News by Tom Barton
News by Tom Barton on South Shore Press
Grading the First Round for the Giants and Jets
When the Giants were on the clock everyone in the league was on the edge of their seats, because what New York would do would change the course of draft night. Instead of a QB, New York selected Malik Nabers. Nabers is not just a non QB but he is a serious weapon for Jones and you can see the Giants new found commitment to their well paid gunslinger. In almost any other draft Nabers would have been the #1 wide receiver taken off the board. He has all the makings of a true top WR and a #1 option for the #1 pick. His yards after catch ability is as good as anyone in this draft and he's been compared to Tyreek Hill. Nabers is an A pick for the Giants who's offense needed a jolt after losing Bakley in the offseason and he fits that explosive bill perfectly.
Banner Week For Stony Brook Women's Lacrosse
It wasn't just team accolades this week though as the Wolves also had Avery Hines win the IWLCA National Co-Defensive Player of the Week. For Hines it's the second time in the last three weeks that she has won the award. This week also saw Ellie Masera win the CAA player of the week award. For Masera it has been an awards filled week. She was named one of the 25 nominees for the prestigiousTewaaraton Award. That award is the equivalent of lacrosse's version of the Heisman Trophy. The Tewaaraton Award is presented annually to the best NCAA men's and women's lacrosse players of the season.
North Babylon No-No
Camier had six strikeouts in the game as he was effectively wild allowing six walks, but no one crossed the plate in his 5 1/3 innings. He notched his second win of the season and now has 10 K's in those two wins. Chris Stumpf retired all five batters he faced as he shut the door on the game, adding two strikeouts. Stumpf came into a pressure situation as he walked into a two runners on jam, in the bottom sixth inning, but came away clean as he induced two ground ball outs. Earlier in the week Stumpf surpassed Billy Meslin (class of 2000) as the program leader in saves, since comprehensive stats leaders was established in 2000.
Shoreham-Wading River's New AD
There is a new man in charge of the Shoreham-Wading River School District's athletic department. The district has named Eric Bramoff as the new Director of Health, Physical Education, Athletics and Nurses effective July 1. Mr. Bramoff will be taking over for current Athletic Director Mr. Mark Passamonte, who has held the position for the past decade but will be retiring after the year.
Kyle Erickson is Electric
Senior Kyle Erickson took the hill and fired a no hitter. The fireballer struck out 9 batters across the effort and even added a double, three RBIs and two runs scored as the Royals beat up on Amityville 12-0. This was Erickson's longest outing of the season as he has come out of the bullpen this year as well as starting. Head Coach Jesse Rosensaid "Kyle was locked in on the mound for seven innings, in a dominating, and memorable performance. In true team fashion Kyle was quick to show his appreciation to his team's defense as an important factor in this accomplishment. Exciting stuff for Kyle, and Port Jefferson Baseball." Port Jefferson has now won two games in a row by the score of 25-2 and they have scored 45 runs in their last four games. The Royals have a long break before taking on Amityville once again next week. With just four games remaining on the schedule they will need to keep scoring to take the lead in league play.
Frusco is Fantastic
Frusco now has three games this season where he has struck out 10 or more batters as the fireballer led the Panthers to evening their record at 6-6. He got help in the game when Liam Martin had one of his two hits with a 2 run double. He finished the day by adding a walk and two RBIs. Anthony Morano was also 2-for-3 with a run scored.The Panthers will continue their 3 game series against Sayville this week with a home and away game. Frusco is slated to start Monday against Harborfields.
All Zeros For Kings Park
In game one Hunter Colagrande, Brandon Hauk, and Dylan Frers combined for 12 strikeouts in the shutout. Not to be outdone in game two Everett Zarzicki pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven batters while allowing just two hits while Stephen Carini pitched a scoreless seventh inning to keep the streak alive. That brought up the final game of the three game set where Matthew Callaghan earned the win across three scoreless innings of relief for Kings Park striking out five batters while allowing two hits and Nick Paliotta pitched a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts to ensure the sweep.
Breaking a Royal Record
Not only did he score his 100th career goal in the game, but he did so while setting a single game Port Jefferson record with 10 total goals in the game. His boxscore reads like one that every lacrosse player's dream would. He finished with 10 goals, he added a team-high five ground balls, and even had 2 assists for 12 total points in the contest. Filippi extended his stellar career bringing his season statistics up to 35 goals and 8 assists, equalling 43 total points.
