WESTFIELD – Westfield State rising senior outfielder / first baseman Danny DiMatteo has signed on with the Plymouth Pilgrims of the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the summer season.
DiMatteo, a native of Barnstable, Mass. and a graduate of Cape Cod Technical High School, is hitting .273 through six games and 11 at bats in the prestigious summer league for college baseball prospects.
DIMATTEO
DiMatteo is the lone player from an NCAA Division III program on the roster, which includes players from Miami (FL), Mississippi State, South Carolina, Oklahoma State and Cincinnati.
At Westfield State, DiMatteo was a first-team All-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference selection in 2015, leading the Owls in hits, runs scored, doubles and triples. He hit .372 with 11 doubles, five triples and a pair of home runs while starting all 33 contests for the Owls.
“I’m really happy for Danny, this is a great opportunity for him,” said Westfield State baseball coach Nathan Bashaw. “It gives him a chance to play alongside and against some of the best collegiate baseball players in the country, and will be an opportunity to further improve his skills. It’s great for our program to be able to send a player to the NECBL and have an experience like this.”
Dimatteo and the Pilgrims will play in the local area on June 24, playing the Valley Blue Sox in Holyoke at MacKenzie Field at 6:30 p.m.
Founded in 1994, the NECBL has become a strong twelve-team league that plays in all six New England states and recruits players attending U.S colleges from New England, the other forty-four States and foreign countries.
The League starts its summer season in early June and plays an eight week 42 game per team schedule. The League Championship is determined by a playoff in early August. Many of the loop’s top players are scouted and selected in the MLB Draft.
