It may be hard to believe but Ward Melville wasn’t always a baseball powerhouse.
In fact, before there was Max Nielsen and Ben Brown and Anthony Kay and Steven Matz there was many dormant years. From 1975 until 2004 they did not qualify for a postseason appearance and the school was most notable for their lacrosse program and famous comedian graduate Kevin James and NFL punter Todd Sauerbrun.
That all changed in the mid 2000s. Between a strong core of players and the presence of Lou Petrucci in 2007, the program soon became a perennial contender.
A.J. Nunziato, a shortstop who grew up idolizing Derek Jeter, wanted to change the culture of the program and get the focus back on baseball.
“We didn’t necessarily get along with the lacrosse players,” said Nunziato. “We felt like they got the funds from the school. Once we started winning, we got a little more backing,” he added.
The tides began to turn during his freshman season in 2004 when Ward Melville made the postseason but lost at Baseball Heaven. The next year they got their first playoff win and Nunziato played a role in that game as he broke up a no-hitter in the sixth inning against Bay Shore ace Tommy Kahl.
That established that the Ward Melville program was serious but what really turned heads was in 2007 when Nunziato captured the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award, becoming the first player in program history to win it. He batted an insane .466 with 15 stolen bases.
They wound up with another playoff appearance in 2007, but lost to Pat-Med on an extra-inning home run. That team had a sophomore shortstop Marcus Stroman on it.
“Winning the Yaz Award was a big turning point, and when (Steven) Matz won it that was really the pinnacle and the baseball team began to get more support from the school,” he added. Speaking of Matz, he stated that he was the number three pitcher in the pitching staff as a freshman throwing 74 MPH but didn’t really pitch much as a sophomore due to arm pain. Coach didn’t want to push him so they played him primarily at first base. Nunziato called him “probably the best defensive first baseman I’ve ever played with.”
As for his personal success, he credits his improvement to the off-season work.
“I worked with a lot of guys but Scott June at All-Pro was a crucial part of my off-season training,” he said. “He always through me batting practice, mixed in fastballs and curveballs during live at-bats. I also did a winter camp at Matt Giuliano‘s and worked on my defense. Also, my dad went and spent about $5,000 on a pitching machine for the backyard so I was able to hit in the cage after home work was done. Getting a lot of tips and advice from people helped mold me and become a better player,” he added.
Despite all the success, he felt that he wasn’t really recruited by teams from Long Island due to his size.
“I was pretty scrawny and not this burly shortstop. I would say I had options but not a ton. I had desires to play down south. I kind of dismissed some offers up north and didn’t get much recruitment from here. I had interest from Nicholls State in Louisiana, the University of Rhode Island, Elon University, Liberty University, Armstrong and Lander University.
I went to Lander because I was underdeveloped. I wasn’t physically mature and I knew I couldn’t play right away at the other schools. I found them by sending a video of myself to school down south that had exercise science. I knew I could play right away and be starting at a Division-II school with the ability to move on to the next level,” he added.
Nunziato had a lot of success and actually led the team in hitting at .391 as a sophomore, he also had a 1.146 OPS. Problem is, he began to experience pain in his back.
“I tried to play through it,” he said. The plan did not work out as he wound up having season-ending back surgery which required him to red-shirt. With the down time, he pondered his future and even seriously considered transferring to Elon University. He said, “I almost did it…I just didn’t know how my back would heal so I stayed,” he added.
He bounced back very well, though, and he batted .293 in 2011 and .345 during his redshirt-senior season in 2012. He compiled a .981 OPS.
Not ready to end his career, he chose to pursue the independent ball route. He signed with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League.
“It was definitely different than college,” he said. “Traveling on buses–eight hours, sometimes overnight. I played in front of 8,000 people on the 4th of July one times. Fans get on you a little more because they’re drinking the whole time. That was a great experience,” he said.
After that first season, he went to personalized workouts with the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals. They told him what to work on so he went back out for his second season in 2013. His numbers actually improved across the board as his average went up to .269 with a .444 SLG but the offers were not there.
With his degree, he decided to stay involved in the game and he took a job at Infiniti Sports Performance as their Head Strength & Conditioning Coach.
“I got to work with a lot of young athletes, some of them really groomed into good ballplayers. I got to work with a really talented kid that wound up winning the Yastrzemski Award, Brian Morrell.”
After the year, he decided to go to Physician’s Assistant school which he determined to be his long-term career path and extremely fulfilling in the day-to-day. He now works at Advance Orthopedics in Patchogue as an Orthopedic Assistant.
“I’ve worked as a physical therapy aid but that’s just not as fulfilling,” he said. “You can help people rehab to an extent but now I can actually fix injuries. It’s really cool to help get players back on the field,” he added.
Despite the new career path, he can’t completely walk away from the game of baseball he grew up loving.
“I always go back to Ward Melville and help with their winter clinics. It’s really important to me to give back and continue to pass on some of the experiences I have with the younger generation.”
