior righthander Josh Dannenberg came on in relief with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the sixth inning.
“He’s the right guy at that moment and was available to pitch,” said Longwood coach Ryan McSherry, in his sixth year. “He’s a polished pitcher, who’s one of our top starters. We needed to stop Patchogue’s momentum.”
Dannenberg induced an infield popup and recorded two strikeouts to end the sixth inning threat. He pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, recording the final out on a rocket line drive back to the mound.
“I barely saw that one, almost took my head off, the catch was all reaction,” said Dannenberg, who struck out seven in his first outing, a win over Brentwood. “I just came in to pound the zone, fill it up with strikes and not walk anyone.” Dannenberg retired all six batters to earn the save.
The Longwood offense provided plenty of run support. In the first inning, Tommy Ventimiglia doubled home a run and Jake Hall singled home two more to build a 3-0 lead before Kaleb’s blast over the leftfield fence.
“I like to set the tone with the first at bat,” said Longwood first baseman Joe McDonald, who led off last week’s win against Brentwood with an inside the park home run. “It gets us going and we can hit one through nine in our lineup.”
Patchogue-Medford crept back into the game, scoring twice in the second inning on Justin Moustouka’s two-out, two-run single and a two-out RBI single from Matt Schlanger in the third to make it 6-3.
Longwood extended the lead to 8-3 when Mason Mehling keyed a two-run third inning with an RBI single.
The Raiders continued to come back when Schlanger’s third hit of the game, a two-run single in the fifth, made it 8-5.
“After the first six batters,” Patchogue-Medford coach Tony Frascogna said. “I was proud of the effort, how we got back in the game.”
The first four Raiders reached base in the sixth and Patrick Dallas’ RBI single made it 8-6 with the bases loaded and no outs and Schlanger, who was 3-for-3, up next. Huge spot.
That’s when McSherry called on Dannenberg.
He popped up Schlanger for the first out.
“Josh has the makeup for the big moment,” McSherry said. “And he came through.”
Langan delivers in first varsity start
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 May 2021
Junior righty Sean Langan will remember a few things about his first varsity start.
He pitched four shutout innings. His Longwood teammates gave him plenty of run support in a big way for his first win.
Langan allowed two hits, struck out six and hit two batters as Longwood upended Ward Melville, 17-4, in a Suffolk Conference I baseball game in East Setauket. The Lions submerged the defending League I champions with a 10-run third inning that lasted 40 minutes.
“There was plenty of run support and that’s great,” said Langan, who retired nine of the first 11 batters he faced. “But I still had to focus and throw strikes. My teammates definitely made it a lot easier with the big lead.”
Ward Melville (3-3) loaded the bases in the fourth with a single and two hit batsmen, but Langan struck out Jake Weinstein for the third out to end the threat.
“That was his first real test on varsity and he mixed his pitches well,” said Longwood coach Ryan McSherry. “I’m happy with his outing.”
Longwood opened a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Leadoff batter Lou Kaleb was hit by a pitch and Mason Mehling followed with a line drive over the rightfielders’ head for a run-scoring triple. Brandon Mair lifted a sacrifice fly to score Mehling to make it 2-0. With two outs, Joe McDonald crushed a line drive to right centerfield for an inside-the-park home run and a 3-0 lead.
The Lions added to the lead with a top of the third inning that they’ll talk about for a long time. They sent 15 men to the plate, the first 10 hitters scored before an out was recorded, against three Ward Melville pitchers that fired a total of 67 pitches. The anatomy of the inning looked like this; five hits, six walks, including four with the bases loaded. There were three run-scoring singles, one each by Kaleb, Mehling and Jake Hall. The Lions punctuated the monstrous rally with a Tommy Ventimiglia three-run triple to rightfield.
“You don’t see an inning like that very often on the varsity level,” McSherry said. “It was quite the inning. I was really pleased with our approach at the plate. We had quality at bats and showed a lot of patience. And Ventimiglia, McDonald and Jake Hall have been swinging hot bats.”
McDonald added a run-scoring double, Ventimiglia reached base four times, adding an RBI single and Hall reached base in all three of his at bats, adding two walks.
Mehling joined the hot bats parade with a 3-for-4 afternoon, including two RBI and three runs scored.
McDonald also flashed some serious leather at first base in the third inning. With two outs, he dived to his right to snare a Mike Mortillo line drive and keep Ward Melville scoreless. With that kind of pitching and defense and Longwood (6-1) swinging fire, the first-place Lions have proved difficult to beat.
VENTIMIGLIA HAS GUTTY OUTING IN LONGWOOD’S WIN
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 25 May 2021
Someone forgot to tell the hitters at Longwood and Commack that they were facing two of Long Island’s finest pitching prospects.
