Special to Tribune Chronicle Seton Hill freshman Craig Lewis, a 2016 Howland High School graduate, bats for the Griffins during a game this past season. Lewis had a great first year at Seton Hill and could be on a path to even greater things.

There’s one play that can pretty well sum up Craig Lewis’ first season at Seton Hill University and, much like Lewis, it was a game changer.

The Griffins were playing the first game of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament against top-seeded West Chester. The teams were tied in the top of the ninth inning and Lewis, a 2016 Howland High School graduate, was on third base with two outs.

As he examined the long, deliberate wind-up of West Chester’s pitcher, he and the third-base coach each had a thought.

“(The third-base coach) said something to me,” Lewis recalled. “He was like, ‘We need to think about stealing home here.’ ”

It was a risky move, especially with the count at 2-2, as the batter would have to swing if the pitch was a strike. Lewis, one of the fastest players on the team, darted home anyway, his adrenaline fueling him with the game on the line.

“I got a pretty good lead and just ran as fast as I could, and I almost beat the ball to the plate,” Lewis said. “(The pitcher) saw me run and kind of rushed himself, and he ended up throwing the ball in the dirt. I saw it — it was maybe four feet in front of me. I saw it as I was sliding. There was no chance (of West Chester getting me out).”

Lewis gave Seton Hill the lead for good. The Griffins, a Division II school near Pittsburgh, won the game and went on to win the tournament — the first in school history. Seton Hill coach Marc Marizzaldi called it the play of the year — and it came from a true freshman.

“I really truly believe that was the turning point (of the season), even though it was Game 1 of the tournament,” Marizzaldi said. “We win the first game against the No. 1 seed by stealing home, and you could just see the confidence in our team take off. We went on and won the next three games, so he played a pretty big part in (the tournament title). That one play really sparked us for the entire tournament.”

Marizzaldi wasn’t surprised the play came from Lewis, who had a sensational freshman year.

Lewis was Seton Hill’s leadoff hitter most of the season. He tied for the team lead in batting average at .379, was first in doubles (21), on-base percentage (.491) and runs (59), second in stolen bases (28) and slugging percentage (.593) and fourth in RBIs (33). As good as he was at the plate, his fielding may have been his best attribute.

“That was probably the most impressive part of his game, to be honest, was defensively,” Marizzaldi said. “There were so many things he did that don’t show up in the stats — hits that he took away and stuff like that. Our pitchers loved him, I know that.

“It was just so impressive to see how he competed, and it’s exciting to think about what he did as a freshman, and he’s got three more years.”

The American Baseball Coaches Association made the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Lewis a second-team All Region selection, and while Lewis admitted even he was surprised at his success, he wasn’t content.

Lewis is now playing for the Licking County Settlers of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, a wooden-bat league in Ohio sponsored by Major League Baseball.

“He’s tearing it up already,” said Marizzaldi of Lewis, who was hitting .461 after eight games. “It’s been around for a long, long time. It’s a really good league.”

Both Lewis and Marizzaldi agreed the 20-year-old still has work to do, specifically in the weight room, and neither want to get ahead of themselves, but the idea of playing professionally is a realistic possibility.

“It all depends what scouts are looking for, but some of his physical tools are pretty special, especially his speed,” Marizzaldi said. “They always talk in baseball about having a five-tool player. Craig’s a legitimate four-tool player. He has an average arm, but everything else is above average. Physically, at least at the Division II level, if you have a guy who’s a two- or three-tool guy, he’s a pretty good player, but once you start talking about having four or all five tools, those are draftable guys. Craig’s got four really good tools.”

He has a passion for the game, too. Lewis played in the fall, then in the spring and didn’t waste time getting back into it after the season ended on May 19 (the Griffins lost in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament). He is currently staying with a host family in Newark, Ohio, playing another two-and-a-half months of baseball. The never-ending schedule doesn’t faze Lewis.

“I can never get enough of it,” he said. “I love the game of baseball, so I’m just going to take it as far as it’ll let me go.”

That could be a long way.