2010 All-Long Island baseball team
JIMMY BRIGGS
Long Island Player of the Year
Lindenhurst
Outfielder, Senior
Briggs played with a torn meniscus in his left knee and a torn labrum in his right shoulder but didn’t miss one game. He batted .554 with 39 runs, five triples, five home runs, and 39 RBIs. He walked 30 times and had an on-base percentage of .683 to lead the Bulldogs to a 26-1 record, including a 21-game winning streak culminating with the state Class AA championship. Briggs won the Carl Yastrzemski Award, which goes to the outstanding high school baseball player in Suffolk County.
ANTHONY BRUNETTI
Nassau Player of the Year
Holy Trinity
Third base, Senior
More often than not, Brunetti was on base for the Titans. Brunetti, who will attend C.W. Post, batted .429 and had a spectacular .746 on-base percentage, not to mention 17 runs, three home runs and 22 RBIs. He added seven doubles and stole seven bases to help the Titans win the NSCHSAA championship. In the two-game sweep of St. John the Baptist in the title series, he reached based seven times in eight plate appearances.
Only 25¢ for 5 months
JIMMY BRIGGS
Long Island Player of the Year
Lindenhurst
Outfielder, Senior
Briggs played with a torn meniscus in his left knee and a torn labrum in his right shoulder but didn’t miss one game. He batted .554 with 39 runs, five triples, five home runs, and 39 RBIs. He walked 30 times and had an on-base percentage of .683 to lead the Bulldogs to a 26-1 record, including a 21-game winning streak culminating with the state Class AA championship. Briggs won the Carl Yastrzemski Award, which goes to the outstanding high school baseball player in Suffolk County.
ANTHONY BRUNETTI
Nassau Player of the Year
Holy Trinity
Third base, Senior
More often than not, Brunetti was on base for the Titans. Brunetti, who will attend C.W. Post, batted .429 and had a spectacular .746 on-base percentage, not to mention 17 runs, three home runs and 22 RBIs. He added seven doubles and stole seven bases to help the Titans win the NSCHSAA championship. In the two-game sweep of St. John the Baptist in the title series, he reached based seven times in eight plate appearances.
JOSH BARRY
MacArthur
Pitcher, Senior
The pitching Diamond Award-winner compiled a 7-1 record and a 0.89 ERA in 53 innings, striking out 79 and allowing only 25 hits. Barry helped lead MacArthur to the winningest record in Conference AA-I and helped stamp the Generals’ ticket to the county semifinal.
MATT DEMITROFF
Manhasset
Shortstop, Senior
The Boston College-bound infielder set the state record for career stolen bases on May 11, where he swiped his 134th base. He finished with 135. Demitroff hit .434 with a .736 slugging percentage and a .610 on-base percentage. He successfully stole a base in 89 percent of attempts.
MATT DYBUS
Wantagh
Pitcher, Senior
Dybus went 10-3 this season with a 1.47 ERA and 109 strikeouts. He hit .450, with 38 RBIs, six homers and 53 hits. Three of those home runs came in the playoffs. Dybus tossed a five-hitter in the Long Island Class A championship game and pitched a three-hitter and allowed one unearned run with eight strikeouts in the state semifinal.
MICHAEL HEWSON
Sayville
Outfielder, Junior
Hewson won the Blue Chip Prospects Silver Slugger Award given to Suffolk’s best hitter. He had school records with 13 home runs, 52 RBIs, 40 hits, and a .591 regular season average. Hewson batted .519?? and had a .610 on-base percentage. He had four multiple-homer games and hit safely in 19 of 23 games.
KENNY JACKSON
Connetquot
Outfielder, Senior
Jackson hit .433 (29-for-67) with two home runs and 26 RBIs. In the playoffs, he went 8-for-13 (.615) with one home run and nine RBIs, including a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning that gave Connetquot an 8-5 win over Commack in the Class AA Tournament. Jackson will play at Hofstra.
