I want to go back to your last game on March 12. Can you explain to our audience what it was like being down in Florida and receiving the news that the season was over?
It was a very wild 72 hours. We were leaving on a Thursday to head down the Florida, and that Wednesday we were hearing murmurs about schools canceling for a couple weeks, some people were canceling trips. We were just worried about getting down there. And then once we got down there, we heard the same thing. People were starting to shut down their conference play for the next few weeks. And I think mentally our team was a little unsure of what was going to happen with the future of the season, but we played that first game against Stonehill, and then during that game we caught wind that NCAA was suspended until I think April 13 or 30th. And at that point we weren’t too down on it. But during that second game, we were at Lynn University – where the field was right on top of the fans – and so I think some of the parents caught wind that the NCAA tweeted out the season was cancelled. Some of our players started to figure it out during the game and it was just such an unbelievable feeling. You don’t want to believe it; you hear the words coming out of people’s mouths, but it just didn’t make sense almost. You didn’t realize how severe it was. But at the same time, you had to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The kid on the next team we were going to play could’ve had the virus or one of us could have gotten it while we were down there, and we had to just look out for our safety.
Just looking at your brief 2020, it was up and down. You guys went 4-5. Take me back to the first game where it was frigid cold out, but you guys scored 17 runs. What was the feeling like in the dugout?
Yeah, I mean obviously we would’ve loved to win that game, I think final score was 20-17. But coming into the season our biggest question mark I think was our offense. So putting up 17 runs that first day was almost reassuring. It’s one game, it started season and you can’t let that really define your whole season, but putting up 17 runs as an offense was really huge for us. We got a little bit of confidence rolling, and we weren’t worried at all about our pitching staff. You got a 3 headed monster in [Josh Rovner], [Nicolas Luc], and [Nick Palmerini]. They were animals all year. But if you told me the night before that our first game was 20-17, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But it was a good game and we did a great job bouncing back that next day.
Can you talk about the quality of arms Adelphi has had in the last two years?
In my recruiting class alone, we got guys like Max Steele, Nicholas Luc, Josh Rovner – who are all low 90s guys and have great life on their fastballs, great breaking stuff – but I was lucky enough to come in here as a freshman and we still had guys like Michael Tarpey, Ed Baram, Daniel Taggart, all those guys. And even a guy like Matthew O’Connor. There are some guys who aren’t going to light it up and throw 90-94, but you still have to be able to perfect your craft and throw pitches behind in the count and know what you have to do. But yeah, guys like Baram, Rovner, and Luc who are lucky and have worked hard to throw that hard at this level. The difference between D-I and D-II to me is not that different to me because these guys could have pitched almost anywhere and have D-I caliber arms. But they ended up coming here and they love it and we love it. It’s great to have guys like that on the staff.
Adelphi University last year had a 34-9-1 record, one of the best seasons in program history. You peaked as the No. 5 team in the nation. Even while getting hit with an injury bug, you still managed to get the No. 1 seed in NE-10. Talk about how Coach Scala was able to navigate through that and rattle of an 18-game win streak?
Yeah, we started off kind of same as we did this year in 2020. We were below .500 heading down Florida, and even coming back from Florida I think we were two or three games over .500. But in Florida, we got hit hard with flu bug. I went down, Tyler Becker, a bunch of guys went down quick. We didn’t panic too much, we fought through it and came back from Florida and I honestly couldn’t tell you what clicked, how it clicked, or if it clicked. But something just changed in the way we were playing; the way our guys were walking in the field and showing up. We just had that killer mentality every game and we were stepping on the field like we know there’s no one in the country that can beat us unless we beat ourselves. So, we went out there every game aggressive. But then Brandon Morse ended up going down with a broken arm. But we had a bunch of guys who did a great job filling in, Jordan Milo was one of them. There’s tons of stuff that went wrong but it didn’t falter us in any way. We just kept going, and then we kind of skipped it out in the playoffs with three tough games. But overall that season was definitely one of the better seasons we’ve ever had. It’s really cool to get that recognition as a small school saying that us northeast guys can play.
The upperclassmen on the team last year (like Thomas Colombo, Brandon Morse, Brett Malm, etc.), what did those guys mean to the team?
We had a huge class that year, but they were all guys that had been in the program and knew what they were capable of and that it was their last ride. It was definitely the deepest lineup I’ve ever been on, 1 through 9. They were hammering baseballs everywhere. And then the pitching staff, too, with Ed Baram and Daniel Taggart. It was unbelievable. And Thomas Colombo at first base over there, I had never seen a first baseman like that. Every pic, every diving play seemed like he was there. Our infielders felt that confidence, he just instilled a different confidence out there and let our infielders play a little more freely – take some risks they might not always take. They had that confidence in him over there and that was huge for us.
