Baseball Signs Three to National Letters of Intent

11/22/04 -- Long Island University baseball coach Frank Giannone has announced the signings of John Massoni (Staten Island, N.Y.), Steven Morreale (Freehold, N.J.) and Anthony Amatucci (Toms River, N.J.) to National Letters of Intent for the 2006 season.

Massoni is coming off an exceptional junior season for St. Peter’s Boys High School in which the left-handed pitcher went 6-1 with a 2.57 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 47 innings to lead the Catholic High School Athletic Association.

The 6-1 three-year starter notched six of his team's nine league victories, hit .434 with 20 RBI and was cited first team all-area by Newsday and the Staten Island Advance. Massoni played club ball for the Bergen Beach Athletics the last two years, posting a combined 18-1 record including 12-0 in 2003.

Morreale, also a starter since his freshman campaign, hit .478 as a junior last spring for Freehold Boro High School and was named all-district. The 6-1 third baseman has compiled 71 hits and 45 RBI in his varsity career and in 2002 was tabbed a “Freshman to Watch” by the Star-Ledger.

Morreale was a club teammate of Massoni last year, hitting .415 last fall with 14 RBI.

Amatucci, a 6-1 left-handed pitcher and outfielder, batted .407 last spring with 22 RBI for Toms River South High School. He played last summer for the Toms River Black Sox club team, notching a 7-0 record with a 1.25 ERA over 40 innings. He helped the team close four in last summer's Jersey Shore Fall League.

Also a member of the track team, Amatucci is ranked seventh in his class of 351 students, scored 1280 on his SAT and is a member of the National Honor Society.