The great year enjoyed by St. Peter’s Prep head baseball coach Joe Urbanovich continued last Tuesday when two of his former players, Nick Criaris and Pete Duda, were selected in the Major League Amateur Draft, just two rounds apart.
Criaris, the senior catcher, was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round, while Duda, the former Prep standout pitcher who went on to Stanford University three years ago, was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 20th round.
Two kids from the same program were taken in the same draft literally just minutes apart. Certainly seems like a win-win for Urbanovich, whose team captured the HCIAA Coviello title two weeks ago and who captured his 500th career coaching victory a few weeks ago.
“Nick Criaris is the first kid to ever get drafted out of Prep,” Urbanovich said. “That’s a great accomplishment for the kid. He did all the work over the winter to put him in position to get drafted. His physique changed for the better and he went to all those talent showcases. It obviously turned into a solid investment.”
Ironically, Criaris called Urbanovich from a workout last weekend in Fenway Park, just a few days before the draft. Because of Criaris’ incredible power to left field as a left-handed hitter, Urbanovich told Criaris to “think about hitting a few off the Green Monster.”
“Instead, he called me to tell me that he put four in the right field bullpen,” Urbanovich said. “He has great power. It’s the reason why the Red Sox took him.”
The Red Sox were interested in the 6-2, 225-pound Criaris from the outset and then took him with the 18th round selection.
Criaris, who had an offer from the University of Cincinnati, is hinting that he might head to the junior college ranks without signing with the defending World Champs and then make himself eligible for next year’s draft.
Duda, who had to endure total elbow reconstruction, a.k.a. Tommy John surgery, while at Stanford, came back healthy enough to get clocked at 96 miles per hour. Duda has another year of college eligibility, but he is showing signs that he is interested in signing with the D’Backs…
Hudson Catholic is once again in search of a head baseball coach. After just one season, Brian Cardino handed in his resignation letter last week, taking a full-time position as an instructor and coach in the famed Frozen Ropes Player Development firm.
“It was very hard for me, because I had no real intentions of leaving,” said Cardino, who guided the Hawks to an 18-7 record this season. “It never crossed my mind. I thought I was going to be here for a long time. But this offer popped up of nowhere. There aren’t many times that you can get a full-time position in baseball. These jobs don’t come along often. Maybe part-time, but never full-time. Everything just fell into place.”
Cardino said that he leaves Hudson Catholic with somewhat mixed emotions.
“I would have loved to see this through,” Cardino said. “It was a good experience at Hudson Catholic. It’s hard to leave the kids behind. It’s hard to leave, but I couldn’t pass this opportunity up. Whoever takes over will have a good situation, because the program has a lot of young talent. Hudson Catholic has been wonderful to me for the past five years [Cardino served as an assistant to former coach Derek England for four years].”
Athletic Director Rob Stern said that Cardino will be missed.
“Brian has done a lot of great things over the past five years,” Stern said. “He has had a major role in the development of some quality baseball players for Hudson Catholic. It’s a shame to see him go, but it is a great opportunity both personally and professionally, and he had to take it. We wish him well will begin a search immediately.”
Anyone who is interested in applying for the position should contact Stern, by either faxing a resume to 201-332-6373 or calling him at 201-332-5970, ext. 28….
Wasn’t it ironic that the final two high school baseball teams from the area left standing and playing for sectional championships last week were two from the lower Seglio Division? The last two teams still playing were Hoboken, which lost to Whippany Park in the Group I sectional final and County Prep, which ran into Oakland A’s draft pick Vin Mazzaro of Rutherford in the Group II sectional title game last week.
The rest of the HCIAA Coviello’s teams were already sent home from the state playoffs…
We’ll have All-Area baseball and softball teams next week, so make sure to secure a copy of the Hudson Reporter… — Jim Hague