See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Nick Storz gave us a glimpse this season of what we will have the pleasure of watching for the next three years.
The 6-foot-6 and 230-pound freshman, who played on the varsity as an eighth grader, used this baseball season at Poly Prep as his coming out party. Sure the outfielder-pitcher played behind a talented group of seniors, who have known nothing but private school state titles, but it was still hard not to notice Storz.
Aside from his size, there is his power arm on the mound that is already getting his fastball into the high 80s. Storz hit seventh in the Blue Devils order this season, but his power bat is good enough for a much higher spot. It is a change you can expect next season.
Storz put all of his attributes on display as Poly Prep beat Rye Country Day 8–3 in the state title game. First, there was his youth and grit as he navigated his way through three rocky innings, minimizing the damage to just three runs on five hits.
“He gave us everything he could the whole entire game,” said coach Matt Roventini.
He made up for his pitching mistakes with one mammoth swing of the bat. Storz lined a 385-foot, no-doubt solo homer over the right centerfield fence in the bottom of the second. Imagine what he will be able to do as a junior and senior as he gets bigger and stronger. Storz has a chance to drive a lot of New York City pitchers nuts for the next two seasons.
“I was waiting for the fastball 3–2, he gave it to me right over the plate,” Storz said. “I stayed back and just drove it.”
Storz settled down on the mound after his rocky start. He retired seven straight batters at one point, before leaving the game with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth. He wasn’t dominant on the mound and at the plate, but Stroz, as he has all season, provided a preview of all the ways he can impact a baseball game, and the maturity he has when things aren’t going well.
“I struggled the first few innings,” Storz said. “I reset myself, went back to basics, the mechanics, found my spot. Everything came into place.”
The Blue Devils lose a tremendous group of well-known seniors and leaders led by Christian Pellegrino, Rob Calabrese and Morgan Gray. A new era of Poly baseball begins next season, and there is no reason why Storz can’t become the face of it as a rare dual-threat star. He has certainly showed he’s capable of it.
“He fought,” Calabrese said. “He showed he has a big heart. He came up next inning and hit a home run and that started everything up.”