What’s it like being behind the plate for a pitcher like Ed Baram, and what separates him from the average pitcher?
I think my first experience with Ed Baram was probably the fall of my freshman year when I actually faced him in a hitter’s spot. I hadn’t caught him yet, and I think he struck me out on 3 or 4 pitches, and I was like, “Wow.” It was an eye opener for me. I got to catch with him a couple times in some fall games, and then that spring I ended up catching him a decent amount. His ability to throw any pitch in any count where he wants it is unbelievable. 2-0, he could throw a splitter. Behind in the count, a slider or whatever he needs. And it was kind of the same thing as Tom Ambrosino. He has that confidence about him that when he steps on the mound, he knows what he has to do. And he knows that it’s him against the guy in the box and nothing was going to stop him from getting that guy out.
Pitchers seem to have nothing but high praise for you as a catcher. How do you build up such a good relationship with your pitchers?
I think a lot of it is almost taking it off the field to an extent. Everyone’s a person at the end of the day. We all come to play baseball and stuff, but it’s a lot more than that to a lot of us. We play every day together and I think it’s really about building those relationships on and off the field. With these pitchers, especially the guys at Adelphi, everyone’s got their own agenda. But you kind of got to start to know each guy. You got to know what they’re looking to do on the mound, you got to know what they’re doing off the field. And a lot of that comes from just talking to them, sitting with them and hanging out with them and just doing everything you can as a catcher – especially the little things go a long way. I learned a lot of great stuff, I had a lot of great catching mentors growing up.
What’s been the biggest thrill in your baseball career?
I think last year definitely; just riding that momentum and being a part of something so special. Fifth in the country I think out of all the northeast programs, not even just Long Island. I think that’s probably up there. The group of guys we had was unbelievable and just going out there and competing with them day in and day out was awesome.
Your father played at Slippery Rock University. Can you talk about the impact he’s had on your playing career?
Yeah definitely, my mom also just retired from 32 years in the Mets front office and my dad played baseball in college. He was a pitcher, so I didn’t really have much of a choice growing up with what I was going to be doing. So from an early age, I was exposed to the game in so many different ways. My dad also used to coach college kids back in the day, so I was around them all the time. And my mom too, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by great baseball guys from the Mets. And they helped me tremendously, teaching me the little things about the game because you can only teach so much physically and ability wise. But the mental side of the game, I was really lucky to be exposed to all that at an early age – which helped me a lot down the road.
Why did you choose Adelphi University?
Adelphi had a lot of great things going for it, I felt really comfortable with the entire coaching staff. Obviously Coach [Dom Scala], Coach [Bill Ianniciello] does a great job there year in and year out, all the assistant coaches and it really being close to home. At first in my recruiting process, I really wanted to get away. I think every kid wants to go somewhere big; go to a big school. But I had to do what was right by me and my family and make sure we found the right spot as far as playing time and being close to home where most of my family is located. They get to come [to games], if my friends are home they can come. It’s a good spot and you get a lot of people coming to the games, beautiful campus, good academics, and it worked out perfectly.
You’re majoring in Sports Management and minoring in Spanish. Have you worked a lot in college and what kind of job are you looking for after you graduate?
At first, I was looking to do something with cybersecurity. But that workload was unbelievable. I figured I know a lot of good people in the sports world, so why not kind of tailor my track towards that and put myself into a good spot. I love baseball and I could see a future with me working in it.
Favorite players in Major League Baseball?
I grew up watching guys like David Wright and Jose Reyes, but honestly, I think I have to go with Chipper Jones. Growing up, I watched Chipper Jones just annihilate the Mets once in a while and I looked up to him and said, “Wow, that’s what a good hitter looks and a good teammate looks like.” He did everything right his whole career. And obviously from a catching standpoint, guys like Yadier Molina, I’m a big fan of David Ross and his leadership, and even Salvador Perez. It’s tough to name just one.
Favorite TV Show?
I got to go with either “Game of Thrones” or “Madam Secretary”. I think I’m leaning “Game of Thrones”. Everyone loves “Game of Thrones”.
Last question, since “The Last Dance” is tonight, who’s the GOAT? LeBron or Jordan?
I think I got to go with Lebron. What he’s putting together over his years of playing right now is unprecedented. I think he’s just an animal and I love everything he does off the court, too. He does a lot of great stuff for his community and all that and that’s awesome.
