It’s been quite a journey for Adam Heidenfelder. In May 2014, he was coming off winning his second Diamond Award at MacArthur HS. His fastball, sitting 90-91 MPH, was drawing herds of scouts behind the plate at all his games and was being discussed as a potential draft pick.
Ultimately, the only local high school player that got drafted was Jesse Berardi, the Carl Yastrzemski Award winner out of Commack.
Heidenfelder, a 6’5″ RHP, began his college career at Hofstra University and made his first start against UCLA in Hofstra’s second game of the season. The start did not go as planned, and it was the start of two frustrating seasons for him.
He used that as an opportunity to start fresh, however, recognizing that there was an opening atop the SUNY Old Westbury rotation. He recorded an ERA of 3.40 over 47.2 IP in 2017 while holding the opposition to an ERA of .233. After the season, he pitched in South Florida and dominated the summer league. He has rode that momentum into the 2018 season.
He already has two wins in the Panthers’ three games and has allowed one run over 11.0 IP with 10 strikeouts and only one walk.
While the low 90s fastball might not be there, he has certainly commanded the strike zone and is pitching with confidence.
I had the chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say…
What factored into your decision to transfer to Old Westbury?
After deciding to transfer from Hofstra University, I was looking for a school where I felt completely comfortable. I just wanted an opportunity to compete for a starting job and further my baseball career.
For our audience not familiar with the Skyline Conference, what is it like competing with teams like Farmingdale, St. Joseph’s and Maritime?
The Skyline Conference is very unique in that it contains schools that, for the most part, are very close to each other. The Skyline teams, such as Farmingdale State, St. Joseph’s (LI) and Maritime are always very solid on a yearly basis. The conference is solid top to bottom.
What did you work on in the offseason to improve?
After the disappointing end to the season last year, it was nice to be able to play summer ball in a place like south Florida with my teammate Jesse Russo. Being down there for a whole summer was a great experience. I goo to pitch against top talent from some of the best schools in the country. My main goal for the summer was to be aggressive in the strike zone and limit my walks as much as possible. Getting my confidence back was one of the biggest things for me and this summer was huge for me in that aspect.
What did your experience playing Division-I baseball teach you about the daily grind of the sport at the high levels?
Playing at Hofstra University was a great experience. It took my appreciation of the game to a whole new level. The daily grind of a D1 athlete is one of a kind. Being up at 4:45 in the morning for workouts, going right to class, then practice, study hall with little-to-no break in between was crazy, but we all embraced that grind. Making the jump from D1 to D3 was different at first, but once I got into my routine and found an outstanding place to workout (Athletic Movement Protocol) the grind started all over.
What are your goals for the remainder of the season?
To win the Skyline Conference championship.
You were able to beat Kean University in your Opening Day start who is a powerhouse team–what was the key to that victory?
Kean is a great team year in and year out. Beating them for the third year in a row was a great start to the season. We played a great team game. We were clean in the field and had some timely hits. Everyone did their job when called upon. Personally, my plan was to attack the strike zone and be very aggressive. Joe Sarni and Matt Bohenek did a great job backing me up and closing the game out for us.
