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08/05/2015 12:00 AMBranford baseball alum Rob Petrillo has seen plenty of success while continuing his career on the diamond at the University of New Haven. Having just completed his sophomore year, Rob is enjoying every moment playing the sport he loves for the Chargers, who recorded a winning record of 17-16 this spring.
“It’s definitely been a great experience. When you come in as a freshman, you instantly get 30 friends who will take you in and love you no matter what. Everyone gets along great,” says Rob. “Plus, I get to continue playing baseball after high school, which a lot of people don’t get to do.”
Rob isn’t just playing at the collegiate level—he’s excelling. Rob led New Haven at the plate as its full-time designated hitter by batting .364 with nine doubles and eight stolen bases while collecting a variety of accolades this spring, including Third Team All-Northeast 10 Conference and Academic All-Conference. He also earned a spot on the Capital One All-District Team, which is a combined athletic and academic distinction.
Rob notes several highlights from the recent season, such as a walk-off base hit against Pace, “which was pretty nice,” plus his go-ahead solo home run in the top of the ninth versus American International College. That marked the first homer of Rob’s college career.
“He is what we call a model student-athlete. On the field, he was our best hitter or in contention for the top two. Off the field, he had an almost perfect GPA for two-straight semesters,” says Chargers’ Head Coach Chris Celano. “When he got a limited chance his freshman year, he produced and, this year, he took full advantage. He’s a great player and a great person. If I had 30 Rob Petrillos, I’d be in great shape.”
Rob credits much of his success to his history of hard work. After playing baseball in the backyard when he was small, Rob started with tee-ball and then moved up through Branford Little League before joining the Connecticut Bombers AAU squad for five years as a teenager.
“Playing for the Bombers really helped prepare me for the collegiate level,” says Rob. “My coach, Bob Turcio, said I’d be able to play in college when I was 13 and I was playing in front of scouts by the time I was a freshman in high school, so that really opened me up to what I’d have to do to play college baseball.”
At Branford High School, Rob got his first varsity start at DH about halfway through his sophomore season. He worked his way up to the No. 5 slot in the batting order for the rest of that season. By his junior year, Rob was batting second and solidified his spot as the Hornets’ the starting center fielder. Rob was Branford’s Most Valuable Player as a senior and earned All-Oronoque honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He was also a senior captain for the Hornets’ baseball and ice hockey teams, earning All-SCC and All-State honors for the latter squad on defense in his senior campaign.
“Being a captain was definitely a great experience to be able to have everyone look up to you,” says Rob, who enjoys being on the water and boating. “It was a good group of guys and everyone was fun to be around. We also had a great coaching staff that made it fun. Coach [George] Dummar put me in the lineup as a sophomore and that was great for my confidence. He was a great coach who knew the game well.”
Rob also credits Turcio for pushing him to play at the next level and helping him in the process of selecting a college. Rob chose the University of New Haven for several reasons: He liked its coaches and athletes, UNH is close to his hometown of Branford, and the college offered his two majors of finance and accounting. Rob plans to work in financial services and currently works for his dad at Petrillo’s Auto Parts in New Haven.
“I’d love to work on Wall Street some day, but that’s a tough one,” says Rob. “My parents were a big influence on where I’d go. UNH was a good spot for me since it’s only 25 minutes down the road, so they can come to all my home games. They’re my biggest fans and they’re the people that I would want to see me play as much as they can.”