2005 All-Long Island Baseball

BY GREGG SARRA | STAFF WRITER
June 9, 2005
A look at the best of the best on Long Island's baseball diamonds this spring.

BILLY AGUIAR
Sachem East, Catcher, Senior
 Aguiar led the newly formed Sachem East varsity program to the district's first Suffolk championship in 18 years. The 6-foot, 195-pound backstop earned the Suffolk League I MVP award after he batted .576 with 12 doubles, 5 home runs, 24 runs scored and 37 RBIs in the regular season. The two-time All-County selection and Gold Glove winner slammed three playoff home runs, including one in a win over East Meadow in the Long Island Class AA championship game. Aguiar was hit by 11 pitches and walked 10 times for an on-base percentage of .656 and had a slugging percentage of 1.015. He threw out 85 percent of attempted base runners (8-of-9). He earned a full baseball scholarship to High Point University in North Carolina.

DAVE COLLADO
Copiague, Pitcher, Senior
 He earned the Suffolk League VI MVP award and led Copiague into the playoffs for the third year in a row. The 6-foot, 185-pound righthander has an overpowering 90 mph fastball and a devastating drop-down slider and curveball. He had a 7-3 record with 113 strikeouts and allowed nine walks and 28 hits over 63 innings. His ERA was 0.78. He batted .500 with 20 RBIs and 22 runs scored and was a threat on the bases, stealing 26 of 27 bases. According to Copiague coach Ben Bonaventura, Collado's career total of 394 strikeouts is a Suffolk record. He finished a four-year career with a 22-9 record and an ERA of 0.66, allowing 58 walks and 117 hits over 265 innings. He accepted a full scholarship to Okaloosa-Walton Junior College in Fort Walton, Fla.

BILLY GOODBODY
Babylon, Pitcher, Senior
 The All-County selection was the ace of a three-man pitching rotation considered to be the best on Long Island in 2005. The Panthers rode the right arm of Goodbody into the Long Island Class B championship game, where he struck out 14 in a 6-2 win over Cold Spring Harbor. He had a 9-1 record with 84 strikeouts through 71 innings and a 0.83 ERA. The 6-1, 205-pound righty tossed three shutouts and had two one-hitters. He batted .378 with 5 home runs, 32 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

CHRIS HERVEY
Smithtown, Centerfield, Senior
 The fleet-footed centerfielder covered a lot of ground for Smithtown the past three years. He led the Bulls to the Long Island Class AA final in 2004 and into the Suffolk Class AA title game this year. The 6-1, 185-pounder batted .438 in 27 games with 43 hits, including 9 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 25 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He had six assists in the outfield as the Bulls charged into the playoffs by winning 15 straight in Suffolk League I to grab a share of the title. He will play baseball on a partial scholarship at Indiana University.

NATE LAPE
Friends Academy, Outfielder, Senior
 He was one of the main cogs in a Friends baseball team that reached the Class C state semifinals for the second straight year. Lape batted .528 with 16 RBIs and led the Quakers to the Nassau Class C crown. The 6-5, 200-pound outfielder is a three-time All-County selection. He was the Nassau Class C MVP as a sophomore. Pitched 17 scoreless innings and had a 3-0 record in the postseason as a junior and earned the playoff MVP. He has accepted a baseball scholarship to North Carolina.

KEVIN MAHONEY
Miller Place, Shortstop, Senior
 The lefthanded slugger earned the Suffolk League VI MVP and finished with a .452 batting average. He was second in Suffolk with 11 home runs and added 12 doubles, a triple, 30 RBIs and 32 runs scored. The 5-11, 185-pound Mahoney led the Panthers to the Suffolk Class A title with an on-base percentage of .593 and a 1.048 slugging percentage. The three-sport athlete had excellent range at shortstop and shored up the middle of the field for Miller Place. He will attend Canisius College in Buffalo on a baseball scholarship.

BILLY MELILLO
North Shore, Pitcher, Senior
 The three-year All-County selection is the only two-time Newsday hifive! All-Long Island selection this year. He earned the Nassau Conference A-VI MVP award after compiling a 7-2 record, highlighted by a no-hitter over Glen Cove in the first round of the Nassau Class A playoffs. Melillo had an ERA of 1.01 and struck out 69 batters in 58 innings. Equally impressive as his pitching prowess are his offensive numbers. Melillo batted .512 with 12 extra-base hits, including six home runs, and 29 RBIs. He had an on-base percentage of .768 and a slugging percentage of 1.14. The big man also stole 34 bases.

