Here’s a few quick thoughts from Ryan Pennell. I never followed through yesterday after I spoke to him.

First off, he had around 10 offers total, including St. John’s and Duke. Some of the others I had mentioned did not make offers as formal, but had expressed heavy interest (Wake, Louisville, etc.). He was very impressed by Elon’s determination. The Phoenix seemed to be everywhere he pitched this summer, and their efforts did not go unnoticed by the Pennell clan.

“Every game I pitched, they were there, which helped a lot,” said Pennell, who will join former Pleasantville pitcher Ken Ferrer and Stepinac slugger Alex Maruri at Elon. “It showed they were very interested. No matter where it was, whether it was in Virginia or Georgia, they were there.”

Pennell made his decision, in part, because he knew all the offers wouldn’t last forever. Although he was sought after, he believed the time to strike had arrived. “It seemed like the perfect opportunity at the right time.”

For the full story, read what I wrote about Pennell for today’s paper.

Mamaroneck catcher Mike Rosenfeld became the third member of the LoHud’s Big Three (2010 edition) to decide where he’ll play ball in college. The senior slugger has picked Duke, where he’ll join head coach Sean McNally, the Rye High School product.

I’m scheduled to talk to Rosenfeld later today and I will check back in with his thoughts afterward. Why did he pick Duke? What other schools offered? Was he close anywhere else, etc.?

As always, if you’re a senior-to-be and you picked a school, shoot me an email and let me know. E-mail: jthomson@LoHud.com

A few days ago I wrote about the spirited chase for Ryan Pennell. It appears the Rye Neck star has ended that chase, choosing to pitch for Elon.

I confirmed it earlier tonight with Pennell, who had received offers from more than 10 schools since July 1.

I’ll have more from Pennell about his decision tomorrow.

One part of research that was a little lost in Tuesday’s Behind the Scenes story is the fact that the recruitment of Ryan Pennell (above) has really exploded in the last three weeks. I wanted to provide a little more detail on Pennell here.

1. Pennell has received nearly a dozen offers already. And they are not from podunk programs. I was told Pennell has received offers from: Wake Forest, Louisville, Michigan, Duke, Jacksonville, Coastal Carolina, High Point, Elon, Winthrop, and Manhattan.

2. LSU is in the mix. And, as I mentioned in the story, the defending national champ has dispatched a key member of its staff to watch the Rye Neck senior-to-be pitch a couple times. All signs point to the Tigers liking him, too.

3. His phone has been busy. Pennell has been besieged by calls since the latest recruiting period began on July 1. It has actually made the process more complicated than he originally anticipated. “It’s pretty overwhelming,” he said.

4. He could end up anywhere. His coach, Joe Mercurio, told me Pennell won’t necessarily end up at the highest-level program available to him. Baseball, of course, is different than basketball or football. Every offer is different. A smaller program may offer him close to a 100 percent scholarship. A larger program may be half as much. As with any star player, don’t read the list of colleges and think any program is out of the picture.

5. Pennell hopes to decide in the next six weeks, but… . As the lefty tries to wrap his mind around the numerous opportunities, the choice grows more and more difficult. Here’s what he said about making a final decision: “I wanted to make a decision by around when school starts, but I don’t want to rush it.”

Many of you have asked for more on the summer baseball circuit. It isn’t exactly results, but I delved into the topic for a story in today’s paper. There are various levels a player can choose to play summer ball now. Some teams are nearly free. Others can cost upwards of $3-4-5,000. But it’s safe to say the more major tournaments a player competes in, the more looks he will get from scouts.

Indeed, showcases and major showcase tournaments have changed summer baseball forever, it seems. The story takes a look at how.

Read about the interesting case of Pat Farina, who went from a player with few, if any, options to one with $40,000 in scholarship money.

I’ll have more either later today or tomorrow on the recruitment of Ryan Pennell, who has been besieged by phone calls from colleges since July 1.

If you know Pat Massaroni (left) at least a little, and I do, you know, at minimum, these three things about him: 1. He loves baseball; 2. He loves local sports (Stepinac in particular); and 3. He doesn’t have a bad bone in his body.

Unfortunately, his life took a terrible turn yesterday. I received an e-mail this morning from Stepinac AD Mike O’Donnell. Reportedly, Massaroni, a 21-year-old former Stepinac pitcher, was one of nine people caught in a house fire Sunday morning on the Jersey Shore and was severely hurt.

Reports said he was the most severely injured of all the victims. He reportedly suffered severe burns and was airlifted to the burn center in Livingston, N.J. from the house in Toms River where he spent the night. He and other had been there for a 21st birthday party.

Massaroni was listed in critical condition on Sunday. You can read more about this terrible story here, here and here.

