Lukas Egenhauser signs his Letter Of Intent to play Baseball at LeMoyne

Cimillo Named To Posey Watch List

Omaha, NE - Junior Nick Cimillo (Airmont, NY / Suffern) has been named to the the official watch list for the 2021 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, as announced by Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.

Cimillo, who was tabbed as the Preseason MAAC Player of the Year, hit .259 with five runs, three doubles, one home run, 13 RBI, one stolen base and five walks in last year's truncated season.

Sixty-nine catchers were nominated for the award by their coaches. Because the award is given annually to the top Division I collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 5, 2021.

The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 20, 2021. Ballots will be sent to the national voting committee at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 7, 2021. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at a date that is yet to be determined.

Because the Buster Posey Award strives to honor the top collegiate catcher in a season, a 2020 recipient was not named due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the collegiate baseball season.

Rockland Scholar-Athlete: Suffern's Andrew Ludwikowski

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Andrew Ludwikowski has already mastered the art of seeing the entire field.

The wide-angle viewpoint has enabled his success on the field at Suffern, where the senior just completed his second season as the starting goalkeeper for an improving soccer team.

“I ended up there back in elementary school because we didn’t have a goalkeeper at the time, but the position suits my personality,” Ludwikowski said. “I get to see everything as it happens and I get to have some control. There’s a thin margin of error because any mistake you make usually ends up with the ball going into the back of the net, but I’m up for that challenge.”

The ability to evaluate from a distance also played a role in an ongoing charitable effort.

Ludwikowski also happens to be a baseball standout for the Mounties and took note of his surroundings during family vacations to the Dominican Republic.

“Baseball is a way to escape poverty for a lot of people there,” he said.

The entire family has been collecting gear to distribute on return trips ever since.

“It happened spontaneously,” said Ludwikowski, who is the latest Rockland Journal News Scholar-Athlete of the Week. “It was something I realized looking out the window of a cab. Baseball means a lot to people there. I started gathering equipment and getting donations from teammates and friends. They value that stuff more than we do. I hand it out to people on the street or friends I’ve met over time who get it to kids who need it. We have bags and boxes of equipment ready to go and I’d love to continue when it’s OK to go back.”

There was no shortage of uncertainty this fall, but Suffern managed to get 10 games in.

“Our team was very young when I first got to varsity sophomore year,” Ludwikowski said. “I’ve been playing with many of the same players the last three years and that’s helped us play at a higher level. This year was a challenge, mostly because of the COVID situation. I was grateful to play as many games as we did, which is a testament to the hard work of teammates, coaches and the administrators who found a way to get us on the field. Our team was extremely disciplined because we saw the consequences. We had to avoid contact, even with people we really wanted to hang out with, so we limited everything to small groups."

There is a mix of optimism and anxiety for the remainder of the school year with the schedule in place likely needing an overhaul.

Losing another spring to the pandemic would be devastating.

“It’s difficult to deal with the uncertainty,” he added. “But I think all of the athletes here at Suffern have learned to deal with the reality of the situation.”

Ludwikowski ranks fourth in his class with a 4.19 GPA. He’s taking five AP classes and is nearly done applying to colleges.

“I’ve applied to 14 schools, mostly based on whether I have an opportunity to play baseball there,” he added. “I’ve been in contact with most of the coaches. Sports have been a part of my entire life so I can’t imagine not being part of a team.

NICK CIMILLO Named Captain for the 2020 season as a sophomore

• POSITION

• Catcher/Outfielder

• HEIGHT

• 6-3

• WEIGHT

• 210

• CLASS

• Sophomore

• HOMETOWN

• Airmont, NY

• HIGHSCHOOL

• Suffern

• BIO

• RELATED

• STATS

• HISTORICAL

Biography

2019 Freshman Year

MAAC Rookie Of The Year

Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American

All-MAAC First Team

MAAC All-Rookie Team

One of the top player in the MAAC … Third in the MAAC with a .350 (78-of-223) average, 78 hits (3rd MAAC), 12 doubles, seven home runs (9th MAAC), 36 RBI, 36 runs and 20 walks … Posted a .498 slugging percentage and a .417 OBP (5th MAAC) with 111 total bases (4th MAAC) … Registered a team-leading 28 multi-hit and nine multi-RBI games, with a team-best 15 game hitting streak … Started all 59 games … During league play, hit a MAAC-best .404 and was second with 36 hits ... Hit safely in 23-of-28 games against league opposition ... At the MAAC Tournament, batted a blistering .412 (7-of-17) with a home run, double, six RBI and four runs over four games … Began the tournament by going 2-for-4 with a home run and a career-high four RBI in win over Marist (5/22) … Followed that up with the eventual game-winning two-run single in upset of top-seeded Canisius (5/22) … Went 3-for-4 with two runs against Quinnipiac (5/25), before concluding his stellar rookie year with a double and a run vs. Fairfield (5/25) … Named MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week after hitting a scorching .636 (7-of-11) over three games at George Washington (3/2-3/3), with a double, home run, four runs and three RBI … Reached base safely in five trips to the plate in game one against the Colonials, finishing 4-for-4 with a walk … Followed that up with a solo homer in game two, before going 2-for-4 with two runs and two walks in the finale … Also batted .636 (7-for-11) in series victory at Monmouth (4/27-4/28), finishing up with six RBI, three multi-hit performances and two runs … Registered two hits in all three games of series sweep of Siena (4/13-4/14), going 6-for-11 (.545) at the plate, with a double, home run, four runs and two RBI … Fueled by a pair of three-hit performances, batted .500 (7-of-14) with three runs and three RBI against Marist (4/19-4/20) … Went 5-for-9 with a home run, two RBI and two runs in doubleheader split at Appalachian State (2/24) … Reached base safely in all four games at NCAA College World Series participant Michigan (3/14-3/17), while homering en route to registering five hits …Hit .455 (5-of-11) over three games at Canisius (3/31-4/1) with two home runs, a double, three runs and two RBI … Opened his career with a back-to-back multi-hit performances against Sam Houston State (2/15) and Virginia Tech (2/16) … Had three hits in series sweep of Iona (4/6-4/7) and in doubleheader at Army West Point (4/10) … Notched a pair of hits at Wagner (4/24), in win at Rider (5/3), victory against Saint Peter’s (5/11) and at Quinnipiac (5/17).

