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YSU’s Healey, Marzec selected in MLB draft
By Joe Scalzo
Youngstown
Around 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, YSU shortstop Jacke Healey was sitting next to his mom in his bedroom in Tunkhannock, Pa., playing Tiger Wood’s new game on XBox while the MLB draft tracker updated on a nearby computer.
“I was just kind of talking about today when I glanced over and saw my name,” said Healey. “Then I got a big smile on my face.”
Healey, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior, was picked by the Houston Astros in the 27th round, No. 813 overall.
Minutes later, in Canton, Penguins senior pitcher Eric Marzec got a text message from one of his friends with the news about Healey. He’d just got off a plane after a vacation in Las Vegas with his mom and a few friends and had spent the day avoiding the computer.
He knew the second day of the draft started at noon and ended with the 30th round.
“So I knew it was about to be up,” said Marzec, who was mentally preparing himself for another day of waiting. “As nerve-wracking as it is, I just tried not to pay attention to it.”
So, like Healey, he started playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011 on his XBox. Then his phone lit up. It was a Brewers scout, telling him he’d just been picked in the 30th round, the 909th overall pick.
“It’s a great day for Penguin baseball,” said YSU coach Rich Pasquale. “They’re just two good boys and they deserve what they get.”
Healey and Marzec are the 16th and 17th Penguins to get drafted and the first since third baseman Brandon Caipen went to the Astros in the 28th round in 2006. YSU has never before had two players picked in the same season.
Healey played at Potomac State (Junior) College before coming to YSU two years ago. A first-team all-Horizon League pick this year, Healey set single-season school records for homers (12), RBIs (59) and runs (63).
“He’s a pro-style player,” Pasquale said. “He’s a hard worker, he understands the game and he plays the game like a big-leaguer.
“He plays with a lot of confidence.”
Three years ago, Pasquale was actually recruiting Potomac pitcher Andy Altemus (who ended up at West Virginia) when Altemus told him about Healey. A few weeks later, Pasquale flew to South Carolina, saw Healey play twice and offered him a scholarship.
“I promised him he’d play every game here, and I don’t promise that to everybody,” said Pasquale. “We did the best we could on our end to develop him and give him the opportunity to play at the next level.”
Healey said he appreciated it.
“YSU gave me the opportunity to play Division I baseball,” he said. “No matter where you play, Youngstown State or Ohio State, you’re playing good competition week-in and week-out.
“Coach Pasquale, Coach [Tom] Lipari and Coach [Craig] Antush gave me the chance to show my skills.”
Marzec played the outfield and pitched relief for the Penguins, earning second team all-league honors the past two years. As his career wore on, it became clear pitching was his future — he has nine career saves — and he impressed the Minnesota Twins’ scouts at a predraft workout last week, hitting the low 90s on the radar gun.
“He’s a hard-working kid and he deserves everything he gets,” said Pasquale. “He’s improved every year he’s been here.”
Marzec was recruited by then-YSU coach Mike Florak out of Canton Central Catholic High School. After several schools backed off him due to an injury suffered his junior year, Florak gave him a chance.
“I knew if I’d gone to a smaller school, I’d never know if I could have hacked at a Division I school,” Marzec said. “I owe YSU a lot.”
Marzec also praised his agent, Michael Giorgio of National Sports Management, who has helped him with the transition from college to preparing for the draft. He said he’s had a goal of making the major leagues since he was a seventh-grader, when he told everyone he was going to be a pro athlete and got mocking comments in return.
“Everyone just shot me down,” he said. “That and 100 other comments on through the years, with everyone saying it wasn’t going to happen, I used that to drive me.
“I was hoping to get drafted last year but it didn’t happen. But now the Brewers took a chance on me and I’m looking to make Youngstown proud and move on and go farther.”