News by Tom Barton
News by Tom Barton on South Shore Press
Another Long Islander Heads to the NFL
Lapp was a part of Suny Cortland's winning national team leading the Red Dragons to their first Division-III NCAA national championship back in December 2023. Lapp's teammate Cole Burgess also was signed by the Bengals. Those two receivers combined for 30 touchdowns last season.
Alone in First
Kings Park has been a machine lately on the mound. Aside from just Colagrande this staff has shut down their opponents at a near record rate. King Park now has seven straight games where they have allowed 1 run or less. They have outscored their last 7 opponents by a ridiculous 63-2 margin. Kings Park will try to keep that streak going when they take on Islip, Longwood, and Bayshore-Bluepoint to end their regular season.
Perfect-0
Longwood demolished RIverhead in the three game set and first place is secure as the season is winding down. The Lions sit at 11-2 after their impressive run of wins. They have strung together 6 straight wins where they have outscored their opponents 70-9.
Hunter Colagrande is Nearly Perfect
Not only did Colagrande pitch a no hitter in the effort but he only walked one batter all game. Over the complete game he struck out 14 as he baffled Hampton Bays all day. What's even more eye popping is this is Colagrande's second no no of the season and this brought him up to a Suffolk County leading five wins on the season. He has struck out eight or more batters in all five outings so far and his overall season statistics seem almost unbelievable. His numbers read like a video game. 30 innings pitched with 49 strikeouts. He has allowed just seven hits in those starts and just seven walks. That brings his WHIP to a tidy 0.35 and his ERA is an absolutely perfect 0.00.
Goncalves Goes in the 3rd
Long Island was all smiles when they heard these memorable words on Friday night. "With the 79th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft the Indianapolis Colts select offensive tackle Matt Goncalves." Those words will now be forever entrenched into Long Island sports lore as the Suffolk native goes to the NFL.
Caleb Williams is Moving Markets
Williams had long been speculated to be the top selection this season, even going back two seasons when he won the Heisman Trophy. The Bears made any doubts of who they would choose to be their new signal caller obsolete when they dealt their former first round pick Justin Fields away this offseason to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, when draft day was upon us and we saw a -1000000 next to Williams name to be called first, there was little suspense. And yes, that is six zeros.
Vegas Baby, Vegas!
Laube seems like the perfect fit for the Raiders as a pass catching threat out of the backfield, and really he is THE pass catching threat at running back in this draft class. Laube received the 3rd best grade among RBs in this class by Pro Football Focus and that was low according to many scouts. Laube is a low to the ground runner, who has tremendous balance and quick feet. The Raiders are a team that have traditionally used versatile running backs and head coach Antonio Pierce is no exception.
Goncalves Goes in the 3rd
The 6 foot 6, 330 pound tackle out of Pitt seemed to be the Colts target all along. Indianapolis traded up from the 82nd pick to the 79th, giving Arizona a 6th rounder to get their man. Goncalves is likely going to be a swing lineman for the Colts next season. He has experience at both tackle spots, playing 11 games at left tackle and 13 at right tackle, but can also move to the inside in the NFL. The Colts see him as an elite pass protector after he allowed just 3 sacks in 900 pass block attempts in college. And in fact, all 3 of those sacks came as a freshman, he didn't give up one since then.
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.
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