Roman Earns Spot on Northeastern's Baseball Team

(Submitted by Matt Memoli)

Former Newtown High School standout student and baseball player R.J. Roman recently made the baseball team at Division 1 Northeastern University in Boston.

R.J is a freshman at Northeastern and found out he had made the team after a weeklong tryout with the ball club. R.J’s journey to becoming part of the husky team was somewhat different than many players, as he had spent the fall semester studying abroad in Thessaloniki Greece.

Although it was a great learning experience and semester for R.J as he earned a 3.51 G.P.A, it was difficult for him to participate in any baseball specific workouts. However, after coming home, R.J. began working out twice a day and getting in shape for his January tryout.

R.J’s favorite part about making the team is being able to compete at the Division 1 level and against some of the best competition in the Northeast and rest of the country. Some of the top teams on the Huskies schedule are Boston College, University of Connecticut, George Mason, James Madison, and the Boston Red Sox.

Yes, the Boston Red Sox. R.J said one of the best parts about making the team is the opportunity to compete against the Red Sox in their new spring training facility in Fort Meyers, FL, a tradition Northeastern has with the professional organization.

Another highlight for R.J will be competing against Bryan Czel, a good friend and former teammate who is now playing at Central Connecticut State University. That game is slated for March 20^th in Boston.  

“Being able to prolong my baseball career and playing at the Division 1 level has always been a dream of mine," R.J. said. "I feel really fortunate to have this opportunity and feel really prepared to play at this level. After last year, I feel really prepared as Coach Memoli’s practices were just as hard as the ones I am going through now!"

Roman was a three-year starter for the Nighthawks as a first baseman, second baseman and pitcher. During R.J’s senior year, he hit .483 with a .656 slugging percentage, 5 doubles, 3 triples and 1 home run. Also, R.J was 4-1 on the mound with a 2.88 E.R.A and had 26 strikeouts.

Including Roman, Newtown has sent seven players on to play baseball at the collegiate level the past two years. R.J is the third to become a Division 1 athlete joining the likes of Bryan Czel at Central CT State and Ryan Powers at Manhattan.  

In addition to Roman, Newtown natives who graduated within the past two years and are now playing college baseball are

Kyle Kromberg: Endicott College

Andy Lapple: Colby Sawyer College

Bryan Czel: Central CT State University

Ryan Powers: Manhattan College 

Ryan Tita: Roger Williams University

Chrisy Haylon: Franklin & Marshall University

*Note: Some schools have not updated their 2012 baseball rosters yet*

Editor's note: Kyle Kromberg plays for Endicott College. An earlier version of this article had the wrong school.