The St. Joe’s club baseball team is back after a two-year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic. The team is currently 12-6 heading into a three-game weekend against Rutgers University.
Infielder Nick Vagnozzi ’22 said he’s happy with the growth of this year’s team.
“We’re having a hell of a year right now,” Vagnozzi said. “I’m really happy with the work we’ve done. We’re achieving our goals right now. We’re chasing them down.”
The players also attribute much of the team’s current success to the adoption of a cohesive mindset and team-first mentality.
“We’re just playing at a really high level and all 30 guys on the team are doing that,” Vagnozzi said. “I think that’s definitely what’s fueling us right now, and it’s going to fuel us through this season.
There are still some star players in the mix. Vagnozzi said an individual standout has been outfielder Ryan Mains ’22.
“He’s definitely established himself as one of the best hitters on our team and a leader for the team, a guy to look up to,” Vagnozzi said.
Good leadership and team comradery has created an environment that others enjoy. Pitcher Frank Castrovinci ’25 said he is glad to be a part of that team.
“I was on the fence about trying out, but it’s been better than I could have possibly imagined,” Castrovinci said. “Everyone’s been really friendly and it’s a good group of guys. It’s just been a lot of fun.”
Vagnozzi said overcoming the long break because of covid presented challenges but also an opportunity to start anew.
“We had to build a thing from the ground up,” Vagnozzi said. “We didn’t get a rulebook. We didn’t get an instruction manual for how to bring everything back and deal with all those changes.”
In addition to rebuilding, Vagnozzi said the team’s other goal is to win the regional title. After last weekend, the team is ranked fourth in regional standings. University of Delaware leads the league.
“We’ve got some really good teams in our region,” Vagnozzi said. “But the idea of reviewing the goal is to get better, to win the next weekend, to advance to regionals and then continue to get better and better and make the World Series.”
Club baseball’s world series will be held May 27 to June 2 at Linder University in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Outfielder Matt Rosen ’23 said the team has the drive to make it there.
“I think the strongest aspect of this team is how competitive we are with each other,” Rosen said. “People want to win and everything, which creates a great atmosphere. It just also brings people together and makes them close, building a connection, which is great for us in terms of building the program.”
The Hawks next take on Villanova on Apr. 9.
