Summer Baseball Roundup: Hitt A Smash in Frontier League
Westfield State University pitching coach Rob Hitt has kept the door open on his professional baseball career this summer, while also working on his off-field resume.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University pitching coach Rob Hitt has kept the door open on his professional baseball career this summer, while also working on his off-field resume.
Hitt is pitching for the Sussex County Miners (of Augusta, N.J.) in the Frontier League, and independent professional league affiliated with Major League Baseball, which features 16 teams between the US and Canada.
Hitt has been nearly unhittable so far this season with a 1-0 record and six saves, allowing just one run and eight hits through 15 innings.
Hitt pitched for five seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers system before pitching for Sussex in the summer of '23 and joining the Owls coaching staff this spring. He played collegiate baseball at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
"It's a chance to learn more, and keep the door open on pitching," said Hitt, back in the area during the league's all-star break. Chris Widger, who was a major league catcher for a 10 years, is Hitt's manager with the Miners and "has taken me under his wing," said Hitt. "I'm not paid as an assistant coach, but I have been helping with the staff, and learning more. [Widger] really simplifies pitching from a catcher's perspective and is really smart."
Hitt joined the Miners a couple weeks into the season after completing his duties with the Owls coaching staff.
Elsewhere among notables for the Owls:
Owls senior Joe Fischer (Avon, Mass.) is back for a second season with the Westfield Starfires of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Fischer has been a mainstay out of the bullpen for the Starfires, pitching in nine games so far this season with a 2-0 record to date.
Westfield State OF Justin Neidel (Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) was recently named as co-player of the week in the Cranberry League. Playing for the Mass Hurricanes alongside Owls' teammates Sam Palmer (Medfield, Mass.), Charlie Walsh (Medfield, Mass.) and Dom Novio (Mansfield, Mass./Bishop Feehan). Neidel shares the league lead with three home runs through July 14.
Owls coaches Rey Rivera and John Gegetskas have helped power Peoples Bank in the Tri-County League to a 10-2 start and the top spot in the standings, both delivering clutch home runs in recent days, while Owls 1b/3b Dan Burnett (Granville, Mass./Southwick HS) recently went deep for the Teddy Bear Pools ball club.