Six Taravella Baseball Players Sign To Play in College

CORAL SPRINGS, FL – The J.P. Taravella High School baseball team is on a roll.

It’s 3-1 out of the gate under second-year coach Joe Giummule. And six of its players will play baseball in college.

“The varsity team has a good mix of veteran players with 14 seniors but it also has five sophomores playing a lot of significant roles on the team,” said Giummule, who has coached around the county for the past 18 years. “This year’s team is a blue-collar team, that is gritty and hard-nosed.”

The Trojans, who play in the District 13-7A, opened the season with three consecutive wins over University School, 11-1, South Broward, 9-1 and Northeast, 7-2 before falling on the road to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 11-1.

“Scores are misleading,” Giummule said. “That’s what happens when you have too many missed opportunities versus a good club. We had the bases loaded in the first, scored a run, their pitcher was at 35 pitches and their bullpen was up. They went out to talk to their pitcher, and if we get a hit there, we are up 3-0, and they pull him.”

Taravella, which last won a district championship in 2008, has six players signed to play in college:

– Stefano Libio (Dominican College)

– Adam Montesino (Dominican College)

– Nathaniel Slotkin (Dominican College)

– Brandon Nunez (Caldwell College)

– Bryce Prouix (St. Thomas University)

– Daniel Reyes (St. Thomas University)

(Sophomore Chris Scinta is verbally committed to the University of Miami.)

Sophomore Matt Rubin leads the team in batting with a .500 average, while Scinta is hitting .417 and has scored four runs. Slotkin leads the team with five runs scored. Sophomore Edgar Martinez has the team’s lone home run, three doubles and a team-leading six RBIs.

Prouix has been outstanding on the mound with 2 of the 3 wins, a 1.56 ERA and also leads t the team with 12 strikeouts in 9 innings pitched.

“We don’t have high profile Division 1 commits,” Giummule added. “We have a close-knit group that puts the team first. The name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back.”

The Trojans play their home opener on Tuesday night against Monarch.