Smithtown twin brothers Nick and Justin Harvey powering New Paltz baseball
Twin brothers Justin (left) and Nick Harvey from Smithtown are teammates on the New Paltz college baseball team playing in the ongoing NCAA Tournament. Credit: Jeff Harvey
A fifth-year baseball player at SUNY New Paltz this season would have endured a tumultuous first four seasons.
Between the four-game 2020 season that was canceled upon the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 season in which the Hawks ended 10 games under .500, New Paltz went 39-59 with zero State University of New York Athletic Conference tournament appearances. So when the Hawks qualified for the program’s first NCAA Div. III Tournament this season, it was that much sweeter for those who have been through it all.
Seniors Nick and Justin Harvey — fraternal twins and Smithtown East products — are fifth-year stars for the Hawks, who defeated Cortland twice on May 12 to claim the SUNYAC crown. New Paltz (31-14) earned the No. 3 seed in the Willimantic, Connecticut region and defeated No. 2 Eastern Connecticut State, 4-1, Friday. The Hawks were scheduled to play Endicott College Saturday afternoon but the game was moved to Saturday night due to inclement weather.
“It’s honestly surreal,” said Nick, a utility man who has played mostly leftfield. “The last few years, it’s been kind of tough for us, we’ve struggled a lot. To leave this program with this kind of historic [accomplishment], it’s really a crazy moment for all of us. It’s a lasting impact that I know I can look back at and remember for the rest of my life.”
“Honestly, it’s just unreal,” said Justin, a catcher/first baseman. “Being here for five years now, in our last year being able to finally get there and make a huge difference and pretty much set a legacy . . . it really means a lot.”
Justin entered the NCAA Tournament batting .291 with an .829 OPS, two homers and 36 RBIs. Nick was hitting .262 with an .803 OPS, four homers and 31 RBIs. Catcher Dillon Ristano (Hewlett), who entered Friday hitting .281 with four homers and 31 RBIs, is a fellow fifth-year player.
New Paltz swept Oswego in its final regular-season series, clinching the conference’s No. 2 seed. The Hawks faced Oswego again in a SUNYAC tourney opener and overcame a 10-run deficit for a 12-11 win, which was capped by Nick’s walk-off single to plate Justin.
Host and No. 1 seed Cortland sent New Paltz to the loser’s bracket with a 7-3 win on May 11. New Paltz answered hours later with a 4-3 win over Oswego — a fifth victory over Oswego in nine days — to set up the final against Cortland on May 12.
New Paltz beat Cortland twice, 11-3 and 15-1, to clinch the title. In the second game, Nick — who pitched 52 innings his first four years but opted not to pitch during the regular season this year to stay healthy — started and threw four innings with Justin catching.
“It’s just bringing you back to 12U baseball,” Justin said. “We have done it our whole lives and played a storybook ending, if you ask me.”
St. Joseph’s recap
After winning the Skyline Conference regular-season title by three games, St. Joseph’s (LI) playoff outlook became bleak after a conference tournament-opening loss to fourth-seeded Farmingdale State on May 10.
The Golden Eagles fell into the loser’s bracket and a scenario where they would have to win four games in two days to make the Div. III NCAA Tournament. They did exactly that and earned a third straight conference title and NCAA appearance.
St. Joseph’s, (33-12) and the No. 4 seed in this weekend’s Baltimore regional, lost 12-1 to No. 1 Johns Hopkins on Friday, and their season ended Friday night with a 4-1 loss to Ramapo College.
In the Skyline Conference tournament, St. Joseph’s defeated sixth-seeded Manhattanville, 13-2, and second-seeded USMMA, 10-0, on May 11.
The Golden Eagles then won a pair against Farmingdale State on May 12, 12-5 and 9-8. In the second game, St. Joseph’s lost an 8-2 lead, but, Marco Gullo (New Hyde Park) hit a walk-off sac fly in the bottom of the ninth to plate Anselmo Joya (Central Islip) with the game-winning run.
St. Joseph’s entire 36-man roster is made up of players from Long Island, including tournament MVP John Lynch (Oceanside/Holy Trinity) and all-conference first-teamers Joya, Mike DiFilippo (Connetquot), Peter Manger (Lindenhurst) and Dante Morabito (Patch- ogue-Medford).
Molloy makes super regional
A strong season for Molloy paved the way for the Lions to host an NCAA Div. II baseball regional for the second time in three years.
After winning three games in three days (May 9-11) to win its third East Coast Conference title in four years, Molloy (42-12) earned the No. 2 seed in the East Regional at Mitchel Field in Uniondale this weekend. Molloy blanked No. 7 seed New Haven, 6-0, in Thursday’s opener, and defeated Goldey-Beacom College, 5-0, on Friday.
Molloy went on to beat New Haven, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon to advance to the super regionals for the second time in three years.
The Lions have 29 Long Islanders on their roster, including ECC Pitcher of the Year Charlie Cucchiara (East Meadow) and all-conference first-teamers Gavin McAlonie (Miller Place), Patrick Sanchez (Merrick), JJ DeVito (Wantagh), Matt Yip (Herricks) and JC Kiss (Hicksville).
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
