Upper Arlington graduate Sammy Sass ‘doesn’t get cheated’ at plate for Wright State
Sammy Sass remembered the buzz of the crowd as much as anything.
Not only had Sass, a sophomore catcher for the Wright State baseball team and 2019 graduate of Upper Arlington, blasted three home runs in his first four at-bats during the Horizon League championship game May 28, but he found himself a solo shot shy of the home run cycle entering his final at-bat in the eighth inning.
“I actually hit the ball all the way to the warning track, about 395 feet,” Sass said. “It got caught, but it was funny at the time because when I hit that ball, you kind of heard everyone gasp in the crowd and cheer for it to get out.”
Sass tied a conference tournament record with nine RBI – a mark set the day before by teammate Zane Harris – in a 24-0 win over Oakland. It was the latest example of how important Sass has become to the Raiders, first as a designated hitter in 2021 and then this season as a durable starting catcher as well as one of the team’s top bats.
Sass batted .362 as a freshman with 55 hits, including 12 home runs, and 60 RBI. This season, he batted .281 with 61 hits, including nine homers and six doubles, and 52 RBI as well as 32 walks.
“We always knew he would hit. That was one of the original reasons we recruited him. We felt like he was the best bat in Ohio,” Wright State coach Alex Sogard said. “He’s always had a veteran approach. He’s a really aggressive hitter. He doesn’t get cheated. He is trying to drive the baseball and more times than not, he does.”
Sass starred as a quarterback in football, point guard in basketball and behind the plate in baseball at UA, helping the baseball team to a Division I district championship as a senior. That capped a year that began with Sass suffering a broken collarbone midway through football season, sidelining him for two months but ultimately not keeping him out of his other sports.
Standing 6-foot-1, 170 pounds when he graduated, Sass gained about 30 pounds of muscle before college and was limited to one game as a true freshman. He had two hits and two RBI on March 10, 2020, against Miami University, days before the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With senior catcher Konner Piotto ahead of Sass in the pecking order entering 2021, Sass shifted to designated hitter and thrived after some early adjustments.
“It was a little bit of a stretch for me just because I was so used to catching every single game in high school and summer,” Sass said. “It was a lot of watching. It was a struggle early to stay stretched when I wasn’t out there in the field and just batting, but I got used to it really quick. It became habit for me.”
This spring, Sass was named the Horizon League’s preseason Player of the Year before helping the Raiders to their sixth conference championship in eight years. He was the only Raiders player to start all 57 games as Wright State went 30-27 overall and 20-9 in the conference.
Sass is playing this summer with the Wilson (North Carolina) Tobs of the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league. He arrived in North Carolina in early June, and the season continues through early August.
Sass acknowledged that being drafted is his ultimate goal. The Major League Baseball draft is scheduled for July 17-19.
“I chose Wright State because it gave me the best opportunity of any school in the state of Ohio to get drafted,” Sass said. “It could possibly happen this year but most likely next year or the year after. All it takes is one person to notice you.”
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Baseball: Upper Arlington grad Sass thriving at Wright State
