LaSorsa Perfect in Pro Debut

Iona Prep graduate Joe LaSosra pitched a perfect eighth inning in his pro debut for the Hudson Valley Renegades in a 7-3 New York-Penn League loss to the Vermont Lake Monsters in Burlington, Vermont, on Tuesday.

LaSorsa was selected in the 18th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, who assigned him to their Class A short-season affiliate in Hudson Valley.

LaSorsa pitched three seasons at St. John’s University before being drafted. He was 6-5 with a 1.66 earned run average in 2019.

 

MLB Draft Begins Tonight

The Major League Baseball Draft starts tonight with the first round and it’ll be interesting to see who is selected from the archdiocese.

One player to watch is Ricky DeVito, a junior pitcher from Seton Hall University who was the 2018 Big East Pitcher of the Year and an All-American. He also had a good summer in 2018 competing against college baseball’s top players in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

According to an MLB video, the graduate of St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School on Staten Island has a fastball that tops out at 94 miles per hour and he could be selected in the top five or six rounds of the draft.

Click here to see the video.

Espinal to Pitch on Cape Cod

Cardinal Spellman High School graduate Blake Espinal is on the 2019 Harwich Mariners roster to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League, the premier summer collegiate baseball league in the nation.

Espinal, a left-handed pitcher at Seton Hall University, is 3-4 with a 4.41 earned run average, striking out 30 in 32.2 innings this season. In 2018, he was 3-0 with a 2.08 earned run average, allowing 13 hits and striking out 15 in 21.2 innings.

Espinal is not the first Seton Hall player from the archdiocese to compete for Harwich. In 2018, St. Joseph by-the-Sea graduate Ricky DeVito pitched for Harwich after being named the Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year and a second-team All-American.

Orange County’s Cullen Dana, a graduate of Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, pitched for Harwich in 2017 and was a 30th round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft.

OLL Grad on MSG 150

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Julianne Viani is a member of the MSG 150 crew.

MSG 150, which debut on Monday and will continue throughout the summer, is a 150-minute sports and entertainment show airing at 8 p.m. on Monday through Thursday on the MSG Network.

Viani is joined on the MSG 150 crew of analysts by former Southern Illinois basketball player Camron Smith, former Tampa Bay Ray Fernando Perez, former Knick and Syracuse star John Wallace and former Georgetown basketball player Monica McNutt. Bill Pidto and Alan Hahn are the hosts.

Viani, who played professionally in Europe, was a basketball analyst for New York Liberty on MSG. She’s also a college basketball analyst for ESPN, CBS Sports Network, Pac-12 Network and Big Ten Network.

Viani played on three state championship teams in her four seasons at Lourdes, helping the Warriors finish her sophomore season ranked fourth in the USA Today national poll.

In 2007, she helped Marist College become the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball program to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

 

Iona Prep Grad Enters NBA Draft

Iona Prep grad Ty Jerome announced on Instagram that he’s forgoing his senior season at the University of Virginia to enter the 2019 NBA Draft.

One week earlier, Jerome finished with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds to help Virginia beat Texas Tech in overtime for the NCAA Division I title.

Jerome, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team pick, averaged 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and an ACC-high 5.4 assists per game.

Click here to see Jerome’s Instagram message.

 

Iona Prep Grad, Virginia Win Title

Iona Prep graduate Ty Jerome finished with 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists, leading the University of Virginia men’s basketball team to an 85-77 overtime victory over Texas Tech in the NCAA Division I title game on Monday night.

Jerome, a junior, earned a spot on the Final Four’s all-tournament team.

“We couldn’t be prouder of our Scholar-Athlete, who has proven himself time and again,” said Alex Malecki, director of communications & marketing at Iona Prep. “From a double-hip surgery that cost him a majority of his senior season, to last year’s humbling opening-round loss, Ty has demonstrated the faith, determination and perseverance–hallmarks of a Gael–in reaching the summit of college basketball Monday night. His alma mater is abuzz with excitement, and his accolades well-deserved.”

The Cavaliers scored 11 consecutive points in overtime to take an 81-73 lead with 23 seconds remaining.

Photo caption: Ty Jerome signs his National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Virginia on a scholarship.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IONA PREP

Jerome, Virginia Playing for Title

Iona Prep graduate Ty Jerome and the University of Virginia men’s basketball team will meet Texas Tech for the NCAA Division I title at 9:20 tonight in Minneapolis on CBS.

In the 63-62 semifinal win over Auburn on Saturday, Jerome finished with game-highs of 21 points and six assists. He had a team-high nine rebounds.

The junior was a second-team All-ACC pick for the 2018-2019 season and a third-team selection last season.