Much like the story of the Weissheier brothers, the Going brothers never intended to play at the same school. In fact, it wasn’t even clear which sport was their best.
R.J., the elder of the two, actually began his college career playing baseball at the rival Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire in 2012. After transferring to Suffolk Community College, he decided he really wanted to go away again.
“But Cap (Coach Tom Caputo) made Dowling seem like the perfect fit,” he said. “I knew that the year coming in would be a big one–which it was, we won 37 games that year,” he said.
R.J. had a tremendous season–he compiled 62 hits, .368 OBP, batted .302, smacked three HR, scored 37 runs, drove in 39 and swiped 25 bases while also contributing tremendous defense at SS.
Up until that point, his younger brother Timmy, intended on playing down south.
“I never really thought about it until Coach Caputo contacted me and it was a dream come true,” said Timmy. “It was an obvious choice to come to Dowling. I don’t regret it one bit–I love the people here, love my teammates and coaches , and how can you pass up playing with your brother?”
R.J. stated there was another factor that contributed to it and that’s their father, Bob, who played for Dowling many moons ago.
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| Photo Credit: Newsday |
If there was one thing that could’ve prevented them from playing together it would be their own love for football.
They both confessed their passion for the game, with Timmy stating that football took precedent in the family for a while.
He won All-County his senior year, and “that’s something he doesn’t let me live down”, said R.J, who was also a fine player as well, winning the MVP of the Suffolk County championship game in 2011.
Nobody can say they’ve made the wrong decision. Now they are playing in the same dugout and only about 30 minutes away from home so their parents can watch every home game.
After the playing days are over, R.J. plans on pursuing a career as a Special Education teacher as well as staying involved with the game of baseball as a coach. Timmy plans on becoming a sports agent
“People say do what you love and I love being around sports and playing them,” he said.
For now, the brothers have some unfinished business on the diamond. The Golden Lions suffered a shocking elimination from the ECC tournament as the No. 1 seed before getting a bid to the East Regionals and getting defeated by Franklin Pierce.
They are focused on getting Dowling back to the magic of 2014, in which they were a few outs from heading to Carey, NC in the Division-II World Series.
