Post by FriendsofAN44 on May 28, 2006 7:20:44 GMT -5
ST. BONAVENTURE — When the snow piled onto campus over the winter the easy thing for Larry Sudbrook would have been to take an extended vacation, perhaps somewhere in the Caribbean
The longtime St. Bonaventure baseball coach knew then he would not have his top two starting pitchers for the upcoming season. He discovered later that his fifth starter would have to be shut down for the spring.
The Bonnies were seemingly looking at a long season, like enduring the rough and tumble winters in these parts.
As Sudbrook recalled, “I thought it might be a good year to do what some of the faculty does at St. Bonaventure ... take a sabbatical.”
Sudbrook decided to stick around for his 21st season. In doing so, big, burly first baseman Brian Pellegrini has served as a savior.
The Bonnies’ patchwork pitching staff has overachieved. Pellegrini has become the Atlantic 10’s most feared hitter. And Bona could very well be A-10 champions for the second time in three years by the time this week’s up.
Not bad for a season the coach wasn’t looking forward to.
But Sudbrook never could have predicted the numbers Pellegrini has compiled. Even Pellegrini wasn’t expecting a campaign that could vault him to All-America status.
During the regular season, the junior led the A-10 in batting average (.387) and on-base percentage (.490), was second in RBI (54) and slugging percentage (.685) and third in home runs (12). He also finished among the top 10 in runs scored (44) and walks (30).
“I DON’T know who else you can say is the best hitter in the conference,” Sudbrook said.
Without Pellegrini in the lineup, Sudbrook believes his team would be floating around the .500 mark. With him, the Bonnies (26-19, 18-8 A-10) set a school record for conference wins and earned a bye in the league tournament by finishing second to Rhode Island.
The A-10 tournament starts today at Fordham and the Bonnies face the Dayton-George Washington winner Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
En route to their sixth conference tourney appearance under Sudbrook, the Bonnies scored nine consecutive conference victories. Pellegrini strung together a 17-game hit streak, which coincided with Bona’s good fortune.
“He was as hot as any hitter I’ve seen in 21 years here,” Sudbrook remembered. “He took us from being a little above average team to a very good team.”
The rest of the A-10 has taken notice by taking the bat out of Pellegrini’s hands. In one game during a late-season series at Massachusetts, Pellegrini, representing the winning run, was intentionally walked.
“He’s gotten Barry Bonds treatment,” Sudbrook said.
Through it all, Pellegrini has played with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The injury obviously hasn’t effected him at the plate or in the field, but has prevented him from pitching.
Pellegrini, who holds the Bona record for career saves, was penciled in as the team’s top starter before sustaining the tear in the final practice of the fall, the annual Brown-White scrimmage in September.
Ironically, Pellegrini credits the injury for his unmatched production. Without pitching, he’s been able to fully concentrate on hitting.
“I just feel smarter than all the pitchers,” said Pellegrini, who will have surgery immediately following the season. “I know what pitches are coming, I’m thinking what their catcher is thinking.”
The prize has been being named a quarterfinalist for the Brook Wallace Award, presented to the Division I Player of the Year. He also claimed the A-10 Player of the Year award Tuesday. Many more honors could be forthcoming.
And Pellegrini won’t be shy when his name is called.
“I love seeing my name. I just love it,” he said. “I’m just hoping at the end of the year I get a couple more big awards.”
PELLEGRINI boasts All-America potential with both his bat and right arm. According to Sudbrook, the former star linebacker as a high schooler in the Cleveland area has an above average major-league fastball and is developing pitches to boot.
“We went after him (in the recruiting process) because he could hit,” Sudbrook said. “His pitching has been a bonus. He actually is as good a pitcher as he is a hitter. That makes him, without a doubt, the best dual-player we’ve ever had here.”
Sudbrook said the only comparable two-way talent he’s had at Bona has been Gowanda product Jon Phillips, a pitcher-outfielder, who was drafted in the 17th round of the 1993 draft by the Houston Astros.
Sudbrook has visions of Pellegrini becoming a successful set-up man or closer at the big league level. It’s likely that Pellegrini, who has a workout scheduled with the Boston Red Sox next month, will be selected in this summer’s major league draft.
But as Sudbrook said, “It would’ve been an absolute certainty without the shoulder injury.”
Pellegrini was moved from the bullpen into a starting role as a sophomore because, “We realized halfway through the season that our starting pitching wasn’t getting us to where we could use our closer, ” Sudbrook said.
In either role, and anywhere on the field for that matter, Pellegrini, with his 6-foot-1, 240-pound physique, is intimidating to opponents.
“Heck, I wouldn’t want to see me coming around the bases at you,” Pellegrini said.
There is the question of whether the Pellegrini will return for his final season at Bona. He has lofty aspirations for a future in baseball, but is also excited about what could become of this young band of Bonnies in 2007.
