The former Tampa Catholic student collapsed working out for the team. Coaches and paramedics tried to revive him, but he later died at the hospital.
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 20, 2005
TAMPA - Baseball was Matthew Miulli's life.
The 17-year-old Alonso High School junior had played since he was a little boy, friends said.
So it was no surprise after he transferred from Tampa Catholic High School this school year that he'd be on the field, trying out for Alonso's baseball team this week.
But for Miulli, who had a pre-existing medical problem, his passion for baseball turned fatal late Wednesday afternoon when he collapsed during tryout conditioning. His coach and emergency rescue personnel tried to revive him, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital, officials said.
Within an hour, more than 100 shocked and grief-stricken students and friends of the teen began returning to the school, packing the media center in an impromptu counseling session, said Hillsborough County schools spokesman Mark Hart.
"It goes to show how the other students felt about him," Hart said. "As some would leave, more would come as word spread of Matthew's death. They came to mourn the loss of their friend."
Miulli, a catcher, was trying out for the team, having transferred at the start of this school year from Tampa Catholic High School, Hart said.
Miulli had just finished a mile run when he sat down on the bleachers and said he couldn't continue, Hart said. Then he collapsed. His coach tried CRP as emergency personnel were en route.
Paramedics worked to revive him, too, before Miulli was taken to Town 'N Country Hospital, Hart said.
Miulli was pronounced dead at 4:55 p.m., said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. He had a "pre-existing medical condition," Carter said, but she declined to be more specific.
Hart said a medical condition would not prevent a student from participating in athletics, as long as they had a physical examination.
"I'm assuming he had that, but I can't verify that tonight," Hart said.
Dozens of students were on the field working out for softball, baseball and wrestling, and saw Miulli collapse, Hart said. Many piled into cars and drive to the hospital following the ambulance. In shock at the news of his death, they and other friends of Miulli began returning to the school about 6:30 p.m.
About an hour later, more than 100 students were filling the media center, sobbing and holding one another, some just staring ahead in shock, Hart said.
Miulli's death comes on the heels of a string of other tragedies to befall local students. Last month, brothers Tony and Danny Duong, also students at Alonso, died in a car accident.
Former Robinson High football standout Kwane Doster was shot and killed in Ybor City on Dec. 26, and 15-year-old Robinson student Johnathon Simmons was shot to death Dec. 28 at a block party in Bradenton.
The deaths at Robinson follow two at Martinez Middle School, where two siblings were gunned down Dec. 10 by their father outside their Heritage Harbor home in Tampa. In October, an 8-year-old boy from Kenly Elementary School was mauled to death by two mixed-breed pit bullterriers.
Miulli, an only child, played baseball all his life, said neighbor Paul Caron. Caron said he wasn't sure what medical condition he had or why he transferred, though Miulli had a lot of friends in at Alonso, he said.
Freddie Langiotti, athletics director for Tampa Catholic, said Miulli played in the outfield on the school's junior varsity team his freshman and sophomore years.
He said he wasn't aware of any medical conditions Miulli had. The young man was loved for his great sense of humor, he said. "That's what is so shocking," he said. "A young teenager like that who looks like he's in great shape, and in the drop of a hat, he's gone."
Staff writer Scott Purks and researchers Kitty Bennett and John Martin contributed to this report.
