by Vinny Messana
Smithtown West has been knocking on the door for the past few seasons. Despite consistently being a 17, 18-win team, they have not been able to get over the hump and win the Suffolk County Class AA title.
That may change this season.
Their shortstop and ace, Nick Grande, has done everything in his power to make sure this is the year that the Bulls finish on top.
The Stony Brook-commit is off to a scorching start to the 2016 season. Now in his fifth varsity season, he is the early favorite to win the coveted Carl Yastrzesmski Award.
Only one other player in school history has won the award, and that was Brady Forseth way back in 1989.
After his latest stellar outing–a CG win against another great team in Half Hollow Hills East, Grande is 4-0 on the season with 31 IP, he has allowed only 3 ER and is batting .538 at the plate.
Despite the massive success, Grande remains humble beyond belief. He stated that he owes his success to his father, who has been the biggest influence on him and has remained “positive through the ups-and-down”.
His father was a baseball coach at Island Trees HS for many years and played his college ball at Farmingdale State College.
By all accounts, he raised the prototypical baseball player. The aforementioned stats don’t even factor in his best attribute and that is his defensive ability at a premium position like shortstop.
“He is the best defensive shortstop on Long Island,” said an MLB scout.
His dominance has helped the Bulls get off to a 13-1 start to the season, but their real test will come in the postseason and Grande is focused on taking it one step at a time.
“It’s a day-by-day thing,” he said in regards to their approach in the postseason. “It’s survive and advance. Fortunately, we have a good mix of older and younger guys,” he added.
He has formed a formidable pitching duo with Nicholas Trabacchi, a talented junior. Their offense has been led by those two, along with Jake Torres, Mike Zito and Anthony Amato.
His presence has made an impact on the younger guys on the team–which he takes very seriously because as an eighth grader, the seniors accepted him and groomed him to play at the varsity level as opposed to harboring ill-will due to his advanced talent level.
“I was lucky to get called up in eighth grade,” he said. “The 12th graders were great kids and made me feel comfortable. I developed friendships with kids that are in college now. It’s my job to pass on the winning tradition of Smithtown West baseball now,” he added.
Trabacchi, a junior who has garnered interest from programs all over, appreciates the role of mentor that Grande has played.
“He’s like an older brother to me,” he said. “He took me under his wing and has really made a difference in my game. Not only the skill level but how to carry yourself and how to stay steady–not too high, not too low,” he added.
After the season, Grande will make the short trip to play at Stony Brook, where he could end up vying for a starting position with Jeremy Giles.
His interest in Stony Brook dates back to his pre-high school days when the Sea Wolves made it to the College World Series in 2012.
“I remember watching that on ESPN and I had huge interest in the school, not just because of baseball, but also academically.”
He noted that he has already built relationships with his future teammate Brandon Bonanno of Mt. Sinai, who will be joining him this fall. He also played against two current Sea Wolves while they were in high school–Andruw Gazzola (Longwood) and Casey Baker (Connetquot), and he stated he is “looking forward to playing with them.”
For the time being, he will look to finish off a stellar career at Smithtown West. He will have some stiff competition to win the crown and it may come from some of his best friends.
He noted that Garrett Heaton of Bellport and James Kory of West Islip are two of his best friends from their days playing together with the BodyArmor Titans under Head Coach Neal Heaton.
While Grande may not hit 500 ft. home runs and light up the radar gun with 95 MPH fastballs, he does everything right on the field, he has the demeanor of his childhood idol, Derek Jeter, and he has succeeded every step of the way.
