Andy Scott spent months looking for the right fit, turning down scholarship offers from NCAA Division I and II teams after graduating from Sierra High in May.
So he continued to fine tune his game with the prestigious NorCal Baseball’s senior team, which practices and hosts games at St. Mary’s College in Moraga.
The right fit, as it turns out, was right under his feet.
The Gaels’ coaching staff saw the potential in Scott’s arm, both as a pitcher and possibly an outfielder. Scott signed a partial scholarship to join St. Mary’s about two weeks ago. Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona, Hawaii and UC San Diego were a few of the four-year schools also interested in his services.
“I worked so hard for it, so it’s just about time, you know?” Scott said. “I put myself through a lot and it makes me feel real good to be recognized.
“There are 31 Division I conferences and 10 teams in each conference with 35 players on each team. That’s a couple thousand Division players in the country, and I get to be one of them. That makes you feel awesome just looking at it that way.”
Scott has been playing with NorCal Baseball all summer to improve his stock. Some of its most well-known alumni include Philadelphia Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins, Colorado Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzski and Detroit Tigers P Dontrelle Willis.
“I’ve been turning down a lot of offers, and I had a feeling it would come eventually,” said Scott, who would have tried out for Delta College in Stockton had he not signed. “As the summer wore on, I got a little more doubtful; so it was a relief to finally get it done.”
Scott, named the Bulletin’s 2009 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year, held a 3.29 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 49 innings for Sierra. From the plate, he batted .342 with 29 runs, four homers, 20 RBIs and an area-high 14 multiple-base hits.
When he didn’t pitch, Scott played both middle infield positions during his four-year varsity career. Surgery that repaired a torn labrum and a shredded bicep tendon before his junior year kept him off the mound and delayed potential signing opportunities, but the hard-throwing righty showed great potential as a pitcher in his final season.
St. Mary’s of the West Coast Conference went 28-27 this past spring and four players selected in the first-year amateur baseball draft. That along with head coach Jedd Soto’s expertise in grooming pitchers were big draws for Scott.
“They get a lot of pitching scouts out there, and our pitching coach is the head coach,” Scott said.
Another draw was the location of the campus, which is about an hour-and-15-minute drive from his folks’ house in Manteca.
“Location-wise, it’s nice,” Scott said. “A lot of people go out to college and just panic after the first year and want to go home. I don’t know if I’ll have that problem, but if I do it’s a short drive home.
“Also, my dad’s never missed a single game, so my family can watch. I’ve played 100-plus games a year since I was 9 and my dad finds time to come to every game.”
To contact Jonamar Jacinto, e-mail jjacinto@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3538.
