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yr lonaa, ne is me best all-around high school pitcher that I have ever seen,” Ell-wood City coach Jeff Fotia said. “His poise and demeanor on the mound are second to none.”Ricciuti has the numbers to back up Fotia’s remarks. Ricciuti racked up a 31-3 career mark and won two WPIAL Class AA titles and one PIAAcrown.“I didn’t look ahead; I just went out there one game at a time and, before you know it, there’s 30 wins right there,” Ricciuti said. “I threw my heart out every game. If I didn’t sit out my junior year, I could have had 40.”Ricciuti missed most of last season with an underdeveloped muscle in his right rotator cuff.“It wasn’t an injury like most people think,” Ricciuti said. “It was just a precaution so something more serious didn’t happen down the line.“It helped me to sit out my junior year,” he said. “If not, I might not be where I am today. I didn’t want to do it at first, but I was told if I didn’t do it then, I might have to do it this year. I was going to sit out a week or two, but they ended up shutting me down for the season and it ended up payingAfter this season, they should know now.”Indeed. Ricciuti was the most dominant pitchers in the state. He racked up a 12-1 record with three saves and struck out 143 batters in 91 2/3 innings. He gave up 56 hits, 33 walks and 16 earned runs. At the plate, he hit a team-best .436 with 14 RBIs, 20 runs scored and six doubles. He hit .521 in the postseason.“I definitely wanted to come back this year all-out,” Ricciuti said. “My arm feels great now. It’s definitely 100 percent now.”Too bad for any school other than Akron.“Akron stuck with me and I stuck with them,” Ricciuti said.Ricciuti, who played shortstop when not on the mound, was one of the team’s most athletic players.“He can dunk a basketball and could have been a free safety and quarterback in football,” said Fotia, also an assistant football coach and physical education teacher at Ell-wood City. “In gym class, we have this iron man competition and he makes it look so easy.”Ricciuti thought about play-ahead of other teams.”Ricciuti, who plans to major in business, is eager to get to Akron for the fall baseball season.“I am pretty excited to go there,” he said. “I am going to work to get in there and get my action.”Fotia is sure Ricciuti will excel with the Zips.“I think he will be an impact player right away; I think Akron is very, very lucky. There’s no doubt that he is ready for the next level,” Fotia said. I think he will be very good because he can throw the ball wherever he wants. He is not just a kid up there throwing the ball with velocity. He is spotting his pitches. It’s not an accident.”In addition, Fotia has no doubt Ricciuti will make an outstanding pro prospect once he becomes draft eligible after his junior year with the Zips.“If he can pitch a baseball to wooden bats, I think you’d really see how good he is because he would be sawing people off and breaking bats,” Fotia said. “It’s amazing what he’s done throwing to aluminum bats.”(Joe Sager can be contacted at jsager(a ncnewsonline. com or by calling (724) 654-6651, extension 629.)
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New Castle News Holiday
New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, Jul 04, 2003
Page 9
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