Santos Shines for Fayetteville

Mount St. Michael Academy graduate Alex Santos turned in another strong effort during Fayetteville’s 7-1 victory at Augusta.

Santos allowed no hits, walked one and struck out eight over four innings for Fayetteville, the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

In her last two outings, Santos has surrendered no runs on two hits and two walks while striking out 14 over 7 ⅓ innings.

Santos has lowered his earned run average from 32.40 to 6.00 with his last two performances.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS

9 Iona Prep Stars Commit to Colleges

Nine Iona Prep School seniors committed to play college athletics during the 2022-2023 school year as part of Iona Prep’s fourth National Signing Day ceremony April 26.

Iona Prep now has 25 senior student-athletes–12 Division I, four Division II and nine Division III–committed to play in college.                                   

The following Iona Prep athletes committed to college athletics on April 26 with hometown, sport and college:

Division I

Peter Fasciglione, Harrison, Baseball, Notre Dame

Chris Milillo, Yonkers, Baseball, Wagner

Aidan Ionescu, Hartsdale, Crew, Drexel

John Khader, Yonkers, Track and Field, Iona

Division II

Cristian Rodriguez, Bronx, Baseball, Pace

Division III

Chris Foster, Yonkers, Football, Ithaca

Vito Gallello, New Rochelle, Baseball, Gettysburg

Conor Horan, Yonkers, Baseball, Manhattanville

Anthony Turner, Peekskill, Baseball, Springfield

PHOTO COURTESY OF IONA PREP

Ursuline Hosting Lacrosse Tourney

The Ursuline School is hosting the Ursuline Sister Schools Lacrosse Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Kelly Mac Field in New Rochelle.

Here is the schedule of games:

Friday, April 29

The Ursuline School vs. Ursuline Academy (St. Louis), 2 p.m.

Ursuline Academy (Wilmington, Del.) vs. Ursuline Academy (Dedham, Mass.), 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 30

(Games at 8:45 a.m.)

Ursuline Academy (St. Louis) vs. Ursuline Academy (Dedham, Mass.)

The Ursuline School vs. Ursuline Academy (Wilmington, Del.)

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE URSULINE SCHOOL

DeVito Earns First Win

St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School graduate Ricky DeVito picked up his first victory of the season in leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 4-3 victory over the Aberdeen IronBirds.

The Grasshoppers are a High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

DeVito, who was the Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year while at Seton Hall, allowed an earned run on three hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out two.

For the season, DeVito is 1-1 with a 2.89 earned run average.

Griffin Leaving Duke for NBA Draft; Davis Staying at North Carolina

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduates AJ Griffin and RJ Davis have chosen different paths for the 2022-2023 basketball season.

Griffin, who just completed his freshman season at Duke, has declared himself eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft, becoming the fifth member of the 2021-2022 Blue Devils to do so. Griffin, a projected lottery pick in the upcoming draft, started Duke’s final 25 games. He averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 45 percent from three-point range.

“I know a lot of kids grow up dreaming they could wear that Duke uniform and play in Cameron Indoor Stadium,” said Griffin in a statement released by Duke. “I was one of those kids growing up, and I am so grateful I had that opportunity. As I declare for the 2022 NBA Draft, I am filled with gratitude. It was an honor to play for Duke and represent The Brotherhood.  It was a dream come true. My experiences have helped prepare me for this moment and I am proud to know I will be a Blue Devil for life.”

RJ Davis, who just finished his sophomore season, will remain at North Carolina for at least one more year and will be one of three starters from the 2021-2022 NCAA DIvision I finalist to remain with the Tar Heels for next season. Davis averaged 13.5 points per game and had a team-high 142 assists in 2021-2022.

“RJ is Carolina Basketball,” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said following Davis’ announcement. “He’s one of the best players in the country on the court, in the classroom and the community. His smile, personality and character light up our team, our university and community. Nothing brings me more joy than having RJ back for another season.”

Griffin and Davis were a part of a historic meeting when Duke and North Carolina met at the 2021-2022 final four in New Orleans. It was the first time the two historic programs from campuses less than 10 miles apart played in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina won the battle before losing to Kansas in the championship game.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE UNIVERSITY

Leonard Leads All-State Picks

Msgr. Scanlan High School senior Jada Leonard earned first-team all-state honors in Class AA after averaging 20.2 points per game and leading her team to the CHSAA state title and state federation final.

Leonard is a 5-foot-10 shooting guard.

Here are the other Catholic high school players from the archdiocese to be recognized:

CLASS AA

Meghan Casey, Ursuline, fourth team; Simone Pelish, Our Lady of Lourdes, fourth team; Allie Falesto, Albertus Magnus, seventh team; Sierra Linnin, Albertus Magnus, eighth team; Rebecca Osei-Owusu, Msgr. Scanlan, ninth team; Ciara Crocker, Ursuline, 15th team; Sophie Nascimento, Ursuline, honorable mention; Karly Fischer, Albertus Magnus, honorable mention.

CLASS A

Danielle Williamsen, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, second team; Mackenzie Iannici, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, fifth team; Brooke Corbett, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, 12th team; Madison Crocco, St. Joseph Hill, 14th team; Taylor Lictro, Notre Dame Academy, honorable mention.

DeMaro, Maccia Net All-State Honors

John S. Burke Catholic High School’s Jake DeMaro and John F. Kennedy Catholic Prep’s Arturo Maccia earned all-state basketball honors from the New York State Sportswriters Association.

DeMaro, a 5-foot-8 junior, averaged 15.0 points per game in receiving fifth-team honors in Class B.

Also in Class B, Maccia was an honorable mention pick.

The state sportswriters association released its all-state selections for Class B, C and D. The Class AA and A all-state picks are scheduled to be announced on April 27.

Solid Outing for DeVito

St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School graduate Ricky DeVito pitched three strong innings of relief for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in a 5-4 loss to the Aberdeen IronBirds on Wednesday night.

The Grasshoppers are a High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

DeVito, who was the Big East Pitcher of the Year while at Seton Hall, allowed no earned runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out three.

For the season, DeVito is 0-1 with a 2.45 earned run average.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS

Velazquez Joins Angels

Fordham Prep graduate Andrew Velazquez completed his first full week with the Los Angeles Angels after the Angels called him up to the major league club April 12 to replace injured shortstop David Fletcher.

Velazquez is 3 for 20 with a stolen base and RBI for the Angels. He was hitting .313 with the Salt Lake Bees, the Class AAA affiliate of the Angels.

Last season, Velazquez was called up by the New York Yankees in July to replace the injured Gleyber Torres and hit .224 with 11 runs scored, four doubles, one home run, six RBI and four stolen bases.

A seventh-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2012 draft, Velazquez returned briefly to the minors in September but was on the Yankees playoff roster, and started at shortstop in the wild-card game against the Boston Red Sox.

Fletcher is on the 10-day disabled list with a hip strain and is eligible to return on April 22.

The Angels (6-5) open a two-game series tonight in Houston.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SALT LAKE BEES

Santos Pitches Well

Mount St. Michael Academy graduate Alex Santos bounced back from a tough outing with a strong effort in Fayetteville’s 11-3 loss to Salem April 15.

Thr Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Santos allowed no runs, two hits and one walk, and struck out six over 3⅓ innings. This effort followed his first outing of 2022 where he gave up six earned runs in 1⅔ innings. For the season, he’s 0-1 with a 10.80 earned run average.

Santos, 20, was selected by the Astros in the compensation round, 72nd overall, of the 2020 draft with the pick Houston received for the Yankees signing Gerrit Cole.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS