April 28, 2010

By Jim Fenton, Enterprise Staff Writer

BRIDGEWATER - He spent the 2009 baseball season bouncing back and forth between the outfield and the pitcher’s mound.

Jeff Puopolo of Brockton started 28 games as a sophomore outfielder for Bridgewater State College, hitting .235 with 17 RBI, and made eight appearances as a pitcher, going 4-4 with a 5.02 earned run average in 43 innings.

“It was pretty tough because I’d pitch one day, and the very next day, I would go and play the field,’’ said the Brockton High School graduate. “There was a lot of wear and tear on my arm. I couldn’t keep up the speed on my pitches and the location because of how much I was throwing the ball last year.

“You’re sore from throwing (a lot of) pitches the day before, and the next day, you’re out there playing right field and the ball gets hit to you and you try to throw a guy out and you let the ball go and you get that pain.’’

Puopolo has cut his duties in half as a junior this season, concentrating solely on pitching for the Bears, and the results have been quite impressive.

Entering his final regular-season start on Saturday afternoon at Worcester State College, Puopolo is among the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference leaders in several categories.

Puopolo is allowing the lowest batting average (.190), is tied for first with four complete games, is tied for second with five wins, is third in strikeouts with 52 and is second with 472/3 innings pitched.

It is a dramatic improvement over what Puopolo did a year ago when he was pitching, playing the outfield and even starting one game as a catcher.

“I didn’t have the kind of season I expected last year,’’ said Puopolo, who is 5-2 with a 3.21 ERA and one save this spring. “I made the decision I should become a pitcher and that’s what Coach (Rick) Smith had planned. My junior year, he wanted me to pick, either become a position player or a pitcher, and I decided to become a pitcher.

“This year is such a relief. I can just focus all my energy on coming out once or twice a week and giving it my all. You can focus and know when you’re pitching, what’s expected of you.

“You have an idea of how to attack a game. You don’t have to worry about, ‘I went 1-for-4 yesterday and maybe I can get two more hits today.’ You just put all your energy in getting the job done for one day.’’

Smith recognized plenty of potential in Puopolo on the mound a year ago when he started seven games and completed three of them.

“You can see by all of his numbers this year that he has found a niche,’’ said Smith. “He’s pitching more, and he’s more comfortable out there. He is consistently getting better and consistently throwing strikes. He is one of the most competitive kids we have.’’

Puopolo, who is 4-0 against conference opponents and pitched a one-hitter against Salem State, has been named the MASCAC pitcher of the week twice this season.

The latest award came on Monday after he pitched complete games against Fitchburg State, allowing three hits and no walks with eight strikeouts, then fanned a career-high 11 in a four-hitter against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, winning, 8-4.

“I think it’s helped me tremendously just being a pitcher,’’ said Puopolo, who split time between left and right field a year ago after getting just 33 at-bats as a freshman. “Every single one of my numbers has gotten better since last year. I don’t think there’s one stat that has decreased from last year.

“I kind of have high hopes for myself. I want to go out and throw a perfect game every day, but I am surprised at how well it’s ended up.

“I think I can get tremendously better. I’m going to continue to have high hopes and continue to work hard this summer.’’

Puopolo, who hit better than .400 when Brockton Post 35 won the state American Legion championship following his senior year at Brockton High, misses not being able to swing the bat.

He realizes, though, that being on the mound and in a routine as a pitcher was the best route to take.

“I’m always trying to get swings in,’’ joked Puopolo. “I’m always asking the coach, ‘Can I get a few swings in today?’

“I’m convinced I made the right decision, but I’d always love to take swings if I had the opportunity. But I realized that if I wanted to go further in baseball, that I probably wasn’t going to make it as a position player because it’s so hard to do that.

“I realized that if I could just get a couple more miles per hour on my fastball and strengthen my arm a little bit, hopefully I can get somebody to look at me.’’