Alva Review-Courier -

BROCKTON, Mass.—He is one of a select few on the Brockton Rox.

Brandon Nesseralla isn’t relying on a GPS to guide him around the area.

“I still know where I am,” the Rox right-hander said. “I drive around and I know exactly where I am. We went golfing the other day down to Plymouth, down to Village Links (Golf Club), and I was the only one that knew where we were going.”

Nesseralla knew where they were going because he knows where he’s been.

Born in Weymouth, the son of Pete Nesseralla and Sheila McNamara lived in Whitman until he was “around 11 or 12” when Oklahoma became his home.

Now, nearly a decade later, the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder has returned to his roots as a submarine-style relief pitcher in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

“I remember everything (about the area),” said Nesseralla. “My mom still lives in Weymouth. I’m living with her right now. All my cousins live around here. My uncle came to one of my game the other day. It’s fun.”

His memories include the fun he had playing Little League baseball in Whitman and the trips to a popular postgame stop after those games.

“We used to go to Stoughton tournaments,” said Nesseralla. “Those were pretty fun. I just remember playing ball, the Whitman ‘A’ and ‘B’ team, all the fun in the summer. And then going for ice cream down to Peaceful Meadows.”

His dad was once extremely active in baseball circles throughout the area.

A Braintree native, Pete Nesseralla coached the Braintree American Legion team that went to the state finals in 1996, took the Weymouth Legion team there four years later and worked at The South Shore Baseball Club in Hingham.

A three-time all-conference selection during his playing days at Northwestern Oklahoma State, the elder Nesseralla is now aiding his son in the process as he transfers from the Division 2 school.

“He’s always been there behind me, pushing me, everything else,” Nesseralla said. “He’s helping me right now because our coach (Sam Carel) stepped down. He’s helping me go to another college: Murray State (in Tishomingo, Okla.) because I’ve got to go juco and then try to go to Division 1. It’s a good program. They just made it to the college World Series (and won the NJCAA national championship four years ago).”

The 20-year-old Nesseralla is coming off a season that saw him boast an earned-run average of 0.63 through his first nine appearances with the Rangers before he finished at 4.46 with one win, two losses and two saves.

More comfortable as a reliever (17 appearances) than a starter (two), Nesseralla’s number bore that out as he posted a 3.37 ERA out of the bullpen compared to 6.51 in the rotation.

“They put me back to where I was comfortable and it mellowed back out and it was a lot easier,” said Nesseralla. “I’d rather close every day. I love the mentality.”

Rox coach Tad Skelley appreciates the option Nesseralla provides him out of the ‘pen.

“He’s got a good arm,” said Skelley. “He’s a guy we rely on in some high-leverage situations and he’s done a really good job. He had one (bad) outing, but all of his other outings he’s been impressive and I know that he’ll continue to do a good job for us.”

Called upon five times (tied for the team lead in pitching appearances through 12 games; the Rox are 9-3 heading into Tuesday night’s game with Martha’s Vineyard at Campanelli Stadium), Nesseralla has been sharp in four outings, tossing shutout ball over 4 2/3 innings, but a performance he’d rather forget (five runs in two-thirds of an inning in an 11-3 loss to the Seacoast Mavericks on June 3) has his ERA at 8.43.

One rough outing hasn’t altered Skelley’s opinion when it comes to Nesseralla, however.

“He’s a guy we want to bring in high-leverage situations because he can get outs and he can get quick outs. He’s a lower-slot guy. He’s a start guy. He’s more of a reliever and probably a back-end reliever. We’re happy to have him.”

And Nesseralla is happy to be here.

“Staying with my mom was a huge thing,” he said. “It was here or Savannah (pitching in the Coastal Plain League this summer). I wanted to stay with my mom so I chose to come here and I haven’t regretted it.”