The Beginning of Something Meaningful
This is the first year for the Unified Program at Center Moriches High School and their unified basketball team has already created a buzz with the students and around the community. The team is coming off of a nice victory against Riverhead 47-38, but this is about much more than just wins and losses.
The Voice of a Generation Changes
John Sterling, who has been a fixture as the voice of the New York Yankees for 36 years, has retired. The 85 year old Sterling retired quickly, but has said he is "very happy" and his decision was not based on a health scare. In recent years he had begun to miss road games after decades of not missing a single call. Sterling called 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019, which included every at bat and every pitch of Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, to name just a few.
The Ducks Bolster The Pen
You might call this a complete overhaul of the pen as all three pitchers will be in their first season with the Ducks. Although it's only the first season with Long Island, that doesn't mean they are inexperienced arms. Bettencourt is entering his seventh season in professional baseball and both Delaplane and Marquez will be starting their sixth.
Stony Brook's New Direction
Athletic Director Shawn Heilbron made note of the extensive search that they went through before deciding on McCorvey and said "I am beyond excited to welcome Joy to the Stony Brook family as our new women's basketball coach. She rose to the top of an incredibly strong group of candidates and is uniquely poised to lead our program forward."
Coach Cal Moves Lines
That has already impacted the betting future odds for both teams and in a generation of NIL deals and the transfer portal we should all expect more movement as the season gets closer. With that said, there could still be some value picks with the early lines released.
No No for Longwood
While it's still early in the high school baseball season there was a pivotal matchup waged this week between first place William Floyd and second place Longwood. The early season series was circled in the preseason as a battle for first place and that is exactly the kind of game that was delivered. After the dust had settled William Floyd might have remained at the top of the standings, but it was Longwood who stole the headlines, or rather CJ Foreman.
Shutout City for Commack
The 2024 high school baseball season in Suffolk county is only a few weeks into the season and we already have very few teams with an unblemished record. The Commack Cougars are one of them that remain. Commack put on a pitching display this week that will have people turning their heads and taking notice of their unbeaten record and what might be on the horizon for this team.
And Then There Was One
As the Suffolk baseball calendar entered last week there were a few teams who had yet to endure their first loss of the season. All of that changed as teams got deeper into their schedules and heading into the new week there is now just one team standing that is perfect. The Comsewogue Warriors absolutely crushed Deer Park on the way to their 8-0 record.
Ben Brown's Big Debut
Ben Brown was as good as advertised as he made his major league debut this past week, and that comes as no surprise for anyone who watched him excel at Ward Melville just a few years ago. Brown was just what the doctor ordered, or in this case what his head coach Craig Counsell needed. After blowing an eight run lead the night before, Brown shut down the San Diego Padres in his first big-league start for 4 2/3 shutout innings at Petco Park. The Padres managed just three hits, one walk and struck out five times against the East Setauket native.
Spallina is Splendid
Senior day is always a special time for players and coaches alike, but this season there was a little extra something special for the Stony Brook women's lacrosse team. Head coach Joe Spallina won his 200th game as head coach of the SeaWolves, and doing it on senior day was just the icing on the cake. Spallina led the Stony Brook women's lacrosse to a decisive victory over Delaware, 17-4. The Seawolves were led by Kaitlyn Clark, who scored a career-high seven goals, six of which came in the first half of play.
Trump Earns Hall of Fame Endorsement
The greatest closer of all time just closed all speculation about who he will be supporting for president. Ex-Yankee Mariano Rivera told radio host Sid Rosenberg that he will be backing Donald Trump for president.
Daily Feed
Stony Brook students blend fitness and ecology in 3K EcoWalk
Stony Brook University students participated in the "Running Wild 3K EcoWalk," a new Earthstock event conducted on April 21 at the Ashley Schiff Preserve.
Romaine Floats Yaphank Market for Local Produce Hub
No need to go to the Bronx for local produce under a plan by County Executive Ed Romaine.
Bell-to-Bell School Smart Phone Ban is Looming
Starting in September, New York State law requires Bell-to-Bell restrictions on smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices in K-12 schools statewide.