Rutgers Baseball Announces 2009 Recruiting Class
Nov 20 | Baseball
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D’ANNUNZIO
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FAVATELLA
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The group includes infielder Nick Favatella (Washington Township, N.J.), outfielders Joseph D’Annunzio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Brian O’Grady (Warminster, Pa.), catcher Michael Zavala (Randolph, N.J.) and pitchers Charlie Lasky (Freehold, N.J.), Slater McCue (Radnor, Pa.) and Andrew Sullivan (Monroe, N.J.).
“We are very excited about this recruiting class,” said Hill. “We feel we addressed a lot of different positions with this group. We always like to build our team with the top talent in New Jersey and have branched out to the Philadelphia area in this class. This class has a lot of talent and we look forward to welcoming them to ‘The Banks’ next fall.”
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LASKY
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The seven signees will enroll at Rutgers in the fall of 2010.
D’Annunzio batted .494 with five home runs and 30 runs batted in last spring as an outfielder for head coach Tom Baylock at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. He will begin his fourth year as a varsity starter in the spring for Scotch Plains-Fanwood where he earned First Team All-County honors each of the last two seasons. D’Annunzio was also a four-year varsity letterwinner in soccer at Scotch Plains-Fanwood.
Favatella, who will begin his fourth season for Washington Township High School head coach Bill Alvaro, Jr. on the varsity team next spring, hit .556 with nine home runs and 28 runs batted in last season. He is a two-time All-Group IV selection by the Star Ledger (2008 and 2009). The shortstop earned First Team All-South Jersey honors by the South Jersey Baseball Coaches Association as well his junior season. Favatella also earned First Team All-South Jersey honors by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He hit .351 with two home runs as a freshman in 2007, helping guide Washington Township High School to the Group IV state title and batted .385 as a sophomore in 2008 with two more home runs and 24 runs batted in. Favatella is also a four-year varsity starter as a point guard for the Washington Township High School basketball team. Favatella ranks No. 1 academically in a class of 710 students.
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McCUE
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Lasky is a three-year varsity letterwinner who earned First Team All-Division honors and Third Team All-County laurels as a junior last spring for head coach Mike Yorke at Colts Neck High School. He finished the year 3-2 on the mound with 23 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. Lasky, who plans to pitch at Rutgers, also played third base where he hit .491 with two home runs and seven doubles to go along with 14 runs batted in. Lasky has played four seasons with the New Jersey Twins travel team under head coach and Minnesota scout John Wilson.
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O'GRADY
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McCue is a right-handed pitcher and plays first base as a three-year varsity letterwinner for John Vogan at Conestoga High School in Radnor, Pa. He earned All-Southeastern Pennsylvania honorable mention laurels by the Philadelphia Inquirer last season after posting a 1.42 earned run average and 51 strikeouts in 62 innings with just 10 walks. He plans to pitch at Rutgers. At the plate, McCue hit .383 with 17 runs batted in and drew 17 walks in 22 games. McCue was also a Mainline Times First Team selection last spring. He helped Conestoga to a 16-6 record and the Central League title last spring. He played five years with the Philadelphia Senators travel team, coached by Steve Koplove.
O’Grady, an outfielder for Jim Digeuseppe at Archbishop Wood in Philadelphia, was a Second Team All-Philadelphia Daily News selection as a junior last season. O’Grady will be playing his fourth year on the varsity level in the spring. He hit .414 with 21 runs scored and 16 runs driven in last spring. O’Grady recorded five doubles and 15 walks. He also served as a relief pitcher for the Catholic League Blue Division champions. O’Grady was also an honorable mention All-Southeastern Pennsylvania selection by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a three-time All-Catholic League and All-City pick. He is a four-year varsity letterwinner in basketball as well where he earned Philadelphia Daily News honorable mention laurels last season. O’Grady played last summer with the Mantos Big League 30 travel team.
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SULLIVAN
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Sullivan is a two-time First Team All-County and All-Area selection for Greg Beyer at Monroe High School. He is also a two-time All-Division pick as a sophomore and junior. The right-handed pitcher owns a school-record 1.26 earned run average. He totaled 63 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched with just 16 walks en route to a 5-2 record on the mound as a junior. Sullivan surrendered just nine earned runs the whole season. The hurler fanned 10 in a three-hit shutout of Woodbridge. He was the recipient of the Cy Young Award of Middlesex County last spring. Sullivan also garnered Second Team All-Group IV honors by the Star Ledger in 2009. Sullivan played with the New Jersey Twins travel team where he was coached by Minnesota scout John Wilson.
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ZAVALA
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Zavala, whose older brother Steven is a sophomore pitcher/outfielder for the Scarlet Knights, is a standout catcher for Jeff Grantham at Randolph High School. He helped lead the Rams to the finals of the Group IV Section I state championship last season with eight hits in the state playoffs. Zavala hit .267 with five doubles and one triple. Solid defensively as a catcher, he threw out several would-be base stealers last season. Zavala played last summer for In The Zone Angels travel team where he was coached by Marlins Scout Brian Guiliana.
Rutgers will open its 2010 season Feb. 19-21 in Coral Gables, Fla. with a three-game series against Miami.
