Junior College LHP Dale Stanavich talks Rutgers commitment
On Tuesday, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Baseball program received some big news when junior college pitcher Dale Stanavich announced his decision to commit to the program via social media.
The class 2020 baseball recruit chose Rutgers over the likes of UConn, St.John's, Manhattan College, Stony Brook and Marist. Here at The Knight Report we spoke with the left handed pitcher to get the latest on his decision and more.
“I’m happy to say I’m committed to Rutgers,” Stanavich told TKR. “I wanted to play under new head coach (Steve) Owens. He has a great history and the program is in a good position right now, where I feel I can make an impact.”
The Amsterdam, New York native was at Rutgers last Saturday for a visit and the message that coach Owens had for Stanavich has been in his head since.
“I was on campus last Saturday,” said Stanavich. “I got a chance to speak a lot with coach Owens. His message to was just that me being a JUCO guy with some college experience, that I could come right in and have a huge impact on the team. He also told me that they’re losing a bunch of pitchers next year, including two of their weekend guys so it’s a good fit for me.”
Stanavich originally enrolled at Marshall for his freshman season of college ball, but after a redshirt season he decided to head back closer to home to try out the junior college route where he excelled big time last season.
He pitched in 30.1total innings finishing with six saves, an earned run average of 0.59 and 69 strikeouts.
“I was at Marshall for my freshman year,” he said. “I redshirted and I ended up transferring to the junior college I’m at now. I had a really good first year with our team as we went to the World Series, but ending up losing our first two games. We should be back there again this year.”
After mostly being a bullpen guy for Herkimer County Community College last year, Stanavich will be a starter for the program this season and is set to do the same when he arrives at Rutgers.
“I was the closer mostly for my freshman season,” said Stanavich. “I will be a starter for my junior college this spring and as of now I will do the same for Rutgers, but things could always change.”
Stay tuned for more on Rutgers Baseball and other Scarlet Knights athletics news right here on The Knight Report!
