Carmel's Burg to play for Hofstra

Explaining nanotechnology, which Joe Burg is interested in studying, might be easier than explaining how the little lefty emerged as a Division I prospect.

A Carmel Catholic senior who threw little last spring, Burg will be signing a letter of intent this month with Hofstra University in New York. The Pride plays Division I baseball in the Colonial Athletic Association.

At 5-feet-10, "at best," he says, and with not overpowering stuff, Burg hardly was pursuing baseball opportunities at major universities.

"I was just looking toward academics," he said. "My height was a big turnoff (to Division I baseball schools). I didn't have a lot going for me. Then along comes a school that couldn't care less about height. They saw me and came after me."

"He's going to be pretty good," said Carmel coach Chuck Gandolfi. "He's real smart."

Burg, who will receive a hefty academic scholarship from Hofstra, was looking at MIT, Harvard and Cornell. Then Hofstra, a private college on Long Island, came into the picture. The Pride went 19-36 last spring under head coach Chris Dotolo, who resigned in June and was replaced by Patrick Anderson.

Gandolfi knows newly hired assistant coach John Russo, who served as a teacher and athletic director in the Millburn School District in Wadsworth the last three years.

"I was looking more at smaller schools," Burg said. "Hofstra saw me and had a lot of money left. They liked me and made me an offer."

Burg owns a 4.4 GPA (4.0 scale) and scored a 29 on his ACT. In college, he's considering pursuing nanotechnology, which, according to one dictionary, is a field whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale.

"I want to own my own company someday," Burg said.

Burg's progress as a baseball player was delayed his sophomore season when he tore his ACL rounding second base in a varsity game.

He was still on the mend last spring and got only a couple of starts on the mound for Carmel. During the summer, he pitched a lot and pitched well for the Midwest Rangers, a travel team that placed third in the CABA World Series in Ohio.

"I got back into it," Burg said. "I was fully healthy."

Burg's fastball has been clocked in the mid-80s.

"My changeup is probably one of my best pitches," he said. "I throw a curveball, too."

Come spring baseball, if opponents don't know his repertoire, they at least figure to know he's a Division I-bound pitcher.

"It's a challenge," Burg said. "I've always liked challenges."

That's clear.