Scholastic/Personal

Played his prep ball at Suffern High School under the direction of Chris Michie … Earned three letters for the Mounties … Named 1C League Player of the Year in each of his final two years … Named Suffern Athlete and the Rockland County Athlete of the Spring in 2018 … Also earned All-Section honors as a junior and a senior … Three-time All-League selection … Played travel ball for the Rockland Royals under the tutelage of Jared and Vinny Randazzo … Born on February 23, 2000 … Son of William and Kelly Cimillo … Has two sisters: Samantha and Taylor … Is undecided on a major at Manhattan.

3 Mounties sign their "Letter of Intent" for 2020/21

Alex Morrissey- Fairleigh Dickinson University

Lou Saviano- The College of Mount Saint Vincent

Daniel Strysko- SUNY Plattsburgh

Tony DeFrancesco will finish the 2019 season with the NY Mets. He was the AAA coach for the 2019 season in Syracuse. https://www.facebook.com/Mets/videos/336300490411561/

Latest on Mets manager search: Tony DeFrancesco has interviewed and could still be in mix

The Mets' interview process has reached the third round

After parting ways with Mickey Callaway, the Mets are searching for a new manager. Here's the latest...

Oct. 29, 8:59 AM:

Tony DeFrancesco has interviewed for the Mets' managerial opening and could still be in the mix, reports SNY's Andy Martino.

DeFrancesco has been the Mets' Triple-A manager since 2018 -- in Las Vegas in 2018 and in Syracuse in 2019 after the team relocated.

In 2012, DeFrancesco had a stint as the Astros' interim manager, going 16-25 during a season where the Astros finished 55-107.

The 56-year-old DeFrancesco started his managing career in 1994 and has also coached in the majors (with the Athletics as third base coach in 2010). He was the manager for Triple-A Fresno from 2015 to 2017 (in the Astros' farm system) and won the Baseball America Minor League Manager of the Year award in 2015.

5 Mounties sign their "Letter of Intent" for 2019/20

Jack Scanlon- Oregon

Dylan Hoy- Marist

Kenny Dodson- Canisus

Tyler Edelman- Ithaca

Mike Sepulveda- RCC

RON GAMMA WILL BE INDUCTED INTO THE NEW YORK STATE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

ON NOVEMBER 18, 2018 AND THE SUFFERN HS HALL OF FAME ON DECEMBER 29TH 2018

CLASS OF 2018 INDUCTEES :

"GARY COHEN: SPORTSNET, BROADCAST MEDIA,METS

• KEITH HERNANDEZ: CARDINALS,METS,SPORTSNET

• BILLY MARTIN *: N.Y. YANKEES, TWINS,RANGERS, TIGERS,ATHLETICS

• MICKEY MANTLE*: NEW YORK YANKEES.......COOPERSTOWN HALL of FAME RECOGNITION​

• RON SWOBODA: NY METS, NY YANKEES, *WORLD CHAMPION 1969 METS​

• RICH AURILIA : SF GIANTS, MARINERS, St.Johns

• MATT GALANTE, HOUSTON ASTROS , YANKEES, METS

• JOE NATHAN : TWINS, TIGERS, RANGERS

• TOM HALLION: MLB UMPIRE

• SPECIAL RECOGNITION

• BILLY HARRELL*: INDIANS, RED SOX .........

• KEN BRETT*: RED SOX, ROYALS, PIRATES,

• JOHNY EVERS*: CUBS, COOPERSTOWN BASEBALL HALL of FAME * DECEASED STATEWIDE:

• JOHN SOTTILE: NORTH ROCKLAND HIGH

• RON GAMMA: SUFFERN HIGH,ROCKLAND COUNTY

• JOE ALTERI: ALBANY ATHLETICS

• DARNELL BAKER: SF GIANTS organization​

• JOE FARINACCI: UMPIRE

Pictured with Coach Gamma:

Former Coach, Tony Mastandrea- Steve Dugandzic- Former AD, Bob Buono- Coach Chris Michie

Nick Cimillo Rockland County Spring Male Athlete of the Season 2018

From dugout, Weiss looks to build more Braves memories