So I'm sitting here in Columbia, South Carolina getting set for the start of the NCAA Baseball Regional tournament as Manhattan plays #8 seeded South Carolina as Coastal Carolina and Clemson are also in the regional.
I wanted to write this at the beginning of the week, but prep for this weekend prevented that. There is a story, in every sporting event, that is played up by the media for the "underdog" of the event. However, the one being talked about this weekend, deserves to be overplayed to the point of exhaustion and then some.
Manhattan Jaspers senior pitcher, and starter today against the two-time defending national champion Gamecocks, Taylor Sewitt is coming off one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen in sports in my young life.
Sewitt, a walk-on shortstop turned pitcher, turned in an outing that single handedly gave Manhattan their second straight MAAC title. After the Jaspers dropped game one to Rider 6-4 on Thursday, sending them to the loser's bracket, Sewitt goes out and throws a 9 inning shutout in a 1-0 win over Fairfield with 12 strikeouts and 106 pitches.
The next day, he pitched two shutout innings in relief in the championship round over Canisius for a Manhattan come from behind win to force a decisive final game. In that game, Sewitt pitched 11 shutout innings in relief as the Jaspers won 3-2 over the Golden Griffins.
So lets review: after three straight days, Taylor Sewitt (a former shortstop) had a line that looked like this: 22 IP, 3-0, 10 H, 6 BB, 20 K, 0 R, 296 pitches. He was rightfully named MVP.
What made this so incredible to me, was that the sidearmer was dominant on all three days. Baseball "purists" who have heard the story are up in arms saying the coaching staff abused their starter. Here is what I say, ride the hot hand. Sewitt didn't just barely get by on those three days, he DOMINATED. Every time he came out of the dugout on Sunday my jaw dropped. Here was a senior who said time and time again "It was my last tournament and I wasn't going to lose. I was just asking my teammates to get one run." I give credit to the Manhattan staff for letting their horse run. They trusted him, they believed in him, and he proved them correct.
So today, at 4 p.m. on ESPNU, Sewitt will pitch in his second straight NCAA Tournament this time against a two-time national champ. Last year, he pitched five scoreless innings at Florida. Let me say that again, five SCORELESS innings AT FLORIDA. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball, he doesn't have a deadly curve, and he doesn't have high draft hopes. But he has something that every "underdog" story requires to stay alive: heart.
I'm beyond excited to watch this kid pitch again, and so should you. If you can, do it. Whether you root for him to win or not, you're going to see the best part about college sports, someone playing for love of the game and only that.
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