|
Stony Brook's Tropeano not
intimidated by attention on Cape
|
|
Stony Brook
University's Nick Tropeano delivers a pitch
during a recent start for the Cape Cod Baseball
League's Cotuit Kettleers. After six starts this
summer, Tropeano ranks fourth in the Cape League
with 35 strikeouts in 37 and two-thirds innings..
|
story by Steve McCarthy
photos by Rick Heath
July 20, 2010
|
Nick Tropeano emerged as a leader this spring for the
America East Conference champion Stony Brook University
baseball team, which welcomed 13 newcomers. The
sophomore starting pitcher was anything but an unlikely
source.
If baseball had not
worked out for the 6-foot-4, 195-pound right-hander from
West Islip, NY, he had a backup option as a football
quarterback. But baseball is working out.
Stony Brook head
coach Matt Senk entrusted Tropeano with the game ball
for the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional opener against
top-seed Coastal Carolina. Tropeano allowed just three
runs over eight innings, but the Seawolves ran into the
Chanticleers'
ace, who dealt a six-hit shutout in the 6-0 victory.
Stony Brook beat North Carolina State before falling
again to Coastal Carolina in the double-elimination
round.
“I'm glad that my
coach gave me the opportunity to throw,” Tropeano
said. “Despite losing, our whole team battled the
whole game. Definitely a great experience and I hope to
do it every single year.”
Senk has shown an
eye for quality arms in his 19 years at the helm.
Minnesota Twins All-Star closer Joe Nathan wore the
Stony Brook red, white, and blue in the 1990's.
Tropeano's collegiate numbers are comparably
eye-popping.
As a freshman he
made the America East All-Rookie team. Four of his eight
starts were complete games and he averaged nearly eight
strikeouts per-outing. He spent last summer with the
Riverhead Tomcats of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball
League, where he was named the league's top prospect,
going 7-3 with a 1.61 earned run average and earning the
pitching Triple Crown.
Coming into this
year, Tropeano had lofty goals not just personal, but
for the young Seawolves club. He and classmate Tyler
Johnson would anchor the pitching staff.
“We were the
workhorses,” Tropeano said. “Our coach kind of told
us that from the end of our freshman year, that he was
kind of depending on us.”
Tropeano logged 99
and two-thirds innings while Johnson worked 93 and a
third. They combined for 18 wins and 187 strikeouts.
Tropeano went 8-4 with a 2.44 ERA and seven more
complete games. He was named the America East co-Pitcher
of the Year.
Tropeano's
first-year stats gained the attention of Mike Roberts,
father of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts
and field manager of the Cape Cod Baseball League's
Cotuit Kettleers. Roberts offered Tropeano a contract
for this summer and even made him the opening day
starter.
Tropeano went seven
and two-thirds innings in his first start as a Kettleer
and struck out eight Wareham Gatemen. Despite carrying
an 0-3 record after six starts, he has allowed three
runs or fewer four times and gone eight innings twice.
He ranks fourth in the Cape League with 35 strikeouts in
37 and two-thirds innings and has issued just 13 walks.
“I feel like
after my first three starts I definitely had a better
feeling of the hitters,” Tropeano said. “My last two
starts I've been working on some things and it's been
paying off for me. I'm not getting the wins, but I'm
going late in innings.”
As the summer
progresses, so has the attention Tropeano has gained
from Major League Baseball scouts. Tropeano will be
eligible for selection next June, and knows the
difference a summer on the Cape can make in one's draft
stock.
“I'm more excited
than ever,” Tropeano said. “This is my opportunity
and I'm just going to keep working hard and hopefully my
hard work pays off.”
Tropeano
complements an 88-90 mile per hour heater with a
changeup and devastating breaking ball. He has matched
up with Team USA selection Matt Barnes (UConn), and Cape
League strikeout leader Jed Bradley (Georgia Tech)
twice.
“Just having one
good summer here is huge,” Tropeano said. “Scouts
see that you can get out these talented hitters and you
learn how to pitch.”
At his Long Island
school of more than 24,000 students, Tropeano stands out
not only due to his tall and lanky frame. On the Cape he
is making a name for himself among college baseball's
best.
“I always told
myself that's where I want to be. That's where I want to
get to,” Tropeano said. “I'm here, and I'm just
grateful for it.”
|
|
