He found his rhythm, and dismissed the blues.
Xaverian pitcher Nicholas DeSalvo struggled on the mound early on this spring, but the Clippers’ senior standout finally hit his stride on May 4, lifting his squad to a 2–1 victory over St. Francis Prep.
“I was really struggling with my fastball at first,” said DeSalvo, who recently committed to Long Island University. “So I started working with my breaking stuff, and then later in the game my fastball came back and that was working for me.”
DeSalvo pitched six and two-thirds innings, racking up six strikeouts and working out of a handful of on-base jams. His performance wasn’t always perfect, but — most importantly for his team — he never lost his confidence.
“He’s got that potential; it’s just this is the first game this year where he’s really stayed in and went the max,” said Xaverian coach Frank Del George. “He’s usually a three- or four-inning pitcher, but (today) he was pitching really good.”
The Clippers needed every pitch DeSalvo could manufacture in the Catholic League matchup, as the team had difficulty finding consistency at the plate.
St. Francis jumped out to an early lead, scoring its lone run of the day on a Xaverian error in the top of the second inning. The Clippers answered in the bottom of the frame — on run-scoring double by a Pedro Fortoso.
Xaverian left base runners stranded in four innings and hit into a handful of fly-ball outs, unable to connect on a big-time hit that would change the course of the game.
“We can never get it,” Del George said. “We get the right guy up in the right situation, but for some reason, we can just never get that big hit. Maybe in the playoffs, this year, it’ll happen.”
But DeSalvo kept his team in this game, shutting down Prep and giving the Clippers a final chance in the top of the seventh. Finally, they seized the opportunity.
Shane Mugnolo got things started with his second hit of the day, and Thomas Papadopoulus drove him in with a double deep into left field. That offensive burst was all DeSalvo needed to close the deal.
“It gives me a little bit of relief knowing that my team has my back too,” he said. “I just wanted to go in there and do my best job. Give it 100 percent and then we’ll see where it goes from there.”
DeSalvo got the first two outs of the inning, but reached his pitch count before he could face St. Francis’ final hitter. Mugnolo took the mound and got the final out, as DeSalvo breathed a sigh of relief in the dugout.
Xaverian was inconsistent early this season, but a recent string of solid performances have the Clippers thinking playoffs. Their coach believes his team can get there — if they can add more hitting to go with their pitching.
“They know exactly what’s going on and who’s doing what and what we have to do,” Del George said. “The key is what we have to do. If we get help, that’s great, but we’ve got to concentrate on what we’re doing.”
