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Posts Tagged ‘University of Maine at Presque Isle’

Whidbey duo chase baseball dreams

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Oak Harbor’s James Besaw (left) and Coupeville’s Joey Lippo live the diamond life. (Photos courtesy Teresa Besaw)

United by baseball.

Living the hardball life often pulls Coupeville’s Joey Lippo and Oak Harbor’s James Besaw to different parts of the country, but then the diamond is just as likely to reunite them.

The duo, who first met when they were just a year old and their parents were in the Navy, are now in their second year as ballplayers at their respective colleges.

Where it all started.

Lippo suits up for the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he plays baseball and golf, while Besaw anchors the diamond team at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

With a new college baseball season kicking off, the pair, who grew up playing ball together on Whidbey, are slated to pass each other in the night this campaign.

Both of their schools are slated to compete in the RUSSMATT Central Florida Invitational Mar. 13-20, though Presque Isle and Wisconsin-Superior are not scheduled to play against each other.

But the diamond reunion gives moms Teresa Besaw and Connie Lippo, plus dad Jim Besaw, a chance to jet away to warmer climates during spring break and watch both young men play.

“It’s been fun to watch them grow up together,” Teresa Besaw said. “Especially watching Joey, who was once half James size, grow to be taller than James.

“Our schedules will be busy in Florida, but it will be fun to watch each other’s boys play college ball.”

Earlier days.

The week-long RUSSMATT Central Florida Invitational draws 250+ colleges each year, with teams from NCAA D-1, 2, and 3, as well as NAIA and JUCO squads.

Presque Isle is down to play five days, while Wisconsin-Superior is slated for six. Most days feature doubleheaders for the schools.

While Besaw and Lippo are currently playing for different colleges and repped different Whidbey high schools, they often played either together, or on rival teams, in little league, select baseball, and fall ball.

They also landed on the same roster during their time at Green River College in Auburn, where they played with Coupeville brothers CJ and Hunter Smith.

A little league reunion photo, featuring then-high school sophomores Besaw (back, second from right) and Lippo (bottom, far right).

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Joey Lippo tees off for a new adventure

Posted in Golf, tagged , , , , on August 31, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Four years after this pic was snapped, Joey Lippo (far right) is a college golfer. (Photo courtesy Mitch Aparicio)

Joey Lippo is the master of more than one kind of stick.

Fresh off a summer baseball season in a wood bat league, the Coupeville High School grad has returned to the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Only this time he’s hitting campus as a two-sport athlete, and not just a diamond dandy.

Lippo, who will be a sophomore on the Owl baseball squad next spring, will also rep UMPI, an NCAA D-III school, in golf.

He can play both since the links season runs in the fall.

“I decided to add golf to my resume in college because I’ve always loved playing golf with my dad and grandpa,” Lippo said. “And I thought it would be fun to play with my friends this fall.”

UMPI kicks off a seven-match regular season Saturday, Sept. 11, and things wrap up with the league championships in early Oct.

During his freshman baseball season at UMPI, Lippo led the Owls in at-bats (57), while tying for second in hits (15), RBI (7), and stolen bases (2).

He was third in total bases (17), runs (8), and batting average (.263) among regulars.

Lippo played baseball for the Lynnwood Llamas this summer in the Cascade Collegiate League, helping them finish 16-6 and win the league’s postseason title.

Back in his Coupeville High School days, Skyy’s twin brother played tennis, basketball, and baseball.

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Lippo travels to Title Town

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on August 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Joey Lippo contemplates the end of the summer baseball season, while twin Skyy gets ready for a long day of cheering. (Connie Lippo photo)

It’s not the Stanley Cup, but it’ll do.

Coupeville grad Joey Lippo springs from a hockey-mad family, but Sunday night he and his relatives celebrated a baseball title in style.

Taking two wins on the final day of the season, with a big assist from the former Wolf, the Lynnwood Llamas captured the Cascade Collegiate League crown.

After thumping the Snoqualmie Chinooks 14-2 in the semifinals, Lippo and Co. edged the Salem Salamanders 6-5 in the championship contest.

The Llamas finish 16-6 overall, while playing in a six-team wooden bat league featuring players from NCAA and NAIA baseball programs.

