2 Ex-Sachem Baseball Stars Named To 'All-Decade' Team

FARMINGVILLE, NY — Two Sachem alum have been named to Axcess Baseball's "All-Decade" team as part of the second team. Dan Hetzel, an outfielder who graduated from Sachem High School East in 2013, was honored with the distinction on Monday, along with second-baseman Alec Sole, who graduated from Sachem High School North in 2011.

Bryan Vaccaro, former teammate and current assistant coach for the Sachem East varsity team, told Patch on Monday he played one year on varsity with Hetzel. Vaccaro was a senior at the time Hetzel was a sophomore.

"Even from a young age you got the sense he was going to be a stud," said Vaccaro. "Different sound off his bat."

Vaccaro added that Hetzel brought power to all fields.

Hetzel went on to play college ball as an outfielder at New Mexico State University. As a junior in 2016, he led the Western Athletic Conference in RBI with 56 and finished the season with a .278 batting average and six home runs.

Hetzel told Patch on Monday it was "pretty cool" to receive the distinction, adding that it was a surprise.

"It's an honor to be recognized along with some other great players," he said.

For as impressive as Hetzel's baseball career was, Sole's was even more accomplished. He reportedly helped Sachem North win a Suffolk County Class AA Championship during his senior season in 2011 and won the Carl Yastrzemski Award, which is given to the county's best baseball player.

Sole went on to play college ball at St. Louis University for two years. In 2014, the left-handed shortstop was drafted in the 18th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. He reached AAA level ball three different years in the team's minor league system. In 2017, his most recent year on the team, Sole played in 22 games and notched 13 hits — 12 singles — over 76 plate appearances. He was released by the Charlotte Stone Crabs on Aug. 7, 2017.

Last year, Sole played in the independent Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks. He played in 22 games, accruing 14 hits over 74 plate appearances.