STEVE MAZZURCO
Newfield, Outfield, Senior
 The power-hitting Mazzurco earned the Suffolk League III MVP award after he led Newfield to its first league championship in 21 years. The 5-11, 180-pound centerfielder batted .548 with 14 extra-base hits, including four home runs. He drove in 26 runs and scored 24 while compiling an on-base percentage of .688. The three-year starter was a two-time All-County selection. Mazzurco accepted a scholarship to play at Stony Brook University.

BILLY NEUBAUER
Sachem East, Outfield, Senior
 He became the leadoff hitter extraordinaire. Neubauer was the catalyst for one of Long Island's most prolific offenses. The 6-1, 180-pound All-County selection had a Sachem district career record of 13 home runs. He batted .343 with a slugging percentage of .881 and an on-base percentage of .500. He added 4 doubles, 1 triple, 21 RBIs and scored 28 runs. He made two spectacular catches against Smithtown in the Suffolk Class AA finals. The Gold Glove finalist made one error all season. He will attend Adelphi on a full baseball scholarship.

MATT PETITON
Garden City, Pitcher, Junior
 The 6-1, 175-pound lefthander finished the season with an 8-1 record and an ERA of 0.61. His one loss came in the playoffs against Glen Cove. The junior led Nassau with 104 strikeouts over 57 innings. He walked 17 batters and threw five shutouts, including three one-hitters and two two-hitters. He batted .437 and earned the Nassau Conference A-1 MVP award. The first baseman is also a three-time All-County selection and has a career pitching record of 23-4.

STEVE STEWART
Clarke, Shortstop, Senior
 The fireballing Stewart led the Rams to the Long Island Class A title with a win over Miller Place. He earned the Nassau Conference A-V MVP award after he compiled an 11-1 pitching record and batted .351. The 6-foot, 175-pound righthander struck out 113 batters in 76 innings and had an ERA of 1.93. He allowed 40 walks and 53 hits. Among his accomplishments were a no-hit pitching performance over Lynbrook and two one-hitters. He has accepted a full baseball scholarship to Molloy College.

MIKE TANSEY
Holy Trinity, Outfield, Senior
 The Titans began the season as the No. 5 seed in the CHSAA. But no team can ever be counted out of the playoff hunt when they have a dominant player like Tansey in the lineup. The 6-3, 195-pound senior was a finalist for the CHSAA Player of the Year Award after he batted .397 with 29 hits, including 9 doubles, 1 triple and a league-leading 6 home runs. The most impressive statistic were his 46 RBIs – the most of any player on Long Island. He added three wins on the mound with a 2.06 ERA. The four-year starter accepted a full scholarship to play for Stony Brook University.

STEVE VITALE
East Meadow, Shortstop, Senior
 He is the first player in school history (since 1957) to start as an eighth-grader for the Jets. The four-time All-County selection earned the Nassau Conference AA-II MVP this year after he batted .553 with 6 home runs, 29 RBIs and 30 runs scored. The 6-1, 180-pound shortstop also had 4 doubles, 2 triples and walked 21 times for an on-base percentage of .662. The Jets' No. 3 hitter in the lineup produced a slugging percentage of .978. The two-time All-State selection accepted a full baseball scholarship to play at St. John's University in the fall.

KYLE WALKER
Wantagh, Shortstop, Senior
 The slick-fielding shortstop made only two errors all season and earned the Nassau Conference A-III MVP for the second year in a row. He batted .548 with four home runs and 32 RBIs. The speedy Walker stole 16 of 17 bases and had an on-base percentage .668. At 5-9, 180 pounds, he was a long-ball threat that added 12 doubles and three triples. The ball jumps off his bat and half his hits were of the extra-base variety. He had a 3-0 pitching record with two one-hit shutouts. He struck out 15, including 10 in a row, in a win over Lynbrook. He had 32 strikeouts and two walks in 17 innings. He will attend C.W. Post on a baseball scholarship.

COACHES OF THE YEAR
TOM ABRUSCATO
Clarke (28-2)
 The Rams' head coach guided his team to a school-record 25 straight wins and the Class A state championship. Clarke has won the Nassau Class A title in two of the past three years and swept its way through the county playoffs this year. Abruscato has built a traditionally strong program and also was named to coach the Nassau All-Stars in the Vytra Grand Slam Challenge on June 18.

KEVIN SCHNUPP
Sachem East (24-6)
 He'll forever be known as the rookie coach who took a first-year varsity team to the state final, a 3-1 loss to R.C. Ketcham (Section I). Amid the turmoil created by the split of the Sachem School District, Schnupp and assistant coach Paul Trudnak did a fabulous job of creating a winning chemistry among their players. Sachem East earned a share of the Suffolk League I title and swept its way to the Suffolk Class AA championship, the school district's first county title since 1987. He was also named to coach the Suffolk All-Stars in the first Vytra Grand Slam Challenge.

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

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