And if Pellegrini is back in the fold, Sudbrook will not be taking any sabbaticals.
The longtime St. Bonaventure baseball coach knew then he would not have his top two starting pitchers for the upcoming season. He discovered later that his fifth starter would have to be shut down for the spring.
The Bonnies were seemingly looking at a long season, like enduring the rough and tumble winters in these parts.
As Sudbrook recalled, “I thought it might be a good year to do what some of the faculty does at St. Bonaventure ... take a sabbatical.”
Sudbrook decided to stick around for his 21st season. In doing so, big, burly first baseman Brian Pellegrini has served as a savior.
The Bonnies’ patchwork pitching staff has overachieved. Pellegrini has become the Atlantic 10’s most feared hitter. And Bona could very well be A-10 champions for the second time in three years by the time this week’s up.
Not bad for a season the coach wasn’t looking forward to.
But Sudbrook never could have predicted the numbers Pellegrini has compiled. Even Pellegrini wasn’t expecting a campaign that could vault him to All-America status.
During the regular season, the junior led the A-10 in batting average (.387) and on-base percentage (.490), was second in RBI (54) and slugging percentage (.685) and third in home runs (12). He also finished among the top 10 in runs scored (44) and walks (30).
“I DON’T know who else you can say is the best hitter in the conference,” Sudbrook said.
Without Pellegrini in the lineup, Sudbrook believes his team would be floating around the .500 mark. With him, the Bonnies (26-19, 18-8 A-10) set a school record for conference wins and earned a bye in the league tournament by finishing second to Rhode Island.
The A-10 tournament starts today at Fordham and the Bonnies face the Dayton-George Washington winner Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
En route to their sixth conference tourney appearance under Sudbrook, the Bonnies scored nine consecutive conference victories. Pellegrini strung together a 17-game hit streak, which coincided with Bona’s good fortune.
“He was as hot as any hitter I’ve seen in 21 years here,” Sudbrook remembered. “He took us from being a little above average team to a very good team.”
The rest of the A-10 has taken notice by taking the bat out of Pellegrini’s hands. In one game during a late-season series at Massachusetts, Pellegrini, representing the winning run, was intentionally walked.
“He’s gotten Barry Bonds treatment,” Sudbrook said.
Through it all, Pellegrini has played with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The injury obviously hasn’t effected him at the plate or in the field, but has prevented him from pitching.
Pellegrini, who holds the Bona record for career saves, was penciled in as the team’s top starter before sustaining the tear in the final practice of the fall, the annual Brown-White scrimmage in September.
Ironically, Pellegrini credits the injury for his unmatched production. Without pitching, he’s been able to fully concentrate on hitting.
“I just feel smarter than all the pitchers,” said Pellegrini, who will have surgery immediately following the season. “I know what pitches are coming, I’m thinking what their catcher is thinking.”
The prize has been being named a quarterfinalist for the Brook Wallace Award, presented to the Division I Player of the Year. He also claimed the A-10 Player of the Year award Tuesday. Many more honors could be forthcoming.
And Pellegrini won’t be shy when his name is called.
“I love seeing my name. I just love it,” he said. “I’m just hoping at the end of the year I get a couple more big awards.”
PELLEGRINI boasts All-America potential with both his bat and right arm. According to Sudbrook, the former star linebacker as a high schooler in the Cleveland area has an above average major-league fastball and is developing pitches to boot.
“We went after him (in the recruiting process) because he could hit,” Sudbrook said. “His pitching has been a bonus. He actually is as good a pitcher as he is a hitter. That makes him, without a doubt, the best dual-player we’ve ever had here.”
Sudbrook said the only comparable two-way talent he’s had at Bona has been Gowanda product Jon Phillips, a pitcher-outfielder, who was drafted in the 17th round of the 1993 draft by the Houston Astros.
Sudbrook has visions of Pellegrini becoming a successful set-up man or closer at the big league level. It’s likely that Pellegrini, who has a workout scheduled with the Boston Red Sox next month, will be selected in this summer’s major league draft.
But as Sudbrook said, “It would’ve been an absolute certainty without the shoulder injury.”
Pellegrini was moved from the bullpen into a starting role as a sophomore because, “We realized halfway through the season that our starting pitching wasn’t getting us to where we could use our closer, ” Sudbrook said.
In either role, and anywhere on the field for that matter, Pellegrini, with his 6-foot-1, 240-pound physique, is intimidating to opponents.
“Heck, I wouldn’t want to see me coming around the bases at you,” Pellegrini said.
There is the question of whether the Pellegrini will return for his final season at Bona. He has lofty aspirations for a future in baseball, but is also excited about what could become of this young band of Bonnies in 2007.
And if Pellegrini is back in the fold, Sudbrook will not be taking any sabbaticals.
