By MOLLY
CANTWELL
Contributing Writer
The first Albany Academy pitcher to throw a perfect game in the school’s history has committed to play at the Division 1 level at Siena College in Fall of 2018.
Ben Seiler, a 6’7” 245-pound left-handed senior, has his college plans all set for the next four years.
He was first team All-State last season and led Academy to their only baseball State championship game in school history. Seiler’s perfect game came in the semifinals against Voorheesville High School on May 20. Seiler, who is also a right-handed hitting first baseman, also led Albany Academy in batting average his junior year, hitting .439.
“Earlier that year, against Lansingburgh, he gave up a hit to the very first batter he faced, but then threw a perfect game after that getting 21 consecutive outs. I’ve never seen those two types of games from the same pitcher in the same season,” said David Rider, the varsity baseball coach at Albany Academy.
The 17-year-old Seiler has lived in the Pine Hills his whole life. He said he loves the Pine Hills neighborhood because it is a place where he has so many good friends and memories, along with the fact that it is the only place he has ever called home.
He talked about how he likes going out to eat at all the different restaurants in Pine Hills and some of his best memories are playing catch with his dad at Ridgefield Park when he was younger.
“The amount of community activities and things to do in the area makes it an even better place to live,” said Seiler.
These catches with his father and love of the game passed down by his grandfather spurred his interest in baseball. Seiler began playing at the nearby National Little League at the age of four and kept playing there until he was 13. He would walk or ride his bike to practice. He then played at Albany Central Babe Ruth for two years. He made the varsity baseball team as a sophomore and has also played in the Eastern New York Travel Baseball League, Section 2, for the last eight years.
Seiler pitches a fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up. “His strength is in his command of all of his pitches,” said Rider. “He understands how to set up a hitter and make him swing at a pitch that he doesn’t necessarily want to hit.” He realized he could use baseball as a tool to aid his education past high school after playing in these competitive leagues. Seiler also believes in giving back to the game. He still loves going back to his little league and helping out. He umpires games and helps to clean-up the fields, usually by raking. Seiler said that National Little League and Babe Ruth have made him who he is today. Baseball was the first sport he ever played and he said, “it’s always been my first love.”
Not only a star on the field, Seiler also excels academically and helps out in the Pine Hills community. He has taken college level courses including Advanced Placement U.S History, Government, and Latin. Seiler said the advanced courses have helped prepare him for college-level work. He credits Academy with teaching him how to balance sports and school work.
The 17-year old was also the representative for Albany Academy at the Albany Common Council Youth in Government Program his junior year in high school. This gave him a look at how city government works. This is an event the Common Council hosts for individuals who were nominated to participate in a meeting and learn about city government. During his time at Academy, Seiler has gone to Pine Bush Preserve annually to assist in nature cleanup and trailblazing.
Seiler will resume his basketball career at Academy this season.
“He’s a great young man, he is respectful, he’s a hard-working person, student, athlete, great leader, great role model in our community, so only positive things to say about a young man like that,” said Varsity basketball coach, Brian Fruscio. Fruscio also went on to say that he expects senior leadership from Seiler and for him to use his size and strength to help pull the team in tough situations.
The high school senior says growing up in this area, he has always followed and attended Siena College sports, specifically basketball and baseball, which made him want to go there. Seiler was interested in Siena even before the offer. He’s followed their program since he was young and he also went to their youth basketball summer camps as a kid which gave him an in depth look at their program even before he was made an offer. Seiler will just be pitching in college as of now. Other baseball programs that showed an interest in Seiler included UMass, George Washington, and Iona. Siena contacted him first.
“Coach Tony Rossi and his staff made it hard not to choose Siena,” said Seiler. He said a big reason why he chose Siena was because Coach Rossi has been coaching at Siena since 1970 and is the longest tenured coach with the same institution in all of Division I baseball.
“On top of that, Siena has developed 52 professional baseball players,” said Seiler. Also, according to the Siena website 35 (baseball players) have inked with Major League Baseball organizations and Siena has boasted 24 MLB Draft picks – including 16 since 1996 – and five top-10 Round selections overall.
“Seiler has a lot of upside to him; size, left handed pitcher with control, strong athletic ability including hand-eye coordination and agility, high baseball IQ, and a good attitude,” said Rider. “I don’t think we’ve seen the ceiling yet on how good he can be so it’s going to be exciting to follow his career.”
He also went on to say how mature of a player Seiler is and that he is able to perform his individual pitching workouts without any supervision.
Seiler said he is undecided about his major, but he is leaning toward Political Science because he has always wanted to be a lawyer or politician. Seiler has always been indifferent when it came to how far away a college was from his home, but knowing his parents can come see his games and the fact that he can come home whenever he wants to which is comforting for him. He will be living on the Siena campus next year. Seiler said he always wanted to play Division I baseball and it’s been a dream of his since he was four or five years old. He went on to say that he’s really excited for the opportunity to pitch at the Division I level and he’s excited to see how his game can improve with the training at Siena.
Seiler is currently in the middle of his third year playing varsity football at Academy. He is a tight-end/ defensive end/punter/kicker. He will also resume playing basketball at Academy after playing CYO for Mater Christi ball for the past two years. Seiler said he doesn’t fear getting injured playing other sports and said that he’s been blessed to not have any serious injuries.
“Of course, there’s going to be bumps and bruises,” said Seiler. “Playing different sports keeps you in great shape year-round and increases your health.”
Coach Rider agreed with Seiler’s stance on this.
“I’m an advocate for kids to play multiple sports and football has been great for Seiler to improve his foot speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination while playing tight end. All of those types of athletic skills carry over to the baseball field. However, much like his parents I’m sure, I am nervous about the potential for injury. He wants to be a multiple sport athlete and I fully support that,” he said.
Seiler said his favorite baseball team is the Boston Red Sox because his mother is from Boston. His favorite player is Boston Red Sox’s Chris Sale, because he is a left-handed pitcher and Seiler has always tried to emulate him on the mound. When he’s not playing baseball, Seiler hangs out with friends playing sports and playing video games. He also spends time with family, plays other sports, or does school work. During the last two summers, Seiler worked as a counselor at Academy summer camp.
Ben Seiler isn’t an average 17-year-old. He appears to have a busy and bright future ahead of him. He said he is excited for the challenge of not only pitching for a Division I program, but he is also excited to start college. Seiler is looking forward to training with Siena this summer to prepare for this new competitive league. Ben Seiler’s colligate journey starts this fall, this left-handed pitcher is one to watch.
