Miracle keep the college connection

Fort Myers players recall their not-too-distant College World Series days

By Kevin Johnson
Naples Daily News

Before his metamorphose from catcher to pitcher, Tim Lahey was somewhat of a fixture in NCAA Regionals, having played in three.

Lahey has since graduated from the storied ivies of Princeton to the breezy palms of Fort Myers. In his first year as a pitcher with the Miracle, the Worcester, Mass., native will be keeping close tabs on this year's Regionals, which started yesterday. His alma mater is back for the fourth time in five years.

"When people start seeing your school name come up year after year, they probably think you've got a pretty good thing going on," Lahey said prior to the Miracle's game against Sarasota on Wednesday night at Hammond Stadium. "There are guys that I've played with in pro ball that went to far bigger programs than I did and they never went to the NCAA Tournament. That's something that's really special."

Once a player signs a pro contract out of college, ERAs suddenly become more important than GPAs. Clubhouses, not frat houses, are now the cool places to hang out. But collegiate memories stick with players like a favorite batting glove.

With their old college days but a year or two in the rearview mirror, memories of past glory in the NCAA Division I Tournament are still fresh for Lahey and a handful of his Miracle teammates.

From 2001-04, Lahey starred behind the plate and in the batter's box at Princeton, leading the Tigers in home runs for three seasons.

In Lahey's freshman, junior and senior years, Princeton, which is managed by former Major Leaguer Scott Bradley, won the Ivy League championship and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Knocking off Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn goes over well with Tiger alumni in boardrooms, but it's trips to Regionals that give Princeton an opportunity to prove they belong on the same base paths as traditional Division I powerhouses.

"When you show up as an Ivy League team, I'm sure they say, 'who the heck are these guys,'" said Lahey.

In 2004 — Lahey's senior year — Virginia found out all about Princeton, the hard way. Including Lahey, who was plucked by the Twins in the 20th round, Princeton had five players drafted by Major League clubs in 2004.

The fourth-seeded Tigers upset the No. 1 Cavaliers in the opening game. Princeton didn't advance to the Super Regionals or College World Series, but neither did Virginia, which featured Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

"We hurt Virginia pretty good," Lahey recalled. "My senior year in a lot of ways was the most fun because of that game."

Lahey's junior year — when Princeton lost to Auburn (5-2) and Clemson (7-6, 10 innings) in Regionals — wasn't too shabby, either. Lahey was the only Tiger named to the All-Auburn Regional Team after going 4-for-8 in the two games.

Alexi Casilla tries to break up a double play in the first inning as Sarasota shortstop Paul Janish goes airborne during the Miracle's 5-0 win Tuesday night at Hammond Stadium.

Making it to Regionals allows teams such as Princeton — which typically draws a few hundred fans to regular season games — a chance to bask in front of thousands at host schools, typically in the SEC or ACC.

"It's the best time of the year," said Lahey, who is 3-0 with 23 strikeouts in 30 innings this season.

Miracle pitcher Kevin Slowey couldn't have picked a better time to shine than last year's Regional opener against Wichita State. As a junior at Winthrop, Slowey outdueled Mike Pelfrey — the ninth overall pick in last spring's Major League draft — by pitching a seven-hit, 13-strikeout complete-game 2-1 victory.

That game, which took place one year ago today, helped boost the draft status of Slowey, who was selected by the Twins in the second round.

"Being from a mid-major school there wasn't a ton of scouts at our games," said Slowey.

But that changed at Regionals.

"My first warm-up pitch I see 60 radar guns go up. It was definitely exciting and something I'll never forget," said Slowey, who leads the Florida State League with a 1.48 ERA and is second with 75 strikeouts.

Winthrop was eliminated after losing their next two games, but the Eagles are back in Regionals again this year in what would have been Slowey's senior swan song had he not signed with the Twins.

"I was thrilled I went to college and it was a great place for me to get better at baseball," he said. "Making Regionals was icing on the cake."

