Baseball: Summer of content for Celenza, Bottegal

Both entering their sophomore years of college, they are seemingly going in opposite directions. Celenza just concluded a spectacular freshman season for Division III Salisbury University, starting every game at first base for the Sea Gulls and hitting .363 for the season. Meanwhile, Bottegal saw almost no playing time, transferring from the University of Delaware to Villanova (Pa.), both Division I programs, after one semester.

Yet they are treated equally this summer as rookies for the College Park Bombers. They are both new to the wood-bat leagues, and both have to prove that they belong.

‘‘It’s definitely different, especially with the wooden bats — it was tough adjusting at first,” said Celenza, who was the All-Gazette Player of the Year with the Cougars in 2006. ‘‘It’s definitely a little better pitching than where I’m at, plus the barrel on a wood bat isn’t as big as a metal bat, so there’s no room for a mistake. But I think the competition will help me a lot, playing with guys I’ve never competed against before. Especially big-college guys, teams like the [Bethesda] Big Train have some big-named players.”

For Celenza, the summer is simply an opportunity to keep playing. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound infielder has had almost no rest since a 43-game schedule at Salisbury ended May 18 with the Gulls’ 4-3 loss to York (Pa.) in their third game of the NCAA Tournament. His spring did end on a positive note, however, with a solo home run in his last at-bat.

Less than two weeks later, he was back at work with the Bombers, where he is not a standout for one of the first times in his playing career. In just over a week, he had logged only three hits. But that was to be expected, and in reality, even better than many of his teammates — his .250 batting average was actually .025 points higher than the team’s average through seven games.

‘‘I think I’m doing all right so far — I’d give it about a ‘B,’” Celenza said. ‘‘I don’t think I’m in over my head at all and I’m happy with what I see. The pitching is definitely really good, but it wasn’t overpowering or anything that had me like ‘Wow, I can’t hit this.’ I felt the pitching would actually be maybe even a little better.”

Though he is not being asked to play every game for the Bombers (starting five of the team’s first seven), the strategic nuances of the league excite him.

‘‘What I like about what they do here is that they play more situational baseball,” he said. ‘‘Like, if it’s a tie game and I get on base, they’ll take me out because I’m not fastest, whereas at Salisbury, there’s no real backup. It’s different, here you play for runs instead of big innings, which is fun.”

Bottegal is on the opposite side of the fence in some respects, and similar in others. Like Celenza, Bottegal has found his hitting stroke coming along in the Ripken League. In his second start, he slashed two singles while also stealing a base and scoring two of the Bombers’ three runs.

Also similarly, he has to get used to playing with top-tier competition, but for a different reason. In reality, before College Park’s game at the Herndon Braves on June 12, Bottegal had not started a game since the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game for the Falcons in his senior year.

Last summer, on the advice of Good Counsel manager John McGowan, he had surgery on a chronically painful right shoulder, preventing him from playing in summer leagues. And after following high school teammate Steve Ulaky to Delaware, he found he was not getting the opportunity he had desired.

So he called up several colleges in Pennsylvania and eventually found a taker in Villanova. Wildcats manager Joe Godri told him he’d have to work hard for the lone roster spot available, and Bottegal did just that.

Nonetheless, playing time was scarce — he only logged one at-bat on the season — and with the team’s entire starting outfield returning, it could continue to be so. That’s why this summer is so important for Bottegal. It’s not only the first bulk of playing time he’s had in a while, but it could be the most he receives for a while.

‘‘I should have redshirted, but I didn’t, and I know I’m going to have to work hard to earn a spot next year,” he said. ‘‘I’ve had to get timing back here, and adjust to college pitching because they’re so much better. I was pretty amazed at the competition here, actually.”

As for the prospect of playing everyday, it is something Bottegal has thought about. Like Celenza, he could have gone to a Division III school, with an offer to play at Emory (Ga.).

But he always saw himself as a Division I player. Aside from his former teammate and roommate Ulaky, three of his other Good Counsel teammates — catcher George Papuchis, outfielder Kevin Jones and pitcher Christian Schulz — went on to play at La Salle. Bottegal believes he’s on the same level.

‘‘I don’t know, something in me wanted it, especially having four other teammates go Division I,” Bottegal said. ‘‘I just wanted to do it so I know I didn’t sell myself short, but it is sometimes hard looking at a D-III school and knowing I could have played every day. But then you also have to look at the academics. But I’m just looking for that one opportunity to get in there and prove myself.”

That’s exactly what he’s getting this summer.