Sandullo signs with OCU
May 26—Washington Hatcher left-handed pitcher Nicholas Sandullo signed a letter of intent on Wednesday in the Hatchet House to continue his baseball career at Oakland City University next season.
Sandullo played baseball, soccer and basketball at WHS and he is the son of Amy and Angelo Sandullo. He hopes to study accounting at OCU.
Sandullo suffered a season-ending injury early in the baseball season this year, but he still had a 1.84 ERA in the four games he pitched in. Last season he was 7-2 and ended his career at 9-5 with 115 strikeouts and just 24 career earned runs. As a hitter, he hit .273 with two home runs (both hit this season) and 26 RBIs.
Sandullo said he choose OCU after spending time with coach Andy Lasher.
"Coach Lasher really just sold it to me. He's a great guy. He's one of the nicest people I've ever talked to and he's really building a phenomenal program over there. Everything about it just seemed better. It was closer to home and it was a right place for me to be" said Sandullo.
"First and foremost, I want to thank my family. They've put in time money and countless hours to get me to where I am today. And I wouldn't be able to do any of that without them. I want to thank my teammates played a huge part and helping me out and keeping me there. After hours, especially after this injury. They've kept my head up, kept my mentality in the game and made me stay positive. I would also like to thank Coach Reid. He's, he's been coaching me since I was really young. And he's seen me develop and always helped me out no matter what it was for. So a huge thanks to him for everything."
OCU coach Lasher said they are excited about Sandullo coming next season.
"I really have not gotten to see him throw this year unfortunately, just because of what happened, but we got to see him a lot last year. He is a very good competitor. He is a bulldog on the mound and especially since he's a good athlete," said Lasher.
"Obviously, left handed pitching is something everyone needs. But we have a connection with him and former Hatchet and OCU assistant Jake Bedwell. We've had guys from Washington, I just know that he's a hard-working kid that is going to compete against anybody. And that's what it takes at our level, you have to have a little bit of fire and he has that."
Coach Steve Reed has coached Sandullo for four years and watched him play for many years throughout Little League.
"Nick is a fierce competitor. He's been in the varsity lineup since freshman year. I remember him going down to our end of the year trip to Providence (as a freshman) and he pitched real well and you kind of saw 'Hey, this kid special.' Obviously, he lost his sophomore COVID year, but last year he had a heck of a season going 7-2. This year, I think Nick got three starts in and then the elbow issue but he had an ERA of just over 1.84, so you know he was off to a good start off and ready to do his thing again. My heart goes out to him (with the injury) but the good news is, he will be able to pitch his freshman year at OCU. That was the decision he had to make. He could have kept batting for us this year, but I told him and his parents, I support him 100% with whatever he wants to do and I think he chose the right thing (to have the surgery) so he can pitch at Oakland City. Nick always fights for you and gives you 110%. He's been a joy to coach and have in the dugout. I wish him the best down the road," added Reed.
