Sonny Fauci is now going on his second season pitching for the New Jersey Jackals. The pitcher out of Matawan, New Jersey, doesn’t play with a mere chip on his shoulder but a boulder.
Sonny would play his entire high school baseball career at Old Bridge High School. During his four years for the Knights, he would rise the ranks and be recognized as a notable high school prospect in the state.
Fauci was ranked as the No. 26 overall prospect in New Jersey and the No. 9 RHP by Perfect Game. And by Prep Baseball Report, he was ranked No. 36 overall prospect in New Jersey and No. 17 RHP.
After reading this, you would think where does the chip on Sonny’s shoulder come from? He wasn’t the overlooked prospect that no high school baseball ranking sites gave any attention to.
But despite the recognition and praise he did receive, Fauci felt like he wasn’t truly viewed amongst the elite high school prospects. Giving him the fuel to be better than the rankings claimed he was. “It kind of just grew my mindset and my work ethic to just go into college and work my butt off to be better than I was before and be the best I could be,” Fauci said.
His journey going forward wasn’t without its fair share of bumps in the road. Fauci started his college journey at St. John’s University, where as a true freshman, he played in five games.
In those five contests, he went 1-0, struck out nine batters, walked only three batters, and held opponents to a .200 batting average. But his first time of adversity during his college career would arise with the Red Storm’s season being shortened due to the pandemic.
Looking to bounce back in his redshirt freshman season, another bump in the road would unfortunately emerge. This time, in the form of Sonny needing to get Tommy John surgery in April 2021.
This surgery was a tough blow in what was already a difficult time in Fauci’s college career. “That was a rough time in my career because I was also hurt a little bit before I got that in the fall. So I wasn’t pitching for a while. I was doing really good before I got surgery and just kind of struggled after the fact,” Fauci mentioned.
Coming back from this surgery forced him to rework his approach in all facets. After locking in during his rehab and working to return to the mound, Fauci found himself fighting not only the physical hurdles but the mental hurdles as well.
“But it also taught me just, when I got back to just not try to be perfect and not try to put too much pressure on myself and just go out there and play. Because when I came back I struggled, I was trying to be perfect, trying to be Superman on the mound.
I was pitching to get drafted, I was trying to pitch for all that stuff instead of just going out there having fun and competing. But I learned from that to just go out there, have fun, play the game hard, and control what I can control,” Fauci remarked.
The surgery would force Sonny to miss the majority of his sophomore season. But he would eventually return and pitch in 8 games for St. John’s during the 2022 season.
In those games Fauci went 2-2, had an ERA of 10.26, struck out 16 batters, and walked out 12 batters in 16.2 innings. In his junior year, Sonny played in 14 games and finished the season with a 3-2 record and an ERA of 5.13.
Fauci for his final collegiate season, would transfer to Rutgers University. During his lone year on the Scarlet Knights, he played a different role that forced him to broaden his pitching identity.
“I was out of the bullpen for a while, so it gave me a different taste of the game pitching as a reliever,” Sonny added. He would go on to learn the Rutgers baseball program had a very demanding structure.
This structure not only left a lasting impression on Sonny, it also helped him learn how to be a pro. “It was very professionally ran. So it gave me a good understanding of how to go about my business as a professional at the next level,” Fauci commented.
It’s been a tale of two seasons for the Jackals, as they opened the year on a hot start opening with a 4-2 record. Since, they have split their past eight games, culminating in an 8-6 record.
With the flashes of high level play the team has displayed, Sonny remains optimistic despite their cool down from their scorching start. “I think we have another good set of guys. We started off strong, so I have high hopes for this season and the organization,” Fauci stated.
The team right now is in the middle of facing adversity, and there are not a lot of people better at staying sunny through adversity than Fauci.