ED MACALUSO
Islip
Pitcher, Senior
The lefthander went 7-1 with a 1.50 ERA and won the Paul Gibson Award as Suffolk’s top pitcher. In 55 innings, he struck out 66 and finished his career with 25 wins. He threw his first career no-hitter in the Suffolk Class A quarterfinals in an 8-0 win over Rocky Point. Macaluso also hit .394 with two homers and 21 RBIs. He will play at Iona.
JON MCGIBBON
Longwood
First base, Senior
McGibbon, a four-year starter, was one of the key cogs in a potent Bulldogs offense. He hit .403 with 32 runs, six home runs, 29 RBIs, eight stolen bases and had a .583 on-base percentage. The Clemson-bound McGibbon, who was drafted in the 29th round by the Mariners, had a program-record 107 career hits.
CHRIS PIKE
Southampton
Pitcher, Senior
Pike went 10-0 with a 0.39 ERA and had two saves. In 68 innings, he allowed 18 hits, three earned runs, walked 12, and struck out 136. Pike also played shortstop and batted .447 with 12 doubles, 32 RBIs and 27 runs. He batted .454 in the playoffs with five runs and three walks as Southampton won the Long Island Class B championship for the second consecutive season. Pike threw two no-hitters.
DAN ROLAND
Oyster Bay
Catcher, Senior
The future St. John’s backstop hit .553, with a .893 slugging percentage, with 22 runs and 26 RBIs. The four-year starter added four home runs and helped lead Oyster Bay to a Nassau Class C title, their fourth straight, and 22-2 season.
FRANKIE VANDERKA
MacArthur
Pitcher/Outfielder, Senior
Vanderka went 5-1 with a 0.82 ERA and allowed only 28 hits in 491/3 innings pitched. He allowed only five earned runs all season and added 55 strikeouts to his 0.81 WHIP. The Stony Brook-bound senior also hit .314 with 13 RBIs and 12 walks.
BOBBY VITULANO
Hauppauge
Shortstop, Senior
Vitulano batted .552 (53-for-96) with 44 runs, 13 doubles, 11 triples, five home runs and 27 RBIs. He walked 18 times and struck out just five times. Vitulano, who will play at Iona, set a single-season program record with 53 hits.
BRYAN VERBITSKY
Island Trees
Outfielder, Senior
The two-time Diamond Award winner batted .411 with a .945 slugging percentage and .556 on-base percentage. He had 30 hits in 73 at-bats and led Nassau with 12 home runs. He added 36 RBIs. He went 4-1 as a pitcher with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.
MIKE CANOBBIO
Suffolk Coach of the Year
Lindenhurst
Canobbio guided Lindenhurst to a 26-1 season, including a 21-game winning streak to cap the year. The Bulldogs won their first state championship and first county title since 1963.
BOB MALANDRO
Nassau Coach of the Year
Holy Trinity
Malandro’s Titans won the NSCHSAA championship for the first time since 2003 by sweeping St. John the Baptist in the best-of-three finals. The Titans were the top seed and finished 20-6.
ALL-LONG ISLAND SECOND TEAM
Matt Benedetto, 1B, Wantagh, Sr.
Joe Pugliese, 1B, Plainedge, Sr.
Bobby Gazzola, IF, Longwood, Sr.
Mike Addeo, IF, Wantagh, Sr.
Tom D'Allesandro, IF, Hills East, Sr.
Matt LaRocca, IF, Ward Melville, Sr.
Dan Parisi, C, Longwood, Jr.
Matt Reistetter, C, Hauppauge, Sr.
Jake Thomas, C, Calhoun, Jr.
Ryan Sloane, OF, Clarke, Sr.
Mike Cruz, OF, Division, Sr.
Mike Blumenthal, OF, Hills West, Sr.
Rich Vrana, P, Lindenhurst, Sr.
Joe Christopher, P, Calhoun, Sr.
Matt Gavin, P, Smithtown East, Sr.
Brandon Haney, P, Kings Park, Sr.
Jake Robinson, P, OYSTER BAY, Sr.
Tyler Badamo, P, Mt. Sinai, Sr.
T.J. Pecoraro, P, Hills West, Sr.
Joe Siringo, P, Oyster Bay, Sr.
Kevin McCarthy, P, Kellenberg, Sr.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.