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Tony Meccariello is well aware that being the staff ace comes with high expectations. Every time the sophomore steps on the mound for the Widener University baseball team, he knows his team is counting on him to get the win.
The sophomore, of the 1000 block of Winton Street, has put together impressive stats, leading the Pioneers in innings pitched (45.2) and strikeouts (41) entering the week. Add a 3.15 ERA and it looks as if everything is going Meccariello’s way.
Everything, that is, except the wins.
The St. John Neumann graduate has an 0-4 record for the Division III squad. All four defeats came via one or two runs.
"This year, I know my team is depending on me," the athlete said during a recent phone interview. "I want us to win games because I know we have the potential. It does motivate me a lot more to work even harder."
Last Thursday, the 19-year-old delivered another solid outing when he surrendered just two earned runs over seven innings, while striking out six. Widener ended up winning the game 8-4, but Meccariello finished with a no-decision.
So far, the player said he hasn’t been too discouraged by the tough breaks.
"I just have to keep working hard, keep my head up and look forward to the next start," he said.
Coach Sean Matkowski has no doubt that Meccariello can handle the responsibility that comes with being the number-one starter. The player won the job during last month’s spring-training trip to Florida.
"I pretty much knew going into the season that he would be our ace," the coach said. "We lost a lot of pitchers to graduation, and he had a pretty good freshman year."
Meccariello earned the number-two spot in the rotation his rookie season, and finished with a team- and conference-best six wins, which included three complete games. Other highlights included a 4.70 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 53.2 innings pitched. His 16 walks ranked lowest on the team.
The Pioneers finished 23-16 overall last season, good enough for second in the conference.
Meccariello stayed active during the off-season by playing with the South Philadelphia Thunder in the Delaware County 16-18 Babe Ruth League. He was dominant on the mound, striking out 41 batters in 21 innings.
His play earned him a spot on the All-Delaware County Team, which won the state tournament. Meccariello and his teammates advanced to the Babe Ruth eastern regionals in Syracuse, N.Y. The athlete better known as "Tony Mecca" picked up a quarterfinal win. His squad was eliminated in the semifinals.
But the run provided the playoff excitement that Meccariello had missed out on at Neumann where he was a Second Team All-Catholic pitcher.
The player regrets that his Pirates failed to ever make it to the postseason. The closest the squad came was in 2001 — Meccariello’s senior year — when it finished 9-9.
"The problem at Neumann is we worked so hard and we could’ve beaten any of those teams," said the athlete, who represented Neumann on the 2001 Catholic League Carpenter Cup team. "I always thought we would turn it around, but we could never seem to get over the hump and into the playoffs."
Meccariello still follows the Pirates, especially with his brother Christian being a junior on the team.
As for his status at Widener, Meccariello’s coach is confident the player can help the 6-14-1 team improve.
"You never want to get used to not winning," he said. "Tony is really doing a good job of keeping his head on straight."
Meccariello, who is majoring in education and considering law school, said he was encouraged by last week’s performance, when his team won two out of three games against Juniata College. Last Thursday’s 8-4 win was the team’s strongest offensive output of the season since a March 8 loss in Florida in which the Pioneers scored nine runs.
In the meantime, the team is standing by its pitcher as he tries to get his record in line with his talent.
"He has been in the position to win every game," Matkowski said. "He goes out and pitches his best, and is never down on himself. Losing hasn’t been affecting him at all."
