Anthony DePetro, Mike Marchese and Nick Zarski have been teammates on baseball diamonds for many years, dating back to their time leading South Shore Little League to District 24 and Section 3 South crowns, as well as an appearance in the NYS tournament back in 2019.
They’re now members of St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s varsity baseball team and, fittingly, when it came time to announcing where they’ll be playing in college, they did it together.
DePetro, Marchese and Zarski, in fact, recently took part in a signing ceremony at Sea’s brand new, state-of-the-art hitting facility on its Huguenot complex.
Each of the three baseball players will be attending Division 2 schools next fall.
For a closer look at where Sea’s signees will attend school, please scroll down. And for another look at a recent signings by a Staten Island student-athlete, please scroll to the bottom.
Anthony DePetro, Sea
St. Joseph by-the-Sea catcher Anthony DePetro signs a National Letter of Intent to attend Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y. (Courtesy of Nelson Ortiz)Courtesy of Nelson Ortiz
It all started quite innocently for St. Joseph by-the-Sea catcher Anthony DePetro.
One day, a coach from Pace University watched him play while the Vikings squared off against Iona Prep in New Rochelle, a week or so later DePetro attended a Pace baseball camp at its Pleasantville, N.Y., campus.
It didn’t take too long for the Setters’ coaching staff to begin heavily recruiting DePetro and the two-year varsity player recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Pace on a partial athletic scholarship.
The lefty-swinging, power hitter, who plays travel ball for the Richmond County Baseball Club, said he performed well at the camp and it paved the way to the Northeast-10 Conference school.
“It’s always been my dream to play baseball as long as I can,’’ said the 17-year-old DePetro. “I’m very happy about my decision and looking forward to going there.’’
Pace head coach Hank Manning gave DePetro some news that surely got his competitive juices flowing.
“He told me there’s a chance I can start behind the plate freshman year and I thought that was awesome,’’ said DePetro. “I figured that was a long shot, so to hear that really made me happy.
“They think I have a strong bat and like the way I hit, especially that I’m a lefty bat with power,’’ the Woodrow resident continued. “The coaching staff also said they like the way I play behind the plate.’’
DePetro, who is planning to major in Finance, also received interest from Southern New Hampshire, Wagner and the College of Staten Island.
Mike Marchese, Sea
St. Joseph by-the-Sea centerfielder/pitcher Mike Marchese is all smiles after signing a National Letter of Intent to Lynn University. (Courtesy of Nelson Ortiz)Courtesy of Nelson Ortiz
St. Joseph by-the-Sea centerfielder/pitcher Mike Marchese had a plethora of reasons to reach out to Lynn University’s baseball program to see if it would be interested in his services.
“My whole family lives in Florida and (Lynn) has a great baseball program with a coach who’s been there for about 30 years,’’ said the Tottenville resident. “And I love the beach.’’
Enough said.
Marchese successfully connected with the Fighting Knights’ coaching staff and recently signed a National Letter of Intent to a partial athletic scholarship.
After Marchese contacted Lynn last June, the school’s recruiting coordinator made the trip to Staten Island to take in a private workout. He eventually received a phone call notifying him of their interest and after making a visit to the Sunshine State Conference school, he verbally committed last October.
“I loved it. I thought it was an awesome place,’’ said Marchese. “It feels really good to find a school. Ever since I was little, everyone has been expecting me to eventually play college baseball.
“I feel good about my choose and I’m looking forward to the experience.’’
Marchese, who bats and throws right-handed, has earned several awards during his first three seasons at Sea, including a Silver Slugger Award as a freshman on JV, MVP at the same level a year later and Gold Glove for the Vikings’ varsity last spring.
According to Marchese, head coach Rudy Garbalosa is open to the idea of allowing him to both pitch and play centerfield with the Fighting Knights.
“They told me they’ve never had a two-way commit, that I was the first. If I can do both, I definitely will — getting a chance is one of the reasons why I decided to go there,’’ said the 17-year-old. “They have a lot of seniors graduating this year and they can use me. When I get down there, they’re going to watch me hit, throw and run and although they didn’t guarantee anything, they did say if I’m the better one, I’ll play.’’
The two-year varsity player is undecided on a major, but is leaning toward studying something in Finance. Marchese also received interest from Palm Beach Atlantic and Palm Beach State.
Nick Zarski, Sea
St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Nick Zarski makes his commitment to Felician University official after signing a National Letter of Intent to attend the New Jersey school. (Courtesy of Nelson Ortiz)Courtesy of Nelson Ortiz
St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Nick Zarski wears many hats for the Vikings’ baseball team as he’s a pitcher, first baseman and designated hitter.
But the Prince’s Bay resident got the opportunity to work out on the mound for Felician University head baseball coach Chris Langan in early October and it paid immediate dividends.
“(Richmond County Baseball Club coach Nick DeFendis) set up the private work out for me and (Langan) liked what he saw,’’ said Zarski. “I thought I did great. I had command of my pitches and good velocity.
“Soon after, I received an offer.’’
Zarski, in turn, recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Felician on a partial athletic scholarship.
The two-year varsity player is pleased he committed to the Rutherford, N.J., school.
“This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,’’ explained Zarski. “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m really happy to know I’ll be pitching at the next level.’’
Right-hander Zarski’s pitching repertoire includes four pitches, including a four and two-seam fastball, a change-up and curveball. These days, Zarski has hit as a high as 87 MPH on the radar gun.
“He likes what they saw,’’ the 17-year-old said. “He thinks I got a good mix of pitches and that I can get better. I’m planning to stay regimented and work as hard as I can to improve.’’
Zarski is undecided on a major, but is considering Business and Finance.
Other 2024-25 College Signings by Charle De Biase Jr.
Tottenville’s Jason Bassett (Baseball)
Farrell’s Aiden Pedreros (Football)
College Signings 1 (Dec. 12, 2024)
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