One of the fallouts of the pandemic was all the impacts on the college athletics landscapes. While all schools were hit hard, others were hit worse. Schools like Bridgeport still have uncertainly – at one point they were going to be acquired by Sacred Heart, but this article claims the deal fell through. Regardless, athletes were forced to make tough decisions and some players opted to go in a different direction.
One of those athletes is Joey Grillo. He announced he will be transferring to Division-II powerhouse Limestone College in South Carolina. The 2018 Rocky Point grad led the Eagles to their first and only Suffolk County Class A title in program history during his senior season. He had a phenomenal postseason run including a walk-off against Sayville. For his career, he compiled a record of 11-4 on the mound. He also batted .370 with 9 HR, 80 hits, 22 doubles and 60 RBI. He has a strong case to win the Carl Yastrzemski Award that season, but settled for All-County, All-Long Island, All-State and Axcess League 6 MVP.
The Eagles win 4-3, on a walkoff home run by Joe Grillo. pic.twitter.com/qJ9WHNLQ3c
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2018
During his freshman season at Bridgeport, he performed very well, hitting .291 over 50 starts. He hit two of his 4 HR in the postseason against LIU Post at NYIT. He also drove in 28 runs and .424.
Grillo is an uber-confident kid, when I interviewed him in the winter of 2017 I asked him what his goals were for 2018 and he did not mince his words.
“My goal for this 2018 season is to win counties, and to win all awards possible, including the Carl Yastrzemski award. I’ll be working all off-season so I can go into the season with no fear, working for what I desire,” he said. I think you have to really respect a player that believes in himself and is not afraid to speak his mind.
He will have three more years of eligibility, keep an eye on him as a big-time impact player from Long Island that could make some noise with his stats.
