Biography
By Jim Hague
During his tenure as the head baseball coach at Rutgers-Newark, Mark Rizzi has enjoyed the development and progress of several players who have gone from little-used reserves to blossom as full-fledged impact performers.
Perhaps none have developed more than senior center fielder Michael DiCenso.
When DiCenso first arrived at R-N a little more than three years ago, he was thought to be a catcher. It’s the position DiCenso played for the final two years at Wayne Valley High School and that’s what Rizzi recruited DiCenso as.
“He basically caught out of necessity in high school, but he wasn’t a bad catcher,” Rizzi said.
“When I was a junior, our starting catcher got hurt and we needed someone to fill in,” DiCenso said. “So I went back there and stayed there the rest of my time in high school. I was basically an outfielder my whole life.”
On the first day of practice at R-N, Rizzi allowed all the new recruits go out to the positions that they thought they played. Without hesitation, DiCenso headed out to centerfield.
“I wanted to go back to the outfield as quickly as I could,” DiCenso said.
“He ran out to centerfield and I let him go,” Rizzi said. “From there, he just blossomed.”
However, as a freshman, DiCenso didn’t get a lot of playing time, seeing action in only six games as a reserve.
“Not playing was real tough for me,” DiCenso said. “I got so few at-bats that I really thought about transferring. I was really upset by it. I knew that there were good players playing ahead of me, but I thought I had a chance to play.”
“When he came in as a freshman, he was a little immature and didn’t know how to deal with the adversity of not playing,” Rizzi said. “But he matured, became more responsible and understood what he had to do to get on the field.”
DiCenso managed to stick it out and saw his playing time rise as a sophomore. He batted .238 with 14 RBI, seeing action in 32 games, 26 of which he started.
“He was a little hard on himself, because he thought he had to drive in runs all the time,” Rizzi said.
“I got to play, but I batted ninth,” DiCenso said. “In high school, I batted fourth. It was a big adjustment for me. I had to change my approach a little.”
DiCenso said that he worked countless hours with Scarlet Raiders hitting coach Joel Burgos on taking the ball the opposite way, hitting pitches that were down and away, becoming more of a contact hitter.
“Working with Joel really changed things for me,” DiCenso said. “I started doing things the right way.”
In the outfield, DiCenso had no peers. He’s a defensive wizard in center, with an uncanny knack of being able to track down fly balls all over the place, especially balls that are hit over his head and appear headed for the wall.
“I think I had an advantage, because I never once played the infield in my life, even in Little League,” DiCenso said. “I’ve always been an outfielder. I’ve been a centerfielder for most of my life. I think what I do out there just comes natural, because I’ve played there so much. I’m able to get good reads when the ball is hit and I get a good jump on the ball. I’ve seen so many fly balls in my life that I just know where it’s going to go. It’s a reaction. When it’s hit, I have a good feel that I’m going to go and get it.”
“He’s very good in the outfield,” Rizzi said. “He always has a good angle on the ball and gets to the ball. Centerfield is definitely his natural position. He does every single thing right out there.”
As a junior, DiCenso was moved from ninth in the batting order to second, between fellow seniors Matt Connors and Patrick Reitemeyer. It’s a move that has made DiCenso more of an offensive threat.
“I asked Mike about hitting second and he said he would like the chance,” Rizzi said. “Ever since we moved him up, he’s been more relaxed and comfortable. The confidence shows. He’s become a very good No. 2 hitter and does exactly what we need him to do offensively.”
As a junior, DiCenso started in centerfield in 35 games, hitting .339 with 20 RBI. This year, he’s helped the Scarlet Raiders win 22 games and advance to the third round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament, batting .258 with a career-best 21 RBI. He’s also handled 120 chances in centerfield and has made just two errors.
DiCenso was rewarded for his hard work by earning Second Team All-NJAC, voted on by the opposing coaches in the league.
“It feels pretty good to get recognized,” DiCenso said. “It’s pretty wild how far I’ve come in my four years here. I always strived for being the best player I could be. There were times when I didn’t think something like that (All-NJAC) was possible. I always worked hard for it. I really felt like I could do it. It’s a great feeling.”
“He has blossomed and matured,” Rizzi said. “He’s a great kid who just wants to win and will do whatever it takes to win. He wants to win in the worst way and you like having kids like that.”
In Rizzi’s decade of coaching the Scarlet Raiders, he said he’s only had two players develop into all-league performers from first being little-used reserves. Brent DiMarco did a few years ago and now DiCenso.
“I think a lot of it has to do with Mike’s maturity,” Rizzi said. “He understood what he had to do and did it. I can’t say enough about the kind of player he’s become.”
DiCenso is a finance major and just a few credits shy of his degree. He has no idea what the future holds.
“To be honest, I have no clue what I’m going to do,” DiCenso said. “I may head in a totally different direction.”
But DiCenso knows one thing: He’s happy with the way his career at Rutgers-Newark turned out.
“I think the way we’re winning, heading into the playoffs, getting a playoff win (against Ramapo),” DiCenso said. “That’s the most important part and that’s the best part. I guess I was pretty resilient and stuck it out. I was focused on the challenge that I wanted to play and win. I don’t like losing. I’m glad we’re winning.”
