The significance of Stony Brook’s accomplishment didn’t hit Travis Jankowski until yesterday afternoon, when the team’s bus pulled in front of Pritchard Gymnasium.
There, Jankowski and his teammates were met by a sea of red, an estimated 300 fans, friends and school administrators awaiting them with an impromptu celebration for reaching the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time in school history.
“It was like Friday Night Lights when they’re going to the championship game, but it was after we won so it was a little better,” Jankowski, the senior center fielder who was taken 44th overall by the San Diego Padres in last week’s First-Year Player Draft, said of the gathering, which included Congressman Tim Bishop and Stony Brook President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D.
Stony Brook’s story — it’s the first northeast team since Maine in 1986 and first New York school since St. John’s in 1980 to reach the College World Series — is made for TV.
Just 12 years ago, the Seawolves (52-12) were a Division III program. At the time, head coach Matt Senk taught physical education classes at Stony Brook, ran his own baseball camps and worked within the athletic department to support himself, because the position wasn’t a full-time gig. Last year, they didn’t make the NCAA Tournament despite a then-program-best 42 wins after failing to win the America East tournament.
They left little to doubt this spring, going 21-3 in the America East, cruising to the conference title and getting seven players drafted by major league teams. Still, Stony Brook was given a fourth seed, only to shock the country by becoming the second No. 4 seed — Fresno State in 2008 was the other — to reach the College World Series. The Seawolves will face UCLA in their opener on Friday.
“It’s great to put Long Island baseball on the map and prove Northeast baseball can compete with anyone,” said sophomore right-hander Frankie Vanderka, who won the clincher against SEC champion LSU Sunday night.
They did so in impressive fashion, winning four times the last two weekends while facing elimination and handily defeating national powers Miami and LSU in the process.
On Saturday, less than an hour after falling in 12 innings to national eighth seed LSU in the continuation of a game Stony Brook was three outs from winning on three occasions, it beat Tigers ace Kevin Gausman to stay alive.
Gausman was the fourth overall pick of the Baltimore Orioles last week, but Tyler Johnson pitched liked the prized prospect, tossing a three-hitter in a 3-1 victory. A day later, Vanderka was the hero, going the distance in a 7-2 win, just his sixth start of the year.
In the three-game series against LSU, Stony Brook trailed just once — at the end of Game 1 — and outhit the six-time national champion, 35-15. On Sunday night, LSU coach Paul Mainieri paid Stony Brook the ultimate compliment, telling reporters he wouldn’t be surprised if the Seawolves left Omaha champions.
“It’s not over yet,” Vanderka said. “We’re going to play our game and try to win a national championship.”
Stony Brook is headed to Omaha confident it’s as good as its opponent, capable of leaving a champion.
“I wouldn’t say it’s that much of a surprise,” Vanderka said. “We’ve been talking about this since Day 1. We got to where we want to be.”
Whenever a television camera panned to the dugout, the Seawolves flashed hand signals: thumb and index fingers interlocked to create an “O” and the other three digits pointed upward. It signified Omaha and each finger was for one step to get there: the America East title, regionals and super regionals.
“We have to figure out a new hand signal,” Senk joked.