Staten Island, NY | Head Coach Michael Mauro and the College of Staten Island baseball program is proud to announce the celebratory signing of Susan E. Wagner High School senior Joseph Mastellone. The pitcher turned designated hitter has put in a great four-year career with the Falcons, and is looking forward to a tremendous career as a Dolphin.
A former Susan Wagner Rookie of the Year and Batting Award winner, Mastellone did a lot of pitching during his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Falcons, and has been a big hitter in the lineup on the varsity side his junior and senior seasons. He is looking forward to playing for CSI and lending to their championship pedigree.
“I chose to attend CSI because I wanted to stay local,” he said. “I’ve been aware of how good their baseball team has been playing and I wanted to be a part and contribute to my hometown college athletics program.”
Mastellone went undefeated as a pitcher his first two seasons at SWHS, going a combined 4-0 with an ERA under 1.00, earning a Junior Varsity Gold Glove Award. He followed that up by batting a healthy .375 his junior season, winning Susan Wagner’s Batting Award. Through 11 games this season, Mastellone is batting .303 with a healthy .439 on-base percentage, scatting five RBI. He has not pitched due to injury for the Falcons, but is looking at a healthy return to the hill with the Dolphins.
“I feel like I can potentially become a closer at CSI, and I feel like my bat will contribute to help score runs,” he said
Coach Mauro likes what he sees in his young prospect at the plate and on the hill. “We’ve been following Joe the last three years,” he said. “When he is healthy, he is one of the most dominant pitchers on Staten Island. We feel that by the time the college season rolls around he will be one-hundred percent healthy and ready to contribute to the team. We feel he is a great fit for our program and we can’t wait to watch him play here.”
Mastellone is also strong in the classroom, where he earned on to the school’s Merit Roll. He was also a part of the New York Prospects baseball program.
The CSI Baseball program is fresh off of another terrific season that concluded with a fourth-straight CUNYAC title. The team graduated a crop of six seniors and are bringing in one of their biggest recruiting classes in time for 2018-19.
