NA grad turning into college slugger
The ball caromed off the bat of Nick Sell and kept going. And going ...
“I'm watching it and thinking to myself, ‘What's happening here?’” Sell said. “It was almost an accident.” The Accidental Home Run? “Pretty much,” Sell added, recalling that benchmark at-bat in his freshman season at Seton Hill University. “It was kind of strange. It was wind-aided. I didn't expect it.”
Understandable, considering Sell had just one homer in his four-year career at North Allegheny High School. Yet here he was, three games into his first collegiate season, and he'd already matched that total.
“I think I just started running and got around the bases as fast as I could,” he said, laughing. “I definitely didn't have a home run trot.” He does now. A senior third baseman at Seton Hill, Sell is among the most prolific power hitters in NCAA Division II baseball. He entered the week ranked second in the nation in home runs with 24 and first in RBIs with 79. Last Saturday, the once power-deprived hitter was Babe Ruth-like. Sell blasted three homers and drove in seven runs in a 10-2 victory against Gannon.
His career home run total of 55 is the most in the 11-year history of the Seton Hill baseball program. The old record of 37 belonged to another North Allegheny alum, Pat Trettel.
“Nick is self-made,” Seton Hill coach Marc Marizzaldi said. “He came here and reinvented himself.”
Marizzaldi was referring to Sell’s commitment to building his once modest frame — he was 160 pounds when he arrived at the Westmoreland County school — into a 6-foot-1, 195-pound pillar of strength. Countless hours of weight training and round-theclock focus triggered the evolution.
“I saw how the other guys worked around here and I wanted to push myself, too,” said Sell, who acknowledges that he “underachieved” at North Allegheny. “The coaching staff believed I could help this program and that helped me believe in myself.”
Sell is a major cog on a Seton Hill team that has a 37-7 overall record, 20-4 in the PSAC and is racing toward its sixth consecutive trip to the regionals of the NCAA Division II tournament. Seton Hill earned its first-ever No 1 ranking earlier this season and has been in the top 10 in numerous polls throughout the year. The Griffins finished sixth in the nation last season after advancing to their first College World Series.
“We won’t be satisfied until we win the national championship,” Sell said. “That’s where my focus is, that’s where our team's focus
is. I’m fortunate to have good statistics, but that’s not what it’s all about.”
If Sell continues to swing a hot bat, there is no telling where the Griffins might go. On Sunday, he was chosen as one of 30 semifinalists for the Tino Martinez Award, given to the top player at the Division II level. Sell finished fourth in the voting as a sophomore.
He was also named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Athlete of the Week on April 13 after going 12 for 18 (.667), with four homers, seven extra-base hits and a 1.556 slugging percentage. He entered the week ranked ninth nationally with a .468 batting average.
What makes those numbers extra impressive is that Sell rarely sees quality pitches due to his sterling reputation. He has more walks than strikeouts, a rarity for a home run hitter.
His feats have become so compelling that Major League Baseball scouts have taken notice. One rep even showed up to observe Sell at batting practice.
“This is all new to me,” Sell said of the flurry of attention.
Whether the added interest will lead to Sell being drafted in June is uncertain. He is, however, making a strong case.
“The scouts like his bat speed,” said Marizzaldi, who recently won his 400th game at Seton Hill. “And we’ve seen interest pick up in the last couple of weeks. It’s his bat that can play for him at the next level.
“The challenge for the scouts is looking at Nick, then looking at guys who play in the ACC or the SEC, and trying to compare Division I and Division II hitters. For Nick, he’s played in summer leagues with Division I players the past couple of years and he's had success. And I can tell you this: Nick is the most accomplished player we’ve had here at Seton Hill.”
Sell’s view on being drafted is pragmatic.
“I just want a chance, a shot,” he said.
For Sell, he is determined to finish his senior season with a flurry. Some of his April highlights: The threehomer game versus Gannon; a three-run homer in a 9-8 win against Point Park; five RBIs in a 13-12 victory against Slippery Rock; and three hits and four RBIs in a 14-4 win at Clarion.
“This coaching staff brought me in here as an average high school player and developed me into a player who can make a difference at a very successful college program,” Sell said.