Binkiewicz Selects Quinnipiac, Hopes for Walk-On Play

There are presently three New Jersey residents on the 2010 Quinnipiac University baseball roster.

Since one is a freshman and the other two sophomores, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School senior Gary Binkiewicz hopes he will be at least the fourth Garden Stater to make the 2011 squad.

On Friday, Binkiewicz decided that he will attend the Division 1 school, which is located in Hamden, Conn.

"I'm going to try to walk on there," Binkiewicz said Saturday after helping lead Scotch Plains to a 17-0 first round Union County Tournament triumph over visiting Plainfield.

By walk-on, that means that Binkiewicz will attempt to make the team as a non-scholarship player. If he does, then he could possibly earn a scholarship down the road.

"It came down to either Monmouth or Quinnipiac and I was going to have to walk on regardless, so from the beginning Quinnipiac was one of my top choices of schools," Binkiewicz said.

Kevin Maroney, who played first base and pitched last year for Scotch Plains while earning All-County honors, is now playing baseball as a freshman at Division 1 Monmouth University in West Long Branch.

"It just came down to that I felt more comfortable there," Binkiewicz said of Quinnipiac. "I visited both schools a number of times and spoke to both coaches, so I'll see what I can do there."

Binkiewicz went 9-1 with a 2.70 ERA last year and put together some impressive pitching numbers in earning all-conference, all-county and all-state recognition. One of his best mound efforts was when he gave up only one run in nine innings and earned the victory in his team's 2-1, 10-inning triumph over Westfield in the county championship game.

The winningest pitcher in Union County last season, which helped earn him Star-Ledger Union County Player of the Year honors, Binkiewicz struck out 48 batters in 49 innings and walked just 15. In 10 decisions he yielded just 19 earned runs.

With a record of 3-2 so far this season - which includes a two-game winning streak where he has allowed no runs on only one hit in a combined 10 innings in those two games - he is in line to get the start Wednesday vs. Union Catholic.

"Gary is a good player who needs to be seen by the coach," Scotch Plains head coach Tom Baylock said. "He doesn't light up the radar gun, but he gets guys out."

When not pitching, Binkiewicz has seen time in right field, at second base and at third base this season.

"He wasn't taken yet because he does not have great numbers or numbers that jump out at you," Baylock said. "In the fall I think he will have a good shot to make the team."

Binkiewicz threw five no-hit innings and combined with junior lefty Sean Reilly on a six-inning no-hitter in his team's 12-2 conference home win over Rahway Tuesday.

In his start before that, Binkiewicz allowed no runs on one hit, struck out three and walked two in a 10-0 conference home win over Union on April 22.

He also beat Plainfield on the road in conference play, lost at Bridgewater-Raritan and lost at home to Westfield in conference competition. The B-R and Westfield losses were both suffered in the seventh inning and by one run – each 4-3 scores.

"I've developed more of a changeup this year and that's helped," Binkiewicz said. "It's an important pitch for college and it might be ahead of my curveball as my No. 2 pitch right now."

After last year's success, teams are more aware of Binkiewicz this season, which makes his challenge on the mound to retire batter after batter that much greater.

"I haven't changed my approach," Binkiewicz said. "If teams see that I am on the mound and that makes them want to play harder, that's just like us seeing somebody that we want to beat, which makes us want to play harder."

NOTES: The New Jersey residents on this year's Quinnipiac University baseball team are sophomores Anthony Cinelli of Wall Township, Tim O'Sullivan of Upper Saddle River and freshman Kevin Spano of Orange and Seton Hall Prep.

Binkiewicz also said that his course of study at Quinnipiac would be communications and public relations.

Other Scotch Plains players who will continue their baseball careers in college include left fielder Joe D'Annunzio at Rutgers, shortstop Mike Ridge at William Paterson, first baseman John Maxwell at Johns Hopkins and catcher Lou Mazzella at Molloy College in Long Island.