Three Ward Melville alumni make former coach Petrucci proud

By Daniel Dunaief One would be validating and rewarding, two would be remarkable, but three is cause for celebration. Ward Melville High School varsity baseball coach Lou Petrucci is thrilled that three of his baseball alumni are in the major leagues at the same time — Steven Matz with the Tampa Bay Rays, Ben Brown with the Chicago Cubs, and Anthony Kay with the Chicago White Sox. “That’s just a tribute to the families and the Three Village community that allowed these kids to flourish,” Petrucci said. “It’s really amazing.” Brown, who found out the day before the season started that he’d be a part of the major league roster, speaks to Petrucci once a week. Petrucci “gave me a really awesome opportunity when I was a sophomore,” Brown said. “He’s such a great supporter. I can call him and he always fires me up. He puts things in perspective.” For his part, Petrucci is glad he didn’t overuse his players. Brown, who now considers Petrucci a friend, had pitched in a game against William Floyd that got rained out after four innings. The next day, the six foot, six inch right hander asked for the ball again. Brown “and I got into a big argument,” Petrucci laughed. “He said, ‘Coach, am I pitching?’ I said, ‘Ben, you’re done. You’re not pitching on back-to-back days.” Ben’s mother JoAnne Wilson-Brown understood her son’s lifelong desire to play baseball. When he was seven, Brown got hit in the nose with a baseball. She brought her son, who had blood streaming down his face, to the hospital. Once in the car, he cried, not in pain but from the disappointment of leaving a practice when he was having so much fun. “He needed to be protected from himself, absolutely,” Wilson-Brown said of Ben. Kevin Finnerty, Executive Director of Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Athletics at Ward Melville for the last seven years, suggested that Petrucci was one of many reasons for the success of these three players. “These three young men are in the position they are in because of their hard work, their work ethic, the support from their parents, from the school, and from teammates,” Finnerty said. Petrucci “definitely had an important role.” The Melville baseball coach emphasizes the development of players off the field as well, focusing on academics and on building character, said Finnerty. Indeed, as high school players in a range of sports do, the varsity baseball team has spent time in clinics with younger students, working with them on drills, discussing sports, and encouraging them to engage in healthy habits. Matz, who graduated from high school eight years before Brown, told Petrucci he knew his younger counterpart would make it to the major leagues one day. Matz was “just so encouraging,” said Wilson-Brown. “He was so kind to Ben.” Kay and Brown have continued that tradition. Brown spoke with junior Andrew Poxon, who is also a pitcher, before the start of the season. The first mover Matz helped put the Setauket-based public high school on the map when he was drafted by his home town New York Mets in 2009 in the second round. The lefty pitcher was the first pick for the Mets that year. “He set the way for these guys,” Petrucci said. Petrucci is particularly proud of Matz’s Mets debut. On June 28, 2015, Matz pitched 7 2/3 innings in a 7-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds. Petrucci recalls that day vividly, as it was also the Ward Melville High School graduation date. While he pitched effectively and deep into the game, allowing two earned runs on five hits with six strike outs and three walks, his hitting stood out, particularly for a pitcher. Matz went three for three with a double at the plate, driving in four runs. Petrucci is confident Matz’s record for RBIs will “never be broken” because pitchers, other than Shohei Ohtani, don’t generally hit anymore. Petrucci recalled that Matz, whose Mets career lasted from 2015 to 2020 and included pitching five innings in the 2015 World Series Game Four against the Kansas City Royals, was also a stand out hitter and first baseman during his high school years. “If he didn’t make it as a pitcher, he would have made it as a first baseman,” said Petrucci. In one of his high school seasons, he had over 60 runs batted in during 40 games.” Kay, whom the Mets drafted in 2013 and then again in 2016 after he had a standout career at the University of Connecticut, also contributed significantly with his bat. In his senior year at Ward Melville, Kay was hitting and running sparingly, to keep him healthy. The lefty texted another coach, urging him to tell Petrucci to put him in the line up. At the time, the Patriots had a 5-4 record. After Key batted more regularly, the team reeled off 15 wins in a row, eventually winning the Long Island Championship. Petrucci recalled the Kay was a “catalyst on offense, led us on the mound and played a great center field.” As for Brown, his former high school baseball coach is particularly proud of the Cubs pitcher’s combination of resilience, determination and constant drive for improvement. Drafted in the 33rd round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017, Brown “passed a lot of other guys in the Phillies and Cubs organization,” Petrucci said. Brown, who trekked back and forth between the Cubs and their AAA team in Iowa last year, spent considerable time this summer honing and improving a sinker to complement a fastball, a knuckle curveball and a developing change up. Brown is a “relentless worker,’ said Petrucci. The right messages Petrucci also does an admirable job of setting expectations with parents, telling them that the students with the best skills and who work the hardest will earn their appropriate playing time, said Finnerty, who rarely gets complaints from baseball parents. Petrucci has been an effective advocate for his players as well, reaching out to college coaches and major league scouts to showcase the depth and breadth of talent on the diamond. Brown credits his former coach for bringing in scouts, whom he said have great respect for Petrucci, to watch him pitch. Petrucci was also Brown’s teacher in sixth grade, pushing the class to read more, which Brown wished he had done then. “As a 26-year old, I want to do more” reading,” Brown said. “So much intellectual wealth comes from reading.” Petrucci appreciates all the players he’s coached and is proud of the three hurlers in the major leagues. One day, he’d like to see two of these pitchers take the mound against each other for their respective teams. He would root for “two shutouts,” he said. The fact that three players from the same high school made it to in a sport that recruits players from countries around the world including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Japan and Korea is “amazing,” he said. “I’d have to live a million years to repay the baseball gods for what they gave me with these three guys.” WMHS pitchers in the MLB •Steven Matz Year and team drafted: 2009 by Mets Current team: Tampa Bay Rays Height: 6’2” Throws: Lefty Team last year: Red Sox Uniform number: 32 •Anthony Kay Years and team drafted: 2013 and 2016, by Mets twice Current team: Chicago White Sox Height: 6’0” Throws: Lefty Team last year: Yokohoma DeNA Baystars Uniform number: 18 •Ben Brown Year and team drafted: 2017 by the Phillies Current team: Chicago Cubs Height: 6’6” Throws: Righty Team last year: Chicago Cubs Uniform number: 32