SCOTIA — Matt Gallup pulled a hamstring near the end of his varsity baseball season at Christian Brothers Academy this spring, which nearly derailed his dream of securing a Division I college scholarship.

A strong fall season with the South Troy Dodgers, however, put him back on the radar of college coaches and a visit to the Stony Brook University campus clinched his decision.

Gallup, a Scotia native and a senior at CBA, has made a verbal commitment to pitch for Stony Brook beginning in 2012.

A right-handed pitcher who features a curveball and a changeup and whose fastball tops out at 89 miles per hour, Gallup posted a 3-0-1 record and 26 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched this fall for the Dodgers.

Gallup had previously committed to Liberty University prior to his hamstring injury and picked Stony Brook over Monmouth and a number of Northeast Conference schools.

Trevor LaCosse, a left-handed pitcher, who like Gallup is a senior at CBA, recently made a verbal commitment to pitch for Bryant University. 

LaCosse, a Watervliet native, appeared in 10 games for the Dodgers this fall, collecting two wins and posting 30 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. He appeared in the 2010 Don Mattingly 17-and-under American Amateur Baseball Congress World Series with the Dodgers in the summer.

Steve Basile, another member of the class of 2011 at CBA, made his verbal commitment to Iona College two weeks ago.

Gallup, who previously attended Schenectady Christian School, believes Mike Urbanski, the fourth member of the Brothers’ pitching staff, is also close to making his college decision.

CBA, which finished in second place in the Big 10 Conference behind La Salle Institute in 2010, advanced to the Section II Class AA quarterfinals before losing to South Colonie, 5-0.

“This year is going to be a big year, too,” Gallup said. “We only lost two guys from last year.”

Three other South Troy Dodgers players have also recently made verbal commitments. 

Nick Cioffi, a right-handed pitcher and Averill Park native, chose Towson University in Maryland. 

Patrick Zilberman, a left-handed pitcher at Niskayuna High School senior, picked Central Connecticut State.

Branden Cogswell, a senior shortstop at Shenendehowa, will play for the University of Virginia.

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PORT CHESTER -- The South Troy Dodgers fall ball team won the Battle at the Border Tournament last weekend.

First place - South Troy Dodgers
Second place - NY Gothams

Matt Zanotta of the South Troy Dodgers, a Guilderland High School product, watches a home run he hit this summer at Geer Field in Troy. He was named  MVP of the Battle at the Border Tournament. (Photo by Mike McMahon - The Record).

MVP - Matt Zanotta - South Troy Dodgers
Sportsmanship - Tom Savage - NY Gothams
Top Pitcher - Peyton Houghtaling - South Troy Dodgers

All Tournament team
Erik Roman - NY Gothams

Josh Jacobvitz - NY Gothams
Zach Remillard - South Troy Dodgers
Jared Bronley -  College Select
Mike Presley - WYC
Mike Nelson - Team NY
John Brucker - NJ Twins
Brendan Dalcol -  South Troy
Aaron Fossas - NE Baseball

For more information, click here.

There were plenty of college coaches in attendance, so you can expect to hear about some of these players making verbal commitments in the near future.

For more pictures from the tournament, click here.

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