VIDEO: Campus Connection: Stony Brook Baseball

VIDEO: Campus Connection: Stony Brook Baseball

Bookmark and Share

As part of the interactive series, Campus Connection, America East continues to travel across the conference featuring a team from each of our nine institutions. As part of the show, we also have the chance to learn some of the basics of the sport from our student-athletes.

Believe it or not, this is the last episode of Campus Connection for the academic year and we headed to Stony Brook University to catch up with the baseball team and close out the series. We chatted with head coach Matt Senk and a few players who not only had the chance to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer but also took the stage at Fenway Park in the All-Star Game.

Matt Senk is in his 22nd season as head coach of the Seawolves. Senk was not only the 2011 America East Coach of the Year but helped guide the team to a school-record 42 wins and its first America East regular season title last year. The Seawolves did it again this year capturing the regular season title for the 2012 season. During Senk’s tenure, the program has been no stranger to success. He has had 35 players sign professional contracts and has had 14 players picked in the MLB draft.

This past summer, six Seawolves had the opportunity to participate in the Cape Cod Baseball League and compete against the nation’s top collegiate baseball athletes. We had the chance to talk with three of them. Pitcher Tyler Johnson, catcher Pat Cantwell and outfielder Travis Jankowski shared with us what their time in the Cape Cod League was like and how it was playing in the All Star Game at Boston’s historic Fenway Park.

All three Seawolves described the opportunities as memorable experiences which have not only prepared them for the 2012 season and the America East Championship but the possibility of playing pro ball after college. Junior Travis Jankowski was named the Cape Cod League Most Valuable Player this past summer, the second AE player to ever be awarded the honor, and teammate Pat Cantwell received the Cape League's Sportsmanship Award. Coach Senk noted that all of them held their own and truly represented the university and conference in the best way possible.

Even though they all enjoyed the experience last summer, their primary focus now has been the conference tournament. Last year during the 2011 America East Championship, Stony Brook was the No. 1 seed and hosted the championship but fell short of the championship game. This year the Seawolves take nothing for granted and are working towards capturing the 2012 title on their home field.

With one of the most explosive offenses and effective pitching staffs in the country, Stony Brook has proved it’s a force to be reckoned with. Stony Brook enters the America East Championship as the No. 1 seed and will once again host the tournament.

The 2012 America East Baseball Championship action gets underway at Joe Nathan Field Wednesday, May 23. For more information visit Championship Central.

Be sure to check out this video to hear from Coach Senk and the players themselves and watch America East get out on the field and put our baseball skills to the test.