Bunnell 2B-P Dan Paolini will be taking a rare next step in his career. He’ll be playing Division I baseball, as both a position player and a pitcher. That’s how highly Siena thinks of the right handed thrower and hitter.

As you’ll see in the following video, Paulini isn’t going to the next level just because of his high school stats. Siena saw Paulini play in summer leagues and showcases, which helped him earn a scholarship to the New York school.

And when other Division I prospects turned their backs because Paulino needed shoulder surgery, Siena made its way to the picture in July.

Paulino’s advice to ballplayers who want to play college ball:

“You’ve got to go to a lot of showcases. You’ve got to play summer ball,” Paulino said after Bunnell’s win over Immaculate in Stratford on Friday. “That’s how they all noticed me. In high school ball, the [college] coaches are all in their season, but they do look at your high school stats. So you have to do well in high school and then carry that over to the summer.”

Paulino isn’t the only member of the defending SWC champs playing Division I ball. Tyler Casterta committed to Central Connecticut yesterday, and Eric Camacho is weighing his Division I options, according to Bulldogs head coach Scott Szturma.

Paulino pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief Friday, his first appearance on the mound since surgery. But Szturma says he’s hoping the 8-1 Bulldogs can continue to keep him off the mound for a while. Especially if that means he could become a secret weapon for Bunnell come playoff time.

“I don’t want to put him in a pressure situation right now. We just want to get his arm strength back, get him thinking like a pitcher again,” Szturma said. “He wants to do what’s best for the team, but my fear is he’ll do something that will get him hurt. It’s been kind of nice that we haven’t had to use him.”

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Thirty of Fairfield County’s finest football-playing scholar-athletes were honored April 10 by the Ralph DeSantis chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Also honored at the dinner at Continental Manor in Norwalk were the head and assistant coaches of the year in the SWC and FCIAC, as well as two officials of the year.

Three players received $500 scholarships to be used towards their college education as well: William Bass (Bassick), Richard Holmes (Danbury), and Chris Payne (Wilton).

Wilton’s Tim Eagen was introduced as the FCIAC’s coach of the year by his mentor, Tom Fujitani, who he served under as an assistant coach for several years, and thanked his assistant coaches and the Warriors’ booster club for its efforts in helping to build a top-notch program. Ridgefield’s Kevin Callahan introduced one of his former players, New Fairfield’s Andy Buchsbaum, as the SWC’s coach of the year.

Carl Cairo (Greenwich) and John Pereira (Pomperaug) received their league’s respective assistant coach of the year awards.

The scholar-athletes honered were:

• William Bass, Bassick
• Nick Verderosa, Bethel
• Chris Green, Brien McMahon
• Kenneth Cobb, Bridgeport Central
• Steven Moss, Brookfield
• Jeffrey Farrell, Bunnell
• Greg Passineau, Canterbury
• Richard Holmes, Danbury
• George Rhein, Darien
• Matthew O’Laughlin, Fairfield Ludlowe
• Thomas Marx Jr., Fairfield Warde
• Jonathan Meyers, Greenwich
• Scott Hickling, Joel Barlow
• Victor Ciancetta, Masuk
• Chris Lemoine, New Canaan
• Patrick Cassidy, New Fairfield
• Jonathan Henion, New Milford
• Eric Puffer, Newtown
• Cyprian Oyomba, Norwalk
• Patrick Purrell, Notre Dame-Fairfield
• Stephen Barton, Pomperaug
• Tyler Strittmatter, Ridgefield
• Michael Dinihanien, St. Joseph
• Jason Zins, Staples
• Justin Shumyhora, Stratford
• John O’Leary, Trinity Catholic
• Jameson Cherilus, Trumbull
• John Midy, Westhill
• Dylan Hannum, Weston
• Chris Payne, Wilton

Also honored were a few unsung heroes of the game, the referees. Without them, of course, the games wouldn’t count in the standings. Bob Seirup, who has been working with the Fairfield County Football Association for 54 seasons, was honored as its official of the year. Bill Vasutro was the Colonial Football Association’s honoree.