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Sean Osterman was a baseball player without a home, or in his case, a league earlier this summer.
Players with talents like Osterman don’t stay without a league for too long. So when Brandon Potter, his coach at St. John Fisher, found out Osterman was a man without a team he decided to stick his neck out for his outfielder.
He turned to close friend Damon Arnold, an assistant coach with the Newark Pilots of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
“(The Newark Pilots) were missing some pieces, and I thought playing in that league would give him some confidence going into the fall,” Potter said. ‘We always knew he would play well there.”
The two friends realized Osterman filled a need and the Pittsford Sutherland graduate was quickly a member of the Pilots.
Osterman started the final 15 games of the regular season and hit .255 for the Pilots, who kicked off the PGCBL championship series Wednesday night against Amsterdam.
“The whole experience has been amazing,” Osterman said. “The guys on the team are awesome, they are all incredible ball players. The coaches have been great, the fans have been really welcoming. The staff of the Pilots is great. It’s been an incredible experience.”
Osterman started the summer in the EBC League but his team folded towards the end of the season.
He saw the end coming as his team routinely struggled to finish a game with nine players. One game Osterman’s team only had eight players so they tried to recruit spectators to play so they wouldn’t have to forfeit.
Osterman saw first hand Newark’s support for their baseball team as his debut game was played in front of 867 fans. The team drew 1,224 and 1,405 fans in their final two home games of the regular season.
One of Osterman’s favorite moments of the season came in an exhibition game when the Pilots played against the Heroes of the Diamond, a traveling team of US Military All-Stars.
“It’s pretty fun to play in front of enthusiastic crowds for every game,” Osterman said. “The community is really supportive, they love watching us play.”
Osterman has rewarded the Pilots faith in him.
His three-RBI double proved to be the difference in the Pilots 4-3 win over Cooperstown on Sunday, sending Newark into the PGCBL championship series. Osterman scored the game-winning run in the Pilots 3-2 win over Elmira on Aug. 2.
Sean Osterman was a baseball player without a home, or in his case, a league earlier this summer.
Players with talents like Osterman don’t stay without a league for too long. So when Brandon Potter, his coach at St. John Fisher, found out Osterman was a man without a team he decided to stick his neck out for his outfielder.
He turned to close friend Damon Arnold, an assistant coach with the Newark Pilots of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
“(The Newark Pilots) were missing some pieces, and I thought playing in that league would give him some confidence going into the fall,” Potter said. ‘We always knew he would play well there.”
The two friends realized Osterman filled a need and the Pittsford Sutherland graduate was quickly a member of the Pilots.
Osterman started the final 15 games of the regular season and hit .255 for the Pilots, who kicked off the PGCBL championship series Wednesday night against Amsterdam.
“The whole experience has been amazing,” Osterman said. “The guys on the team are awesome, they are all incredible ball players. The coaches have been great, the fans have been really welcoming. The staff of the Pilots is great. It’s been an incredible experience.”
Osterman started the summer in the EBC League but his team folded towards the end of the season.
He saw the end coming as his team routinely struggled to finish a game with nine players. One game Osterman’s team only had eight players so they tried to recruit spectators to play so they wouldn’t have to forfeit.
Osterman saw first hand Newark’s support for their baseball team as his debut game was played in front of 867 fans. The team drew 1,224 and 1,405 fans in their final two home games of the regular season.
One of Osterman’s favorite moments of the season came in an exhibition game when the Pilots played against the Heroes of the Diamond, a traveling team of US Military All-Stars.
“It’s pretty fun to play in front of enthusiastic crowds for every game,” Osterman said. “The community is really supportive, they love watching us play.”
Osterman has rewarded the Pilots faith in him.
His three-RBI double proved to be the difference in the Pilots 4-3 win over Cooperstown on Sunday, sending Newark into the PGCBL championship series. Osterman scored the game-winning run in the Pilots 3-2 win over Elmira on Aug. 2.
“He’s definitely been a great pick-up,” said Chris Ebright, manager of the Newark Pilots. “He not only has the smarts, but when he puts the barrel on the ball he hits it hard. He’s a smart player, and when he gets on base he makes the other team worry about him.”
Osterman played in 28 games for Fisher in his sophomore year this spring with 27 starts. He hit .272 and had 28 base hits for the Cardinals.
His numbers improved tremendously from his freshman season when he hit .243.
Osterman doesn’t just impress coaches with his bat speed and range in the outfield. He always seems willing to do whatever the team needs, including playing any of the three positions in the outfield.
“I want to go into every game and help my team as much possible,” Osterman said. “I don’t want ot go 0-for-4 at the plate, or not get a guy on third with less than two outs. I want to do the little things right.”
