Massey improving his skills with the Navs

It takes a lot of work to be a quality pitcher in college baseball. For rising sophomores right-hander Trevor Massey, that work helping him prepare for next spring is being done this summer with the North Shore Navigators of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
Massey, of Swampscott, just finished his freshman season at Boston College. He appeared in six games out of the bullpen for the Eagles, striking out five and walking two in 4 2/3 innings.
?It was tough to get used to at first, and I didn?t get too many innings,” Massey said of his freshman year. “You just have to realize that it really is year-round work now. You?ve got to be ready to go out and play every day.”
Massey, who attended Swampscott High and the Tilton School in New Hampshire, noted that playing with the Navs for the past two seasons has really helped him develop a routine.
?Playing with these guys is awesome,” he said. “There?s a lot of great guys here and we all help each other out. It?s great to have so many different points of view.”
Massey, a submarine pitcher, has had a solid season with the Navs, appearing in 12 games out of the bullpen. He has posted a record of 1-2 with one save, a 1.63 ERA, 13 strikeouts, and five walks in 22 innings.
?He?s more in a role where I can bring him into a critical situation,” said Navs manager John Zizzo. “He?s got great stuff and he?s really deceptive with that submarine motion. He?s a great ground ball guy, so you can bring him into those tough situations.”
Massey goal is to get better every day for his sophomore season at BC.
?I?m just focused on being effective,” Massey said. “I need to throw strikes and work hard every day. That?s the formula.”
Scott Hovey,a Danvers native who just completed his first year at UMass-Amherst, also was pitching for the Navs this season. But the right-hander had to shut it down two weeks to undergo surgery on his pitching shoulder. In six games spanning 15 innings, Hovey was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in his first year with the Navs.
Zizzo has been using Hovey as a middle reliever, and said he?s one of the hardest workers on the team. If all goes well with the surgery, Hovey will be back with the Navs next summer.
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.