The anticipated pitching duel between Longwood‘s Tommy Ventimiglia and Commack’s Craig Pihlkar never materialized in Monday’s battle for first place in Suffolk League I.
Both teams came out swinging in a back-and-forth affair in which neither starter finished. The hard-throwing Ventimiglia battled through 5 1/3 innings to earn the win in Longwood‘s 6-4 victory over visiting Commack.
The win moved Longwood into a first-place tie with Commack at 8-1.
Ventimiglia, a Stony Brook commit, was overpowering at times and had to grind through his 107-pitch outing. He scattered eight hits, walked four, allowed one earned run and struck out eight.
“I had command of my fastball,” Ventimiglia said. “But my slider was a little off and they’re a really good team and battled every at-bat. They were hitting in any count.”
Ventimiglia had just as much impact on the offensive side of things. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI and was robbed of an extra-base hit in the second inning.
“I worked hard all winter on my hitting,” he said. “Our entire lineup put in the work, and it shows.”
Pihlkar, who is headed to the University of Connecticut, struggled against the potent Longwood lineup. He gave up five hits, walked three, and allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Lou Kaleb hastened Pihlkar’s exit when he drilled a one-out, two-run home run to leftfield to give the Lions a 2-0 second-inning lead.
“He threw me a curveball first pitch and fell behind in the count and then came with the fastball,” Kaleb said. “It felt great off the bat.” Commack avoided the big inning but not before the stage was set for Longwood to blow it open. Rocco Hall singled and walks to Matt Dragotto and Devin Montalvo loaded the bases with two outs.
Ventimiglia lined a one-hopper over the third-base bag and only a super defensive play for the third out by Connor Schramm prevented a bigger inning.
“That was a huge defensive play,” Ventimiglia said. “Both teams made big plays and in a game like this you expect that to happen.”
Commack responded in the top of the third. Leadoff man Johnny Catuosco singled, his second hit of the game, stole second and scored when Connor Peterson lined an RBI single. Peterson took second on the throw home and then stole third base and scoring on a throwing error to tie it at 2.
Longwood regained the lead in the bottom of the third. Kaleb had an RBI single and Rocco Hall lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
“We had quality at-bats against a very good pitcher,” coach Ryan McSherry said.
Commack tied it at 4 in the fourth but failed to forge a lead when two runners were thrown out at the plate. With two outs, Jack Lagner singled home Matt McGurk and Catuosco tried to score from second base but was nailed at the plate on a perfect throw from rightfielder Dragotto.
Longwood took the lead for good in the fourth when Preston Gerena hit a sacrifice fly to score Montalvo for a 5-4 lead.
“We’ve been getting great at-bats from Gerena and Montalvo,” McSherry said. “I like the way we responded in every inning.”
ACES HIGH Long Island is well-armed with outstanding pitchers, who play cards right by making most of their talent
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 June 2021
TOMMY VENTIMIGLIA
Longwood, Sr.
Ventimiglia has been a tough-luck pitcher this season. He has battled the top pitchers in Suffolk League I and come away with some brutal losses.
Ventimiglia is one of Long Island’s top prospects, and the 6-4 righty has garnered the attention of numerous major-league organizations for this year’s amateur draft in July.
Ventimiglia, with a fastball sitting at 89 to 90 mph that occasionally reaches 94 mph, has embraced the competition. He’s struck out 42 in 26 2/3 innings and has a 1.22 ERA with a 4-3 record.
“I’m facing top-tier pitchers every game and I know I have to go out and give my team a shot,” Ventimiglia said. “There is no room for mistakes every time I get out there. We’re playing small ball to try and win these games. It’s absolutely 100% preparing me for the next level.”
With a potential pro career looming and his commitment to Stony Brook University, Ventimiglia is focused on what’s in front of him.
“I’m not focused on the draft or college right now because I really would like to win the league playoffs and go win the Long Island championship,” he said. “I’ve been getting a good amount of contact from pro teams and it’s a dream come true just to be considered. It’s hard not to get excited. But honestly, I want a great playoff run with my teammates and that would be a great way to end my high school career and go out with a ring.”
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 15 June 2021.
Longwood 5, Sachem North 3: Tommy Ventimiglia had three hits and one RBI to lead No. 3 Longwood (13-5) over No. 6 Sachem North (8-10) in the first round of the Suffolk Conference I playoffs. Jacob Hall had one hit and two RBIs. Louis Kaleb added two hits and a RBI. Longwood will take on No. 2 Commack 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals.
Congratulations to Tommy Ventimiglia (Class of 2021) for being selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft!
Tommy is only the second player in Longwood history to be selected since Bryan Hansen in 2001. Way to go, Tommy! #GoLions#LCSDPride July, 2021