Oregon State's run to the College World Series last year was somewhat bittersweet for starting pitcher Kyle Aselton, who is 4-2 with 43 strikeouts in 48 innings with the Miracle. Had he not signed with the Twins following his junior season, Aselton would have been part of the Beavers' first CWS appearance in 52 years.

But Minnesota's 11th round pick in 2004 has no regrets.

"I was happy I signed. I could have gone back for my senior year and played," he said. "But it was fun watching them on TV. I'd talk to them before and after the games. Every college player dreams of making it there and very few do."

One who did make it is Javi Sanchez, who played a variety of infield positions at Notre Dame from 2001-04. Sanchez is the only player on the Miracle's roster who has played in a CWS. The Fighting Irish, who will play at Florida Gulf Coast University next season, made it to the CWS in 2002. Sanchez, who is on the Miracle's disabled list, smacked a 3-run home run in Notre Dame's 4-3 loss against Stanford in the Series opener.

By winning the Big East last week, Notre Dame earned an automatic Regional bid. Mississippi, where Miracle infielder Matt Tolbert played, is a No. 1 Regional seed. They join Princeton, Winthrop and Oregon State in the field, but none are in the same Regional.

"I think it would be great if two of our teams squared off," said Slowey, "but I think it's pretty unlikely."

Miracle pitchers dominated Sarasota in a two-game series at Hammond Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday.

First it was Colby Miller, Chris Schutt and Tim Lahey combining to shut down the Reds on three hits in a 5-0 win on Tuesday. Miller (1-1) allowed just two hits in six innings and lowered his ERA to 2.70.

Trevor Plouffe's RBI single to right in the second inning gave the Miracle a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, Matt Tolbert sliced a two-run double and Jeremy Pickrel followed with an RBI double to make it 5-0.

With the bases loaded in the eighth, Schutt was relieved by Lahey, who struck out Jay Garthwaite to end the threat.

On Wednesday, Anthony Swarzak kept the Reds bats cold by allowing only two hits in six innings as the Miracle won, 5-0. Sarasota notched one single each in the first and third, but then went 17 batters in a row without reaching base.

Reliever J.P. Martinez struck out the side in order in the eight and fanned three more in the ninth, allowing just one walk.

After fouling off several pitches, Brock Peterson poked a single to right that scored Alexi Casilla to make it 1-0 in the first.

Early on, the Miracle struggled to produce hits with runners in scoring position all night.

A RBI sacrifice fly by Luke Hughes made it 2-0 in the sixth.

Pickrel smashed his league-leading eighth triple into right-center that drove in two runs to make it 5-0 in the seventh.

Combined with an 8-0 win at Sarasota on Sunday, the Miracle extended their shutout streak to 29 innings.

Casilla, the only Miracle batting over .300, went 4-for-4 on Tuesday.

Miracle left fielder Garret Guzman produced the defensive gem of the series when he made a diving catch to rob Chris Kroski of a base hit in the seventh inning on Wednesday.

Wednesday's win, which was No. 999 in Miracle franchise history, moved the Miracle into a first place tie with Dunedin in the Western Division.

Casilla, catcher Kyle Geiger and pitchers Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey have been selected to play in the FSL All-Star Game on Saturday, June 17 in Lakeland.

Garza will not participate in the game because he was called up to New Britain in mid-May after posting a 5-1 record and 1.42 ERA with the Miracle.

Slowey is 2-1 with a 1.48 ERA in 10 games. In 60.2 innings he has walked just six and struck out 75. Opponents are hitting .165 against him.

Casilla is leading the Miracle with a .308 batting average which includes 10 doubles and four triples.

Geiger is third among Western Division catchers with a .248 batting average, which includes seven doubles and nine walks.

The Miracle return home Tuesday to start a three-game series against Tampa. Game time for Monday and Wednesday's games is 7:05 p.m. Tuesday's game will start at 6:05 p.m.