I know many of you out there know Pat, so I wanted to pass along the news. I hope everyone keeps Pat in their thoughts. Here’s hoping for his speedy recovery.

I talked to Suffern star Robbie Aviles earlier tonight and we discussed a few things, including: 1. His college choice and 2. His (fractured) pitching hand. Here are the updates…

— Aviles has committed to the University of Florida. The rumors are true. The hard-throwing right-hander chose Florida. I asked him why and he told me he always liked the school. He rooted for the Gators in football and basketball and knew they had a strong baseball program. His father, Brian, looked into it and told Robbie he approved of head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who is from Goshen, and how the Gators handle their pitchers. The rest is now history.

“They were always my No. 1 option,” Aviles said.

He received interest from several other powerhouses, schools like Clemson, South Carolina and UNC. He told me he was “100 percent committed to Florida,” and that he expects to make an official visit this fall during the World Wood Bat Championship in Jupiter, Fla.

— Aviles’ hand is healed. As you may’ve read, he suffered a fracture in his hand. It was his pitching hand, and he told me he suffered the injury playing pickup basketball with his friends. He missed a few weeks but returned two weeks ago. He pitched in a tournament recently for the Rockland Astros.

“Now I’m building up my arm and doing whatever I can,” Aviles said.

I’ll have more on Aviles on Thursday.

I also didn’t have an opportunity to link to Monday’s feature on Zack Tax, the Rye Country Day senior-to-be.

The story focuses on how well Tax has pitched and played despite having to tend to his Type I diabetes. As you can see in the photo above, Tax can never forget it while he pitches, try though he might.

Tax has developed into a serious Division I prospect, using two arm angles (3/4 and side) and improving velocity to baffle hitters for both RCDS and his summer and fall club, the New York Nine. From everything I have heard and read, he has continued to flourish this summer after setting the single-season strikeout record at RCDS. Tax, if he gets there, would be the first Division I player in RCDS program history.

Anyway, give it a read and let me know what you think.

First, I hope everyone had a chance to check out our postseason honors. If not, you can find them by surfing this post.

Second, I’d just like to share a few links from when I was away. The wife and I celebrated our first anniversary over the weekend in DC, so I was out of town. Here’s what I missed:

— Final state rankings: Obviously, Mamaroneck finishes No. 1. Dobbs was No. 2 in B. Somers and Keio both finished fifth. The highest-ranked non-champs? Lakeland and Kennedy, which were No. 8 in Class A and B respectively.

— All-state picks: Sean Hagan of Mamaroneck (Class AA), Dan Zlotnick of Somers (Class A), Ryan Pennell of Rye Neck (Class B) and Kenta Miyoshi and Takaho Chubachi of Keio (Class C) were the Section 1 players who were named first-team all-state. Several more were honored, so click on the link above. … None of the local players were state players of the year, but Mike Chiapparelli took home his second straight Class AA coach of the year award.

— Sean Hagan wins athlete of the month award. It was a banner senior year for Hagan, who was the state hockey player of the year and Section 1’s pitcher of the year. Modell’s honored Hagan for his achievements on Monday at Yankee Stadium. He was named Modell’s Local Athlete of the Month.

— All-sports award debuts. The New York state sportswriters debut their rankings of athletic departments for the 2008-09 season. It focuses on results in state tournaments across all sports. Bronxville was ranked as the top Class B athletic department in the state this school year thanks to its incredible cross country and track programs and a state boys soccer championship. Mamaroneck finished third in Class AA thanks to its state baseball crown and Rye finished fourth in Class A thanks to its state football title. Mamaroneck also tied Orchard Park for first in Class AA in the boys-only rankings.

It’s an interesting idea anyway. Check it out. Jake wrote a story about the honors.

As I said yesterday, today is the debut of the Westchester/Putnam all-star and Rockland all-county teams in the newspaper and here on LoHud.com. Here are some quick details and some links:

WESTCHESTER/PUTNAM — Our player of the year was Matt McGovern of Mamaroneck. The senior finished his career strong, leading the Tigers to a second straight Class AA state championship with his play at the plate and on the mound. McGovern also received the top honor on this side of the river. He was named our athlete of the season for all sports.

Ted Huffman of Dobbs Ferry was named coach of the year after leading the Eagles to a surprising appearance in the Class B state final.

Here is the link to the rest of the Westchester/Putnam first-team all-stars, as well as the second-teamers and honorable mentions.

ROCKLAND — Our player of the year was Jim Brennan of Suffern. Before the senior was picked by the Tigers in the MLB draft, he led the Mounties both at the plate, in the field and on the mound.

Phil Carbone of Nanuet was named coach of the year. The Golden Knights finished the regular season 16-3.

Here is the link to the rest of the Rockland first-team all-county, as well as the second-teamers and honorable mentions.