Working for the Weekend
Aug 21 | Baseball
Herrmann and Roe represent Rutgers playing professionally for Somerset Patriots
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Since July 17, fans in New Jersey have had an opportunity to watch live professional baseball with the Somerset Patriots hosting a series of weekend games against the New Jersey Blasters. In compliance with state regulations, up to 500 fans have been allowed inside TD Bank Ballpark with proper health and safety measures in place.
A pair of Scarlet Knights have been in on the action. Heading into this weekend’s play, Max Herrmann leads the Patriots with a 0.75 ERA in five games, while Nate Roe, who is in his third season with the organization, has worked to a 1.50 ERA and .217 batting average against.
“It's great to hear the fans cheering for you,” Roe said. “It's nice to hear the crack of the bat and have the competitive environment. Somerset has done a great job of putting precautions in place for us to play. The anticipation builds all week to get out there.”
Roe is in his eighth professional season after working in 61 games for the Scarlet Knights from 2010-13. The right-hander collected five saves as a senior, including one in the 2013 Big East Tournament with the tying run on second base to advance the team to the semifinals. He has been pitched for several pro clubs, including playing in Australia and Canada.
“The fact is that baseball has brought me to a lot of places and I’ve made lifelong relationships with people from all over,” Roe said. “As big as the baseball world is, it's so small at the same time because everyone knows someone that's played with someone that you know. It's been quite a journey and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
For Herrmann, he had his best professional season last year in the Los Angeles Angels system. The lefty spent most of 2019 at Double-A Mobile and pitched in 12 games with eight starts, also making four appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake and permitting only five earned runs over 16.2 innings. Despite working out in big-league camp during spring training, Herrmann was among the 90 players released from the organization with there being no minor league season.
“These games have been a great opportunity to go out there and show how hard we’ve worked,” Herrmann said. “Somerset is a first-class organization and even with the limited number of fans in the stadium, it still feels like a weeknight vibe at a Triple-A game. There are some really good players here and the games have been competitive.”
Herrmann finished his time as a Scarlet Knight (2014-17) ranked second in school history with 86 appearances and third with 15 saves, notching 92 strikeouts in 128.0 innings. As a senior captain in 2017, he collected a 3.31 ERA and six saves with 29 strikeouts and a .242 batting average against. A native of Rutherford, New Jersey, Herrmann was a four-time academic all-conference honoree and twice picked up Big Ten Distinguished Scholar status.
“I’ve just been trying to mix up my pitches to throw anything in any count and try for soft contact rather than try to strikeout everyone,” Herrmann said. “It’s about slowing the game down.”
Looking ahead, Roe also works in the Somerset front office in group sales and maintains a busy schedule with baseball lessons.
“Whether it be sales or pitching, you have to have confidence,” Roe said. “You have to keep a positive mindset and always be a good teammate.”
“This has been a crazy year, but we’ve been excited to take the field this summer,” Herrmann added.
The Somerset Professional Baseball Series wraps up this weekend.
Photo credits: Thomas Northcutt, Cheryl Pursell
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