Lehigh University Athletics
Local pair helps propel Lehigh to NCAA berth
5/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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by Neal Ostrout
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There's not exactly a pipeline running from Fairfield County to Bethlehem, Pa., but at least two former FCIAC rivals have found baseball success after taking that route.
Mike Sandonato, a former Trumbull High standout, and Joe Ercolano, an ex-Fairfield High star, are currently excelling on the Lehigh University baseball team. "They're two pretty important cogs in the team's machine," Lehigh coach Sean Leary said.
The duo has played a big part in the Mountain Hawks' breakthrough season, which was marked a week ago when the program earned its first Patriot League title and its first trip to the NCAA tournament.
Top-seeded Lehigh beat Bucknell 5-0 Sunday, and will begin NCAA play on June 2 against an opponent that will be announced May 29.
Sandonato, a senior second baseman, went 5-for-9 in the championship series and turned a key double play. Ercolano, a sophomore center fielder, recorded the final out. But it was hardly the first time either had contributed to Lehigh's good times.
Sandonato hit .309 and turned more double plays (33) than anyone else in the Patriot League this season. Ercolano hit .333, scored 52 runs in 51 games, walked 38 times and had an on-base percentage of .488.
"Mike is one of those guys, 25 years from now, you remember as a coach," Leary said of Sandonato. "You love when someone comes in and has maybe a role position to start, continues to fight his way up the ladder to a spot starter as a sophomore, to an everyday player as a junior, to a first team all-league guy as a senior. That's pretty special to watch."
Sandonato earned a spot on the Patriot's all-league team, thanks in large part to his outstanding defense.
"Defense is what we pride ourselves on. Most of our practice is dedicated to defense," Sandonato said.
Against Bucknell when it really mattered, Leary said Sandonato was on top of his game.
"That double play on Sunday had to be perfect, and it was," Leary said. "As opposed to it being 5-1 with a man on first and the middle of their lineup coming up, it's 5-0 and the inning's over. It really set them down at that point."
As for Ercolano, Leary said he couldn't have expected his young star to be this good so fast.
"From the first day he got here, he's pretty much been one of the best players in the league," Leary said. "He hit .420 last year and I think he had a better year this year."
When it became clear that he had a chance to make the NCAA tourney in just his second year at Lehigh, Ercolano admits he had some trouble keeping his focus.
"In the seventh or eighth inning, I'm in the outfield and I couldn't even concentrate on the game I was so excited," Ercolano said. "Waiting for the last out was tough."
Ercolano was denied a spot on the Patriot League first team after making the squad as a freshman. But unlike most of those selected, the Fairfield native and his teammates are still playing ball.
That little chip on Ercolano's shoulder extends to his team's perhaps undeserved reputation as an also-ran in the college baseball ranks. The Mountain Hawks, including their FCIAC stars, are anxious to see some NCAA action.
"We want to prove that Lehigh's a top competitor and that we can hang with any team in the country," Ercolano said. "And maybe we can take a game or two, maybe advance."
Sandonato, who will graduate May 22 and begin his job with Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Stamford July 10, had a similar thought.
"Yeah, they're going to a bigger time school and they get scholarships. They have a slight advantage," he said of the kind of opponent Lehigh is likely to face. "But we all put our pants on the same way. We could easily be in every one of the games if not winning every one of the games."
This story originally appeared in the Sunday, May 21, 2006 edition of The Connecticut Post.
