College Notebook: Peabody’s Ruotolo finding his niche

The University of Connecticut baseball team finds itself on the postseason ropes after the sixth-seeded Huskies dropped their opening game of the 2015 American Baseball Championship, 3-1, to No. 3 Tulane Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.
If the Huskies can rebound, they will very likely see a great deal of Patrick Ruotolo.Only a sophomore, Ruotolo — who was once the ace of the Peabody High Tanners — serves as the team’s closer. The Huskies (33-24) will face No. 7 University of Central Florida, an American Athletic Conference foe, Thursday at 11 a.m. in an elimination game.
Heading into the tournament, Ruotolo was confident in the Huskies? chances of advancing.
“We have to win the conference championship to make the [NCAA] tournament,” said Ruotolo. “So our goal is to win it all.”
Ruotolo, who dominated the Northeastern Conference while he was in high school, pitching three no-hitters in a four-game span for Peabody, was named to theNew England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-Region team on Wednesday.
He remains grateful for the lessons learned from Tanners’ coach Mark Bettencourt.
“He taught me how to work and prepare,” said Ruotolo. “I still make sure I get everything I need done before the game to be mentally prepared.”
Ruotolo’s preparation and work ethic provided the opportunity to play now against some of the best in the nation.
“I take a lot of pride in getting the chance to play college baseball,” he said. “Not a lot of kids get that chance out of high school, so it’s just great to be able to play.”
The 5-foot-10-inch right-hander transitioned from a starter in high school to the role of closer in college.”I gained some velocity,” he said, “so my coaches thought I’d be effective in short bursts.”
Ruotolo leads the Huskies with six saves and recorded 48 strikeouts in 32 innings.
“I really try to bear down and make sure every pitch is my best,” he said. “As a starter, you can pitch for seven innings and if you give up two or three runs, that’s not horrible. As a closer, if you give up two or three runs, it is terrible. But I love closing — I get to pitch so much more often. When I started, I’d pitch once a week. Now it can be up to three or four times a week.”The biggest difference between starting the game and finishing it, he explained, is the mentality.
“I’m just worried about strike one every single time,” he explained. “If I get strike one, I’m a whole different pitcher.”
The exploratory major wants to pitch the moment the game starts.
“I’m always ready to go,” he said. “I can’t think, ‘We’re up by five so it’s not a save situation.’ I only think about going in.”In between his preparation for the tournament, Ruotolo explained that he is having the time of his life playing for the Huskies.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “We get to play the game of baseball and travel. We went to Houston (last week) and now we’re in Clearwater, Fla., so it’s really great.”
Names and notes
Lynn?s Ryan Beliveau was named Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) player of the week after batting .412 for Salem State at the NCAA Division III New England Regional. The Vikings co-captain was 7-for-17 with a double, triple and seven RBIs…Trish O?Brien, a 1989 graduate of Salem State University, has been named Massachusetts Maritime?s acting director of athletics effective July 1. While at SSU, she led the basketball team to a 95-19 record and the 1986 NCAA Division III national championship. She was inducted in SSU?s Hall of Fame in 1994?Endicott College pitcher Nick Quattrowas named to the NEIBA Division III All-New England first team. In 24 appearances, Quattro posted a record of 8-1 with a 1.42 ERA and a team-best 55 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings pitched…Endicott?s Nick Pinciaro, of Beverly,was named a Division III All-American by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). Pinciaro, the Commonwealth Coast Conference offensive player of the year and All-CCC first team