By Tim Parry
It wasn’t that much of a surprise that Matt Iannazzo turned down the Norwalk High School quarterback job to pitch this fall for the Bayside Yankees baseball team. And once he secured a Division I baseball scholarship, he was able to return to the gridiron and help the Bears have one of its best records in recent memories.

Iannazzo turned down scholarship offers from Quinnipiac and Fordham, and will pitch starting this fall for the University of Pittsburgh.

“Both those schools wanted me to pitch and hit, but Pitt was offering me a chance to concentrate on pitching,” Iannazzo said last month after pitching a 5-2 win over Darien. “It’s such a different atmosphere and a different program that I was going to capitalize on that opportunity.”

Though Iannazzo stands just 5-foot-9, Pittsburgh head coach Joe Jordano thinks the lefty is the real deal.

“After pitching against some of the best hitters in the country last summer, Matt will be ready to step in and pitch right away for us,” Jordano said when Iannazzo signed his letter of intent in November. “We expect Matt’s competitiveness and the fact that he has three above average pitches to help him become a consistent winner at the collegiate level.”

His high school coach, Angelo Bruno, agrees.

“He’s a competitor, he’ll battle you right to the end,” Bruno said. “What makes him so successful is that he gets the most out of his ability. He loves to play the game and you need that passion to get to the next level.”

For Bayside last summer, Iannazzo was 4-2 in 10 starts and had a 2.57 ERA. He struck out 55 and walked 21 in 51.2 innings.