Fielding their dreams
It was not too long ago that Cory Mazzoni and Kevan Smith were battery mates on the Seneca Valley baseball team.
On Tuesday, they gave their alma mater another reason to be proud.
Mazzoni, a right-handed pitcher from North Carolina State, was selected in the second round (71st overall) by the New York Mets in Major League Baseball's amateur draft.
Five rounds later, Smith, a catcher who just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, went to the Chicago White Sox with the 231st overall pick.
The pair helped Seneca Valley to an overall record of 13-7 and a trip to the WPIAL Quad A semifinals in 2006. Smith graduated a few weeks after the Raiders' season ended.
“They both put in a lot of time and hard work,” said veteran SV coach Eric Semega. “They were rewarded for it.”
“Having two of its former players get drafted, it's a great way to represent Seneca Valley,” said Mazzoni, who turned in an incredible finish to his junior campaign for the Wolfpack.
In starts against Boston College, Florida State and Stetson, Mazzoni went 3-0 with a minuscule 0.78 ERA. His dominance of opposing lineups was also reflected by 32 strikeouts and just two walks in 23 innings pitched.
“I worked a lot with (N.C. State pitching coach Tom Holliday) and I switched my mechanics a bit,” said Mazzoni. “I began throwing more downhill, getting on top of the hitters.
“The first half of the season, I was pitching well, but not all that consistent,” he added. “With my performance late in the season, I really shot up the draft board.”
Mazzoni was originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 25th round of the 2008 draft, but decided to take the scholarship offered to him by N.C. State.
In the days leading up to this year's draft, he received at least one call from all 32 major league teams. But when he got the call from the Mets on Tuesday, it was still a moment he'll never forget.
“It was pretty amazing,” he said. “I've dreamed of playing major league baseball since I was 5 years old, playing catch with my dad. Getting drafted is a big step toward getting there.”
Mazzoni said financial details still need to be ironed out, but he will forego his senior season with the Wolfpack.He ends his collegiate career with a 14-14 record and the seventh-most career strikeouts in school history (256).“I'm going to miss the college atmosphere,” said Mazzoni, who is currently in Raleigh. “The college life is pretty remarkable.”Mazzoni is not yet certain which of the Mets' nine minor league affiliates he will be joining, but one option is the Brooklyn Cyclones, a short season Class A team in the New York-Penn League.Smith recently was chosen as an All-Big East first team selection for the second straight season after batting .397 with 11 home runs, 59 runs scored and 56 batted in for 2011.“My goal was to be drafted in the first 10 rounds,” he said. “I was taken in the seventh and I'm very happy with it.”Pitt's head baseball coach Joe Jordano said in a released statement regarding Chicago's selection of Smith in the draft: “For a senior to be drafted in the seventh round, it proves his value and his skill set. He has worked very hard and I believe his best years are ahead of him.”Smith dozed off on a couch at his parents' Cranberry Township home during Tuesday's draft.“I was getting a bit frustrated because a lot of high school players and pitchers were being taken, so I took a nap,” he said. But my dad kept watching the draft like a hawk.“The next thing I know, he's waking me up, telling me I was taken by the White Sox. Right after that, my phone started ringing and it hasn't stopped since.”Like Mazzoni, Smith could not disclose financial details, but could be headed to either the Great Falls (Mont.) Voyagers or the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators. Both are Single-A teams.Smith reflected on a pair of one-time stars at Seneca Valley being drafted on the same day.“He was just a young kid my senior year,” said Smith, who graduated two years ahead of Mazzoni, “but you could tell he had a lot of upside. Hopefully, we'll cross paths one day, maybe even play on the same team.”
