Former Commack Baseball Star 'On Fire'

Daniel Paccione collected three more hits Wednesday for the Farmingdale State baseball team.

After a season that began with the Commack junior infielder on the bench, Paccione has emerged as one of the hottest hitters in the nation.

The Rams won for the 10th time in 11 games, a 9-2 victory over New Jersey City University. And they did it with contributions on offense, in the field and on the mound. Paccione, batting sixth and playing first base, scored a run, drove in a run and stole a base in the win.  

But Paccione has only cracked the lineup in the last four games. He's hitting .714 (10-for-14) during that stretch with 8 RBI and was named Skyline Conference co-Player of the Week. 

That included a 2-homer, 7-RBI performance in a doubleheader sweep of Maritime Sunday.

"He's on fire," Farmingdale State Coach Keith Osik said. "He's a kid who has bided his time. He's worked hard. He's done everything we've asked of him. He's at times pushed to play. To crack our lineup you have to perform and so far he's performed real well for us."

Paccione, an All-Suffolk pick in high school, has worked his way from afterthought to relevance, playing in 13 of 24 games. He’s batting .480 (12-for-25) with 2 homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs this season.

In the last week alone, he's played third base, DH and first.

The Rams (15-9 overall, 7-1 Skyline) have 12 games remaining in the regular season. Osik and Co. have a sixth straight conference title in their sights.   

So long as Paccione keeps contributing, Osik will find him a spot in the lineup.

Editor's note: Jason Molinet is an adjunct professor at Farmingdale State College.