Lynnwood entered the playoffs as the #1 seed, yet almost didn’t have a full roster at game time.

With many players already returning to college, only eight of 22 Llamas were in uniform, but the day was saved when a ninth player showed up right before the first pitch.

Once on the field, Lynnwood dominated in the opener, getting big home runs from Drew Biggerstaff and PJ Moritz.

Lippo lashed a three-run double to break things open, staking the Llamas to a 10-1 lead, then closed out the mercy rule-shortened win by pitching the final inning.

Getting his arm loose would come up big for the former Wolf, who came on to pitch five innings of relief in the nightcap.

Holding Salem scoreless for the first four of those frames, before tiring a bit in the seventh, Lippo left the mound with a 6-4 lead and earned the victory.

He scattered five hits, and his best inning came in the top of the sixth, when he used just four pitches to set the Salamanders down 1-2-3.

Lippo, who reached base three times in the finale, is now off to the fishing hole before returning to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he’ll be a sophomore.

Time to go fishin’. (Photo courtesy Teresa Besaw)

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Have (wood) bat, will swing

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , , on July 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Whidbey grads turned college baseball players James Besaw (left) and Joey Lippo hang out at the ol’ ball field. (Connie Lippo photo)

Injuries are making life tougher than need be.

After roaring out to a 9-0 start to the summer season, the Lynnwood Llamas baseball squad has come back to the crowd a bit, going 5-6 since.

The Llamas, led by Coupeville grad Joey Lippo — one of the few Lynnwood players not to be injured or miss games — are still sitting pretty good at 14-6, with one week left in the regular season.

Lippo and Co. rebounded Sunday to beat the Seattle Sea Turtles 4-3, salvaging one win from a three-game series.

Lynnwood lost 6-0 Saturday, then fell 8-3 in Sunday’s first game.

The six-team Cascade Collegiate League, which features NCAA and NAIA players swinging away with wood bats, wraps its regular season August 1, with playoffs set for Aug. 6-8.

Lippo, who is heading into his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, did a little Shohei Ohtani impression, pitching and hitting against the Sea Turtles.

The former Wolf standout tossed four innings in the series opener, scattering four hits and giving up just a single unearned run.

Lippo picked up a pair of hits in the series, was plunked by a pitch, and added to his team-leading stolen base tally, while also patrolling center field and camping out behind home plate clad in catcher’s gear.

He made several strong throws while scampering around the wide open spaces, and also pulled in a catch while sliding.

With its roster a bit depleted by injuries, Lynnwood actually had to borrow a player from Seattle to field a full nine in the series finale.

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Lippo, Llamas still cream of the crop

Posted in Baseball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on July 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Joey Lippo (left), Skyy Lippo, and James Besaw have a reunion. (Teresa Besaw photo)

Always be ready.

Coupeville grad Joey Lippo had a busy weekend on the baseball diamond, showcasing his fleet feet, while also getting an unexpected chunk of work on the mound.

Friday, the former Wolf dashed home from third on a short pop-up in the ninth inning, tying the game and giving his Lynnwood Llamas hardball squad new life.

Once in extra innings, Lippo and Co. pulled out an 11-10 win over the Salem Salamanders in Cascade Collegiate League action.

While the victory, Lynnwood’s 13th of the summer, clinches a winning record for the Llamas, Saturday’s follow-up didn’t go quite as nicely.

Primed to play a doubleheader with the Salamanders, Lynnwood found itself in a bit of a bind when none of the team’s pitchers showed.

As in … absolutely none.

But after flipping some players around, including bringing Lippo in from center field to pitch, the Llamas put up a spirited fight while falling 6-2 and 3-2.

The losses drop Lynwood to 13-4 on the season, but the team remains atop the league standings.

Lippo threw five innings, scattering four hits while whiffing four Salamanders and giving up just a lone walk.

At the plate, he picked up a pair of hits, knocked in a run, and scored one during the weekend series.

The wood bat-using Cascade Collegiate League, which draws players from NCAA and NAIA schools, is a six-team conference with a 24-game schedule which runs between June and August.

Lippo will be a sophomore at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

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