DeVito, La Sorsa Finish Summer in Cape Cod Baseball League Playoffs

Ricky DeVito and Joe La Sorsa completed their Cape Cod Baseball League seasons as members of the Harwich Mariners, who lost in the opening round of the playoffs to the Chatham Anglers.

DeVito was 1-1 with a 2.45 earned run average, giving up 27 hits and 13 walks, and struck out 35 in 29 1/3 regular-season innings. In one playoff game, he struck out four in three innings.

DeVito is the 2018 Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year and a second-team All-American. The graduate of St. Joseph by-the-Sea on Staten Island is a pitcher for Seton Hall University.

La Sorsa pitched 23 1/3 innings of relief, finishing 3-2 with a 5.78 earned run average. He allowed 26 hits and nine walks, and struck out 25. In one playoff game, he surrendered one earned run and struck out seven in 3 2/3 innings.

La Sorsa, a graduate of Iona Prep, is a pitcher for St. John’s University.

DeVito Continues to Excel on Cape

St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School graduate Ricky DeVito scattered four hits and struck out 10 over six innings in leading the Harwich Mariners to a 4-1 victory over Falmouth in Cape Cod Baseball League action.

DeVito has allowed zero earned runs and struck out 18 over 12 innings in his last two outings. The 19 year old pitcher from Seton Hall University, who was voted Big East Pitcher of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2018, is 1-1 with a 2.21 earned run average for Harwich.

The Cape Cod Baseball League is considered one of the top collegiate, wooden-bat summer leagues in the country. Over 300 players on Major League Baseball rosters in 2017, including Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, once played in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Nine members of the 2017 Yankees and six 2017 Mets played in the Cape Cod league.

Tom Cosgrove Update

Msgr. Farrell High School graduate Tom Cosgrove is 2-4 with a 4.76 earned average for the Midwest League’s Fort Wayne TinCaps, a full-season Class A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

In 70 innings, Cosgrove has 67 strikeouts. In his last outing on July 13, he allowed one earned run over six innings in a 4-2 loss to Cedar Rapids.

Cosgrove was a 12th round pick of the Padres out of Manhattan College in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. Cosgrove pitched three seasons at Manhattan.

 

Iona Hires Panik as Baseball Coach

Paul Panik has been named head baseball coach at Iona College, the college announced on Monday.

Panik was the Gaels hitting coach in 2017 when Iona reached the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time since 2000. He also made stops as an assistant coach at the University at Albany, 2018; Canisius College, 2015-2016; Niagara University, 2014; Butler University, 2013, and Western Connecticut State University, 2012.

“We are excited to have Paul join our staff as our new head baseball coach,” said Iona Athletic Director Matthew Glovaski in a press release. “Paul brings tremendous experience, passion and vision to the program and I am eager to see the program succeed in all facets under his direction.”

Panik is a graduate of John Jay High School in Dutchess County and played baseball for four seasons at Canisius.

 

Giants Pick Manhattan Catcher

Manhattan College catcher Fabian Pena was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 25th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.

Pena just completed his junior season and hit .255 with six home runs and 36 RBI for the Jaspers, who finished with a 25-28 record. He started all 53 games for Manhattan in 2018.

Pena, the 736th overall pick in the draft, is a graduate of Calusa Prep in Miami.

 

 

Iona Prep Grad Drafted by Pirates

Brad Case, a graduate of Iona Prep, was drafted Wednesday by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round, becoming the first graduate of an archdiocese Catholic high school to be selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft.

Case, the 504th pick overall in the draft, had a 5-6 record with a 3.46 earned run average in 2018 for Rollins College in Florida. In 96.1 innings, he allowed 37 earned runs on 106 hits and struck out 74.

 

Cluess Receives Extension at Iona

Iona College men’s basketball coach Tim Cluess received a three-year contract extension that will keep him at the college in New Rochelle through the 2024-2025 season.

“The support the Iona College community, alumni and all of Gael Nation shows our program year in and year out makes Iona a special place for the coaching staff, myself and my family,” said Cluess in a press release. “Additionally, the continued support shown by President (Joseph) Nyre, (Athletic Director) Rick Cole and our entire administration continues to push our program to reach new heights. I look forward to adding to the legacy and further growth of Iona basketball.”

Cluess has coached the Gaels to the NCAA tournament in each of the last three seasons, joining Gonzaga and South Dakota State as the only mid-major programs to compete in the last three NCAA tournaments.

Iona has won at least 20 games and competed in a national postseason tournament in each of Cluess’ eight seasons. His 182 wins and .664 winning percentage give Iona the highest win total and winning percentage of the 23 NCAA Division I programs in the New York Metropolitan area.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IONA COLLEGE