UNIVERSITY BASEBALL: Welland infielder snags scholarship offer from Ohio school
Posted By BERND FRANKE , TRIBUNE STAFF
After 26 years working with young men, baseball coach Tim Mead figures he knows how to read a prospect about as well as he knows when to issue an intentional walk to an opposing batter.
"You sort of know within the first five to 10 minutes of meeting a player whether they will be right for the program," the head baseball coach at Walsh University said.
Mead, who also coaches men's soccer at the small Catholic 
university in Canton, Ohio, added that being "right for the program" isn't limited to the tools a prospect can bring to the Cavaliers on the diamond.
"Character and integrity are very important, too. It's very important that we get players who are very coachable and who can listen."
Welland's Matt Spillman fit the bill on all counts. During his two visits to the campus, the 17-year-old infielder impressed Mead with his potential, both as a player and as a person.
"We liked Matt's resume. It felt like he could become part of our family," added Mead, whose school has 3,000 students at its main campus in Canton and at satellites in Akron, Canfield and Medina, also in central Ohio.
Walsh was so impressed with Spillman that they offered the Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School student a four-year, 70% scholarship.
The feeling was mutual on Spillman's part. He signed a letter of intent to attend Walsh University, rejecting a scholarship offer to play baseball at Neumann College in Aston, Pa., which he also visited.
"They play in a lower division, so it didn't feel like the right fit for me," Spillman said in explaining why he decided to go to Walsh, an NAIA school in the process of moving up to the NCAA's second division.
While letters of intent are not binding on the part of student athletes, who can opt out if they receive a "better offer," Spillman fully intends to begin majoring in either accounting or finance at the Ohio university in September.
"I'm a numbers guy," he said with a chuckle.
Right now, those numbers include an average in "the 90s" in his final year of high school. Spillman figures that as long as he continues studying, he won't be in Mead's dog-h ouse for poor grades any time soon.
The eldest of Neville and Sandra Spillman's three children isn't a slacker when it comes to hitting the books. As a prospect enrolled in former Major Leaguer Scott Bullett's baseball academy in Welland, Spillman had to maintain a good average or risk suspension.
"How a kid does in school tells you a lot about what kind of a player he is -- and what kind of player he will be. If he isn't dedicated to his school work, he won't be dedicated to the game of baseball," said Bullett, a one-time Welland Pirate who spent parts of four seasons patrolling the outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs in an 18-year playing career that included stints in Taiwan, Mexico and Japan.
"Baseball's fun -- right now, it's my life -- but grades are important. You need a backup plan," Spillman said in agreement.
After splitting time between second base and shortstop for Bullett's Bullett Proof Prospects travelling team, Spillman can expect to get the bulk of his playing time at second during his first season at the university level with the Walsh Cavaliers.
"I don't know if he has the arm strength right now to play short, but that could develop in time," Mead said in a telephone interview from Canton.
He said Spillamn can also expect to bat either at the top or near the bottom of the batting order.
"Matt's not a power hitter, but he can do the things he needs to do to get the ball in play. He may bat one or two, but he could also hit seven, eight or nine."
Spillman first appeared on Walsh's radar after the Bullett Proof Prospects' under-18 team competed at a tournament at Cleveland State University, where the coach from the host team said he would recommend him to Mead.
Mead called a short time later and invited Spillman to tour the campus and take part in a workout for the school's coaching staff.
"When a kid from Canada calls me, I always make time for him," Mead said in pointing out that the Cavaliers team that earned a berth in the NAIA World Series two years ago featured three Canadians, including two groomed by the Canadian Thunderbirds development program in Hamilton.
"We've been quite successful with players from Canada," Mead added.
Spillman will have more than balancing books and baseball on his mind after he leaves home "to live on my own."
"I will have to start doing things on my own, so it will be a transition for me. It might take a bit of time to get used to," said Spillman, whose siblings include sister Lorelei, 16, and brother Nick, 14, a player on Bullett's under-14 team.
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