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Baseball: Visconti to play on in college
New Trier's Sean Visconti throws to first against Loyola during the game on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 . | Joel Lerner~Sun-Times Media
Updated: April 9, 2012 7:33PM
Sean Visconti made some mistakes in New Trier’s 3-2 loss to rival Loyola last week.
As much as the New Trier shortstop’s errors bother him, at least they won’t keep him awake at night wondering if they cost him a chance to play in college.
Visconti committed to Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla., in February, and was scheduled to sign his scholarship papers on Wednesday. The Sailfish, once coached by late Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, play in Division II, and Visconti will get nearly a full ride.
Palm Beach Atlantic coach Kent Bottenfield, a former major-leaguer and Winnetka resident, saw enough of Visconti in the offseason to be impressed. Visconti took a visit in January and came away with equal admiration for the campus and the program.
“It’s a really nice place, it has great weather, and they play great competition,” said Visconti, who likely will get a chance to compete for playing time as a freshman.
Visconti, who explored the junior-college route before settling on PBA, joins the ever-growing list of Trevians who plan to play college baseball. Brady Arenson (Coastal Carolina), Austin Zimmerman (Bucknell), Campbell Lipe (Lafayette), Chris Hall (Elon) and Josh Perlmutter (Northwestern) each will continue their careers after New Trier.
“It’s such a great environment to be in here (at New Trier),” Visconti said. “Everybody loves the game and wants to play in the future. It’s such a great opportunity for all of us.”
New Trier rebounded from its lone loss of the season with a 4-2 win over Prospect on Saturday, improving to 5-1 overall.
“The Loyola game was bad,” Visconti said. “But our coaches know we are a good team, and they were encouraging. We just didn’t do some things well in that game. No excuses, though. It was a good experience to have a game like that early on.”
Visconti spoke like a veteran, even though he’s in his first season as a full-time starter. He played sparingly last season, primarily in the infield when injuries forced the starters to sit.
Visconti dedicated himself to the sport during the offseason, and had a strong summer with the Wilmette Waves to earn his place in the New Trier starting lineup as a senior.
“Baseball is something I’ve always loved playing, and it doesn’t matter who I am playing for,” he said. “It’s a little easier now that I know where I will be next season, but I am trying to make the most of this season first. It’s one last time playing with my teammates, and I love it so far.”
The Trevians were scheduled to play St. Viator on Monday, Highland Park in a CSL opener on Tuesday, Maine West today (Thursday) and Sandburg on Saturday.
