Energized by grandfather’s memory, Colin Mont pitches Xaverian to Division 1 quarterfinal victory
WESTWOOD — With his late grandfather, Stephen Gregorski, in mind, senior righthander Colin Mont delivered a gem for the sixth-seeded Xaverian baseball team in Sunday’s 7-3 Division 1 quarterfinal win over No. 19 Leominster.
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On his second pitch of the game, Mont was struck on his throwing arm by a sizzling line drive. But he went the route in a 103-pitch performance, fanning eight while allowing four hits and two walks.
“The energy I have, it’s coming from my grandfather,” said Mont of Gregorski, a lifelong educator/administrator from Wethersfield, Conn. who died last October at age 82. His four children all became Division 1 college athletes.
“He was the one that taught me baseball, and he passed away this year, so I’m dedicating the season to him. I want to have something I can remember my senior season with and hopefully win the state championship for him.”
The Hawks (14-9) plated their first runs on Matt Volk’s two-run single in the second. But the Blue Devils showed no hesitation in answering.
In the top of the third, after a double steal, Jackson Mazzaferro scored after the ball skipped into the Xaverian dugout. Ricco Lora (2 for 4, RBI) and Connor Moriarty laced RBI singles for a 3-2 lead.
But Xaverian loaded the bases in the bottom half. A pair of wild pitches from Leominster starter Daniel Nelson skidded to the backstop, allowing Nolan Rappoli and Mike O’Keefe to score as the Hawks jumped ahead 4-3.
“They executed the [top of the] inning perfectly,” Xaverian coach Gerry Lambert said. “Hit and run, steals, putting pressure on us. So for us to be able to absorb that and bounce back right away, it was massive.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Volk singled in a run for 5-3, and Jack Coen’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth plated two insurance runs.
Next up, a Division 1 semifinal against second-seeded Bishop Feehan, which prevailed in their 11-inning marathon on May 18, 5-4.
“Feehan will be another great test for us as a team,” Lambert said. “We’re going to have to have our chin strap buckled in, our mouthpiece in, because it’s going to be a grinder.”
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