Perseverance, perspective paying off for Mifflin grad Ajay Sczepkowski
Ajay Sczepkowski went through a lot of hard times on the baseball field: Two college seasons interrupted by injuries, a third by the coronavirus pandemic.
Through it all he kept pushing forward because he realized how lucky he was to be playing; the tough times never dampened his love for the game.
“To be able to go and play college baseball – which not many kids have an opportunity to do – it hit me through the course of those years: I’m going to try to do this as long as possible,” said the 2017 Gov. Mifflin grad. “I knew I’d regret it if I stopped.”
Sczepkowski spent four years at the junior college level and a fifth season at Charleston Southern before it all came together for him in a big way this spring.
He set program records at Georgia Gwinnett College with 33 home runs and 102 RBIs, became the first 30/30 player in NAIA history, led the team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series and was named national Player of the Year.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said the 24-year-old Sczepkowski of winning the award, “seeing how many people are supporting me, and how happy they were. It meant a lot to me. It was really surreal.”
A torn labrum cost him the 2018 season at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md. A torn meniscus limited him to 40 at-bats the following season. He earned a starting spot with the Fighting Owls in 2020 only to see the season suspended by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Through it all Sczepkowski kept working on his swing, knowing he would have to become a better hitter, with more power, to rise in the game. He played four sports at Mifflin and got by with his all-around athleticism and blinding speed; he scored a team-leading 17 touchdowns and averaged nearly 9 yards per carry as a senior.
He worked with Harford coaches Tom Eller and Josh Houser and trained at Absolute Sports Performance, a facility near the college, to get stronger and improve his swing.
“It really helped me see a bigger picture on what I needed to do and where I needed to be to get to the player I am now,” he said.
He played at Charleston Southern, a Division I program in the Southern Conference, in 2022, batting .310 and leading the team in extra-base hits and slugging percentage.
He wasn’t satisfied with the overall experience, heard good things from former teammates about George Gwinnett, and transferred.
It transformed him and his game.
“More than anything, it was just fun,” Sczepkowski said of playing at Gwinnett. “The people at that program are just next-level, top-notch people, from the coaches to the people who took care of us for food or washed our uniforms, it was just an awesome program to be a part of. That was the best part, being around those people.”
He thrived under his head coach, Jeremy Sheetinger; his historic season helped boost the Grizzlies to a 50-8 record and the Continental Athletic Conference title.
“Jeremy cares more about the people aspect and building you as a person,” Sczepkowski said. “It’s more people-first; I like that philosophy. That got the best out of me on the baseball field.”
Sczepkowski’s best included a .421 batting average, 95 runs scored and 36 stolen bases in 41 attempts.
He had 55 extra-base hits in 57 games and compiled a 1.009 slugging average. He twice hit three homers in a game, setting the single-game program record. He had nine games with multiple homers.
His 30th homer came May 16 in a 21-4 win over Freed-Hardeman; it clinched his 30/30 season.
“I’m normally not much of an emotional person,” Sczepkowski said, “but coming into that dugout, seeing how happy some of my teammates and coaches were, it hit me.”
He became just the second player in the history of college baseball to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season. Florida State’s J.D. Drew, a future first-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, was the first.
Sheetinger has called Sczepkowski “the best person I’ve ever coached” and calls him a “Hall of Fame person.”
The Grizzlies coach raves about his five-tool potential, which helped Sczepkowski win a Gold Glove as a left fielder.
“He has an unparalleled work ethic,” Sheetinger told Mark Rappaport for a story on the Brewster Whitecaps website. “He’s constantly asking questions. He really takes a lot of pride and makes adjustments, which is a huge character trait of successful people.
“He’s not just content with where he’s at. He knows there’s another level he can get to. Ajay is in constant pursuit of taking his game, his abilities, his IQ to the next level.”
The 6-1, 209-pound Sczepkowski is now showing off his all-around game in the Cape Cod League with the Whitecaps and in front of a host of pro scouts. He’s hoping to be taken in the Major League Baseball draft next month or be signed as a free agent.
If not he can always return to play at Gwinnett for what would be a seventh year of college, and after that return home to coach.
He remembers the love for the game he developed playing whiffle ball in the backyard with his older brother Zach, imagining he was Chase Utley.
“I’ve had a love for the game since I started playing T-ball,” he said. “I’ve always had a passion for it.”
