When Marauders’ season appeared lost, senior lefty saved the day
The high school baseball season that began with such promise for the Marauders of St. Peter’s Prep was crumbling down around them. The campaign began with the Marauders being ranked as high as No. 3 in the entire state. Midway through the season, the team was staring at oblivion, with a 9-5 record and with some lopsided losses to their credit.
To add insult to injury, the Marauders’ pitching staff was crumbling along with the record. Ace Peter Duda, already signed to a scholarship to Stanford, developed elbow problems. John Zaszewski came down with a case of the chicken pox. Anthony Pastore broke his hand.
Enter Jimmy Comprelli. The senior left-hander didn’t have an "S" emblazoned across his chest and wasn’t donning a red cape and tights, but he might as well have been. Because Comprelli was not only a superman, but he also definitely saved the Marauders’ season.
"He became the man," veteran head coach Joe Urbanovich said. "He accepted the responsibility. When everyone else went down, Jimmy stepped up. There was no discussion. He understood he had to become the go-to guy."
"We have a lot of good pitchers," Comprelli said. "When Pete went down, I just took it as an opportunity to help out, do as best as I could. After we heard about Pete, there were a lot of heads down. I guess I tried to step up and try to keep the team going."
Comprelli did more than just keep the Marauders going. He practically carried them through the tough times. Because of his efforts, the Marauders righted the ship, have won 12 straight games and move on to the HCIAA finals and the NJSIAA North Jersey Parochial A semifinals.
Over the last three weeks, Comprelli has won five straight games – all against Hudson County foes, all complete games, compiling an earned run average of 1.09 during that stretch.
Comprelli, who now owns a 6-1 record, shut out Hoboken and Emerson, surrendered one run against North Bergen and just two runs against Dickinson. Last Wednesday, Comprelli surrendered just two hits, striking out eight, in a 5-2 win over Hoboken in the HCIAA semifinals, lifting the Marauders to face Memorial for a possible fourth straight county championship.
For his efforts, Comprelli has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
"Every time I gave him the ball, he went out and pitched a complete game," Urbanovich said. "He never said once that he couldn’t do the job. He just did it. He won games. When Jimmy goes out there, we win. He keeps the game moving and the action is constant out there. We’re doing well right now because Jimmy’s doing so well. When he pitches, it’s like a day off from the Bronx Zoo."
Comprelli’s rise to stardom is no fluke. The senior, who is headed to Rowan University to play baseball there in the fall, worked diligently in the off-season with local baseball guru Ed "The Faa" Ford on his pitching mechanics and arm strength.
"This is no accident," Urbanovich said. "He worked hard for this."
"I think all the work has helped me out in the long run," Comprelli said. "I think it’s why I’m throwing harder and easier. I’ve also learned how to pitch, what the hitters might be looking for and what they’re hitting. I just try to mix things up and keep them off-guard."
Comprelli uses a fine blend of his fastball, curve and changeup to baffle hitters. He is constantly ahead in the count, throwing many first-pitch strikes, which is vital to baseball success.
"I feel like I’ve been throwing decently hard and I work on the curve and the change to see what’s working," Comprelli said.
Urbanovich says that Comprelli is an inspiration to other kids who follow in the Prep baseball program, simply because Comprelli never quit. He was cut from the freshman team, yet kept coming back to try out for the team. Now, he’s the Marauders’ premier pitcher.
"He’s someone that I’m going to put up as an example," Urbanovich said. "He did what he had to do to make it back and make the team. He’s an example of persistence and patience."
Comprelli said that he doesn’t feel like a savior. His laid back personality and approach is a breath of fresh air.
"I’m not a big hero or anything," Comprelli said. "I think everyone has stepped up. We just all started doing the little things and got on a good winning streak. I didn’t do anything special. We’re just having fun. That’s the key thing. We’re out there to win, but we’re having fun at the same time."
And the Marauders are winning and having fun because Jimmy Comprelli was there to save the day. – Jim Hague