Scott Sada Continues Family Tradition of Baseball at Behrend

People who are close with and know the Sada family understand there is one word who links all of them together, baseball. Father Steve was a standout at the University of Akron and set several program records for the Zips. Scott’s older brother also named Steve was a standout at Miami University where he played as a utility man known for his speed for four college seasons. Youngest Sada brother Scott is a standout shortstop at Behrend and approaches the Division III baseball record for doubles in a college career. Scott has set numerous Behrend baseball records in his nearly four year college career, but he would be the last one to speak of the records and accolades he has racked up over the years.

The former Saegertown standout basketball and baseball player lettered nine times in his high school varsity sports career and was named second team all state in baseball during his senior season. However, it has never been about personal achievement or gain.“To me, it is all about those AMCC titles. It is about the dog pile in the infield after winning a championship that I am after this year. Coach Benim talks all the time about the pile.It is a feeling I have never experienced that many other Behrend players have. That is what I am after this year. We have been so close in two of these three seasons, and I hope this is the year we can capture that conference title.” Scott was used to being in a winning culture like Behrend because of the excellent baseball tradition at Saegertown High School. Sada was a member of Saegertown teams who advanced to the District 10 class AA title game in three of his four high school seasons. Brother Steve and Scott won titles together in 2012 and 2013, while Saegertown fell to Northwestern in the District 10 title game in 2014. Scott’s play over his high school career allowed college coaches to take notice.

“I spoke with Gannon, Allegheny, and Behrend about playing baseball. I picked Behrend because it had the best engineering program of the four schools which has prepared me for a great future after baseball. I also could stay relatively close to home and had the chance to play right from the start which were some added bonuses to choosing Behrend. This was unquestionably the best place for me.” As a plastics engineering major, Scott has had a tough challenge of balancing one of Behrend’s toughest majors. “I took 39 credits last school year. It was the most challenging time in my life between baseball and school, but the course load was worth it. It has allowed me to focus heavily on baseball in my senior season and also it allowed me to have some time to plan out my future.”

So far in 2019, Sada is once again hitting well over .300 which is not a surprise to anyone as he has hit well over .300 in each of his previous college seasons. He has racked up 12 runs, 10 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases in 14 games. In other news, he is approaching the Division III doubles record for a career and is on pace to set a career mark in doubles this season. His offensive fire power has allowed him to be named All-AMCC in all three college seasons. Additionally, he has been named an AMCC All-Academic in each of his three seasons while earning appearances on ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team, Google Cloud Academic All-America Team, Google Cloud Academic All-District Team, ECAC All-Star North First Team, as well as being named Team MVP, Team Newcomer of the Year, and numerous other accolades.

While Sada’s numbers and performances speak for themselves, Sada admits that there have been many people who have helped him reach this level of success. “It definitely starts with my dad. He works incredibly hard at his job, and for many years worked a full day and then coached baseball. His knowledge of the game has made a difference in my life.” Scott also spoke about the impact his brother has had on him as a ball player. “My brother is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. He always put in more extra time than anyone. His work allowed him to reach the Division I level and have a successful career.” In addition to his family, Scott spoke about the close bond he shares with manager Paul Benim and assistant coaches Dave Boheme and Anthony Fanelli. “Coach Benim is way more than a manager. He is a teacher, second father, and coach all in one. He has taught me and many others valuable life lessons that I will always remember. He has created a great culture here that preaches excellence. I owe Coach Benim a lot.” Additionally, Sada spoke about the improvements he has seen because of Coach Fanelli’s attention to detail in players batting. “Coach Fanelli has helped every one of us in the cage become better hitters so far this school year. He is very detail oriented and it has certainly helped me so far this season.” Scott also listed former teammates Brian Bohman and Brandon Bergstrom as two of his biggest mentors coming to Behrend. They pushed him to play the game harder and taught him him how to represent Behrend baseball the right way. Lastly, Sada talked about his close friendship with Dave Boheme who was once his teammate and now is his coach. “Dave has been motivational to our team this year. His career came to a close much sooner than he expected, and he makes sure to remind us to not take any chance for granted.”Scott has just a few short weeks left in his academic and athletic career, and when reflecting on what he will miss most, he spoke about the ambitious trips he has taken with friends and teammates and also he time in between classes he used to socialize with peers and friends in other majors. Scott is a great example on how exactly student athletes must use their time, and offered a personal trick on how he has been successful. “I was offered a tip that told me do assignments as soon as they are assigned because it will help you check things off before they pile up. Finding time in between classes to get work done was also a key. It allowed me to chip away at things I needed to do. This philosophy was successful for me and put me in a great place to succeed.”

After his collegiate career concludes, Scott will be returning home to Saegertown to continue his career working for Prism Plastics based out of Meadville. It is a growing company that continues to expand both domestically and internationally. He interned there in the summer of 2018, and looks forward to returning home and beginning his career close to the area he grew up in.

With just a few short weeks remaining in his college career, Behrend baseball fans and his teammates can bet Scott will lay it all on the line to go out as an AMCC champ. With his future in baseball uncertain after the conclusion of his college career, Sada realizes it is now or never for him to play in an NCAA tournament game.