April 30, 2001

Growing In The Northeast

While major conference universities like Virginia and Iowa State (Big 12) are cutting funding for or disposing of their baseball programs, Stony Brook is moving in the opposite direction. Located 50 miles from Manhattan up the North Shore of Long Island, Stony Brook posted a 30-11 record in its first year as a Division I school in 2000. This year, the Seawolves were 23-14 against stiffer competition in preparation for joining the America East Conference next year. "Once it was decided that we were going to Division I, our administration wanted to do it right," head coach Matt Senk said. "They think we have something worthwhile, and I'm thankful for it, especially after hearing about Iowa State and Virginia." Senk had one-half of a scholarship to work with in 1991, his first year as coach. He had just 2.73 scholarships as a Division II program in 1999, but that increased to 6.07 in 2000 and 7.62 this year. He'll have 8.78 scholarships to work with next season. (The Division I maximum is 11.7.)

The administration also has approved plans to upgrade the baseball and softball facilities. A new clubhouse and press box for both programs and stadium seating for the baseball team are in the works. New dugouts were added last year, and the infield has been improved. The outfield is scheduled for an upgrade this summer.

School officials wouldn't be pumping money into the program if Senk were merely going through the motions. Senk, who has a 233-119 record in 11 years, has worked his contacts to attract players like San Francisco Giants righthander Joe Nathan. Jeff Maisonet, Senk's college teammate at SUNY Cortland, is now a teacher and assistant coach at Pine Bush High in upstate New York. Nathan attended Pine Bush, as did current Stony Brook standout Alex Trezza, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior catcher. Trezza, batting .383-21-58, was leading Division I in home runs plus homers (.57) and RBIs (1.57) per game. "There's no doubt he has the arm strength and work ethic to catch at the next level," Senk said. "The tools are there. It's just a matter of getting innings. Offensively, I haven't seen anyone better."

Scouts have taken an interest in Trezza, but perhaps more in junior righthander Chris Flinn. Flinn throws his fastball consistently around 90 mph and has touched 94. Senk termed Flinn's knuckle-curve "tremendous," his slider "nasty." Perhaps that's how Flinn posted the line of the year in 2000. He struck out 18 and walked only one in nine innings of a 14-11 win against Wagner, giving up all 11 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits.

In 2001, he was 4-3, 3.74 with 93 strikeouts and 36 walks in 67 innings. He ranked among the Division I leaders with 12.43 whiffs per nine innings.

"Right now, everything he throws is hard," Senk said. "He's been working on a changeup but doesn't feel as comfortable with it yet."

Right now, fielding a competitive Division I program in an era where administrators seem flummoxed by Title IX and gender equity issues is hard. But Stony Brook didn't choose the comfortable path.

--MARK DEREWICZ