Who were some influential people in your life growing up?
A lot of people influence me. Mom and dad always helped me with no matter what I needed to do – getting to the gym, getting to lessons, getting to practice games every day. They were always there for me. My grandfather was at every practice, every game, everything that I ever had. If my parents couldn’t bring me somewhere, he would bring me there. They were a big influence on me, and I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for their support.
Back when Coach [Andrew Aschettino] took over, [Rocky Point] was a lacrosse town. When you were in high school, did it become more of a baseball town at that point?
Yeah, while Aschettino was the coach of Rocky Point, he had a pretty good resume. I can’t remember how many years in a row – I think around 10 years in a row, they made it to the playoffs. I was there for 4 of them. A couple years after I graduated, they lost. But it was still good. We got a lot of support from our teachers and staff and everybody.
Were you a hard thrower in high school or did that come once you got to college?
I think in high school I was a hard thrower. I wasn’t as much as a pitcher as I believe that I’ve learned throughout these past couple of years. In high school, I think that was when I started to realize that I had a pretty good arm and that was when I made a couple of big jumps.
Were you working with a trainer at that point to harness your strength?
Well, I never really had any trainers. I always went to Personal Fitness over in Rocky Point. He was the first gym that I went to. I went over to Infiniti for a couple of seasons over in Bellport. That was a good time because they have a lot of energy over there. A lot of people that wanted to do the same things that I had the dreams to do. So, it was good to be surrounded by people who have the same goals.
How are you able to generate so much velocity? You’re about 5’8, not something you see in an average pitcher. What worked for you?
That was something I always knew. I wasn’t going to be the tallest person. No one in my family is really above 6 foot. My dad was also an athlete when he was younger, and he was a small guy. But he told me that was what drove him to be the best player out there and what made him train so hard. He gave me that inspiration. That drives me in the gym, too. I know I’m not going to have the leverage on a lot people. But, working out and getting stronger is what helps me out a lot.
You went to St. Thomas Aquinas College. They’re a baseball powerhouse, but I think it was a leap of faith for them to take a 5’8 right-handed pitcher from Long Island. How did that end up happening?
I think the first time they saw me was at Diamond Nation. One of the first times they saw was when I was on first base, and I remember this like it was yesterday, it was a pop up to right and there was two outs so I was running hard. When the ball was caught, I was on my way to round third base. They realized that I was an athlete, and they came back to watch me the next day and I was pitching. So, they gave me an opportunity to be a two-way player. But then they saw me as a better pitcher than a position player. If I could look back on it, I think that was the best thing for me because if I had wanted to play at the next level – which I’m at right now – I think pitching was where it was going to be.
In 2015, you were successful coming in to relief as a freshman. From that point on, do you feel like things clicked for you?
One of the reasons why I chose [St. Thomas Aquinas] and go into Division II instead of Division I was because I wanted to make an immediate impact on the field as a freshman. I didn’t want to wait two or three years to be in the rotation. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to make a spot in the rotation early on, but that’s the risk that I wanted to take. I got there and I was a reliever and a starter for my first two years and was a starter for junior and senior year.
You guys went to the College World Series. What was the energy like?
It was awesome. It was the best group of guys that you could ask for. Everyone loved to play the game of baseball. We all had a good time and we all wanted to win. So that was one goal that we all had. Once we got the College World Series, we knew that we had a chance to win the whole thing. Even after that first game.
The offense was always loaded at your school. What was it like going to the mound knowing you had that lineup?
That made it easier to pitch because I wouldn’t have to try to push too much to strike everybody out or put up zeroes. I wouldn’t have to stress about it because I knew that the bats in the lineup were going to back me up. That always happened and that always made the confidence on the mound go up.
The 2018 team was immensely talented, but was it disappointing when the season ended in a regional loss to [Southern New Hampshire University]? Also, a game that stood out to me from that season was your no-hitter that you had going for six innings against Franklin Pierce. Did you have any bad blood against them or were you just in the moment?
I mean, it was disappointing because we knew that we had the talent and we could make it to the World Series again. But sometimes it doesn’t work out. We had a great year and it came to an end. With Franklin Pierce, it was always great battles. They’re a great team. I remember my freshman year when they had 3 losses, and we beat them at their place. I think that day I was going up against Cody McPartland. And we used to pitch against each other in high school, so I knew I had to be on top of my stuff. I’m a big adrenaline guy. When I’m in the zone and I’m feeling myself, it just rolls.
Who would you say is [St. Thomas Aquinas]’ biggest rival?
I’d say our biggest rival was [Molloy College]. They were in our conference, they weren’t too far away, but we always went back and forth with them. In my sophomore year, one of my assistant coaches was a graduate of Molloy. And I knew a bunch of people that went there. So, that’s probably our biggest rival.
What is your pre-game routine?
I don’t know, I don’t really have a routine up until I go to the field. I don’t like to run before the game. When I get to the field, I’ll do a little long toss. I always use my BodyBlade. I haven’t thrown without that thing in probably four years. I try not to think too much and just get in the zone.
What’s your breakdown of pitches when you go to the mound?
In college, I was mostly fastball and curveball. I didn’t really have a changeup until about two years ago. At this level and if I get to a higher level, it’s definitely going to be more off-speed pitches.
Why did you wait so long in your development to throw changeup pitches?
[Coach Andrew] Aschettino tried to get me to throw a changeup and I always worked on it in the bullpen. I think at that point in high school it wasn’t really needed because of the fastball and curveball. In college, I threw some changeups and it wasn’t really that good. But recently I started messing around with grips and talked to a bunch of great people who have a lot of knowledge. I just found something that worked for me.
