Four Stevenson players sign letters

The “cap ceremony” is getting to be old hat for the Stevenson baseball team.

On Wednesday, four of the Patriots' best players got together in the athletic director's office to sign NCAA Division I letters of intent.

All four were sporting some kind of gear from their future schools, with a baseball cap being the most common item worn with pride and excitement.

Pitcher Tyler Radtke signed on with Villanova and infielder Mike Martin signed with Harvard. Both players were instrumental in Stevenson's march to a third-place finish at state last season.

Meanwhile, pitchers Jeremy Scheck and Isaac Greenspon signed with Clemson and Stetson, respectively.

It was just two years ago that the baseball team swelled with pride under similar conditions.

Prior to the 2009 season, the Patriots had three pitchers sign on with Division I schools: Scott Firth with Clemson, Brad Sorkin with Illinois State and Matt Robin with Ohio University. Meanwhile, pitcher Kyle Ruchim, just a junior at the time, made a verbal commitment to Northwestern.

“Obviously, this is a real big plus for Stevenson baseball,” Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca said. “We've got a nice tradition going here of kids signing on to play in college. I think it makes the younger guys behind them work hard so that they can be the next class signing their letters (of intent).”

Speaking of signing the letters as a class, Radtke wouldn't have had it any other way. He was happy to share such an exciting moment with his classmates.

“It was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Radtke said. “I was really glad that I got to do it with my teammates. We've been playing together since we were little kids. Every one of us had a competitive drive and pushed each other to be the best we could so that we could get to this point. Having that happen was pretty nice.”

Radtke, a hard-throwing righty who went 9-1 last season and is the Patriots' most experienced returning starter, chose Villanova after attending a camp there last summer. He was first discovered by the Villanova coaches at an annual summer showcase for juniors held at Stevenson.

He picked Villanova over Cincinnati and Dayton.

“I really liked the education Villanova offered,” Radtke said. “It's a great school and the campus is great and the baseball program is really good. They're in the middle of the Big East, so I wanted to be able to come in and have an impact on getting it to be even better.”

Martin, a speedy infielder who played third base last year, is the Patriots' only returning position player.

He hit .374 in 91 at-bats last year.

He picked Harvard over Illinois-Chicago and Valparaiso.

“Mike is a great baseball player with a lot of speed and a good bat and strong throwing arm who could probably play centerfield in college,” Mazzuca said. “He wanted to use baseball to land at a really good academic school and he was obviously able to do that.”

Scheck hasn't logged many innings for Stevenson, but impressed at all the other right times in order to stay on recruiters' radars.

He caught the attention of Clemson the summer before his junior year while playing with Top Tier, an elite travel baseball team that all four Stevenson signees and many other Stevenson players join in the off-season.

But prior to the 2010 spring season with Stevenson, Scheck underwent “Tommy John” surgery to repair an elbow injury. He missed the entire season.

But Clemson elected to stick with Scheck. He wound up having more good outings this past summer.

“That's great that Clemson did that and they're going to get a hard-throwing lefty,” Mazzuca said. “He's throwing 86, 87 miles per hour and looking really good.”

Scheck picked Clemson over Texas Christian, Louisville and Kentucky and is excited about the opportunity to play with Firth.

Greenspon is in a similar position to Scheck.

He suffered a back injury last year and pitched only three innings.

But a strong summer opened some doors for him and Stetson knocked loudest. Greenspon chose Stetson over Bucknell and Lehigh and is excited that he has some relatives who live nearby.

Mazzuca says the right-hander should be a key reliever for the Patriots this season.

“Isaac got some great exposure with Top Tier this summer,” Mazzuca said. “He really caught the eye of the Stetson coaches.”

Come spring, the Division I-loaded Patriots hope to catch the eyes, and get in the heads, of their opponents.

“This is something guys talk about on the bench, in the dugout,” Radtke said of the college commitments. “I think it's going to help us. It might be a little bit of an advantage. Maybe it gets in peoples' heads a little bit.”