All Pat Cantwell wants is for his team to win.
The senior catcher from West Islip helped take the Seawolves to the regional conference back in 2010 and he says that he wants to do it again.
“That was great,” he said. “It was an experience I’ll never forget, so hopefully we’ll get back this year.”
The health sciences major is a coach’s dream. He’s started at least 30 games per season for every year that he’s played at Stony Brook, batting over .300 his sophomore and junior years. He catches and plays the outfield equally well. He drives in runs, steals bases, scores and throws out runners.
“He is a great teammate and the guys love him,” head coach Matt Senk said. “His energy level and work ethic is off the charts.”
Although he was primarily the starting catcher his freshman and junior years, Cantwell spent most of his sophomore year in right field.
“I’ve spent 22 years at college level and 32 years coaching, and he is one of the best all around baseball payers I’ve ever coached,”  Senk said. “He could play any position at a high level.”
And Cantwell is actually closer to being at a higher level than most. In 2011, he was the 39th draft pick for the Baltimore Orioles. Unfortunately, they didn’t make him an offer to play.
“They just felt it was in my best interests to come back to school, so that’s what I did,” he said. He’s hoping to have better luck next year. “Next year, I’ll either be in grad school,” he said. “Or, hopefully, fingers crossed, playing professional baseball.”
But Cantwell’s not dwelling on what could’ve been or what might be right now. His immediate thoughts for the season rest on the team and what he hopes they’ll accomplish.
“We really just have to have a solid conference season,” he said. “We want to go out and play well, every game counts but it doesn’t really matter until the conference tournament.”
“We would like to win the conference tournament and go to a regional,” he said.
The last time the Seawolves went to the regional tournament, Cantwell was a sophomore. That year, he was named the America East tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
He had the second highest batting average (.361) on the team, was the team’s second leading scorer with 46 runs, and recorded multi-hit games.
For his last year as a Seawolf, Cantwell is trying to replicate that. In 21 games this season, he’s batting .241, with 21 hits.
But of course, he isn’t focused on himself. He’s focused on the team and its success.
“In all honesty, as long as the team’s doing well, I’m happy,” he said.