Great to See ...

Just got back from another trip down to North Carolina and had the opportunity to check up on a few of the players from the area. I'll be doing the same next weekend and with High Point playing night games I have had the opportunity to drag my wife to a few other games. You can click on the players names to see their school profiles.

This past weekend Winthrop University came to visit High Point.  Tyler Donovan (Iona Prep 09') and   TJ Olesczuk  (Hen Hud 10') are on that roster. While Tyler is injured and not playing, he'll get a medical red-shirt this year, TJ is and boy is he playing well. The coaching staff at Winthrop has moved TJ out to RF where it's obvious that his shoulder is healed because he is showing some arm strength. He also showed a serious stick. We all knew he was a solid hitter for Hen Hud, but he is doing it as a college freshman in D1 baseball. Unofficially, I'm going to say he has at least 8 hits in the 3 game series including a 4-4 on Saturday. Great to See..

High Point also has a number of Section 1 players with Sr  Kyle Mahoney (Carmel 07') and  Mike Mercurio  (Kennedy 09') seeing the line-up everyday as starters. Mahoney was hitting .333 going into the weekend while Mike Mercurio was at .355 and an on base % of almost .500. Great to See...

On Saturday I ran over to watch Elon play UNC-Greensboro. Ken Ferrer (Pleasantville 07') was on the hill for Elon and pitched very, very well. He was victimized by a few outfield miscues that were caused by gusting winds. As many may know, Ken was selected in the MLB draft last June but chose to return to Elon to finish up his schooling and re-enter this years draft.Great to See ...

While watching these games, I continued to follow the Tweets coming out of Chapel Hill where  Colin Moran (Iona Prep 10') is still on fire and got the game winning base-hit and Rbi for UNC on Sunday. He leads the ACC in Rbi's. Great to see..

Running into a few of the Iona College players who I have known for a few years throws a mention out to Coach Carey and his Gaels. While the program has fallen on tough times the last few years. It looks like the once MAAC contender is getting back on track. A few of the locals,  Joe Smith  (Kennedy 10'),   Anthony Muccio (Stepinac 09'),  Eric Capowski (Stepinac 08') and  Anthony Castellitto  have all played major roles in the Iona resurgance. Great to See..

Today I stopped over at Iona Prep to watch practice and see if there was a game. What I got was a mixed bag. The JV was playing Malloy but the varsity was practicing as was the freshman team. It's no wonder Coach Gallo is in the mix every year. The fields were loaded with players. No shortage of talent this year for Gaels and there won't be for the next few years. Each teams roster was filled to the max with guys who I thought looked like good players. Coach Gallo's assistant coaches sure bring a lot to the table. Phil Salustio (Former Fordham U pitcher) and Ryan Mahoney (Carmel/ St John's catcher/1B) provide a wealth of baseball experience, from the Section 1 area to D1 baseball careers.Guys giving back. Great to See.....

I hope to see another local game over the next few days but on the weekend I will see Guilford Tech play JC powerhouse USC-Sumpter on Saturday. On Guildford's roster you can find 3 former Mahopac HS players. Joe Mercurio and Chris Erker (Mahopac 10') and Matt Petrone (Mahopac 09'). Matt his having another solid year hitting in the .400 range with enough stolen bases to lock him up for 10 years. Erker is the #2 starter GTCC and is posting an ERA of 2.76. He has a 2-1 record and 3 no decisions. Guilford plays in Region 10 NJCAA D1, one of the top JC conferences in the country. Great to See...

If you have information on some of the guys from the area that you would like to see here, drop me an email at allbaseball247@gmail.com