Making prime time

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Nick Lapetina and Chris Napoli are best friends on and off the baseball diamond. Whether it’s watching the Philadelphia Eagles or having a friendly catch in the park, the two always seem to have a good time.

This spring, the two South Philadelphia residents are having the time of their lives as they both achieved their high-school goal — starting for Roman Catholic’s varsity baseball team.

Lapetina, a third baseman, was coming off a season during which he seriously considered quitting baseball after getting cut his junior year. Napoli, a second baseman, also needed to prove he could be an everyday varsity starter after spending much of his sophomore season on junior varsity.

Playing fall ball, taking extra swings in the batting cages and having friendly catches in the neighborhood paid off as the two athletes are finally everyday varsity starters. But for Lapetina, of 13th and Mifflin streets, the challenge has just begun.

"I have to work harder than I did the whole off-season," the senior said. "Just because I got on the team doesn’t mean I accomplished what I set out for."

Napoli, of 11th and McClellan streets, said his friend’s preseason performance shocked everybody on the team, including himself.

"All he talked about was playing baseball this year," the junior said of his teammate. "Every day, he just kept doing what he had to do. We would go to the indoor batting cages 8-9 o’clock at night.

"I really look up to him because he is a senior," Napoli added.

Joe DeLuca, who is in his second season as Roman Catholic’s baseball coach, said he was impressed by Lapetina’s performance during last year’s tryouts. But, being unfamiliar with the players at the time, DeLuca said he relied solely on his junior-varsity coaches to make the final decision.

When he coached Lapetina on his Roxborough fall-ball team, the coach started to take notice and advised him to try out for Roman again in the spring. He took some ribbing from his friends last season, but a new-and-improved Lapetina tried out again — and this time, he won the position hands-down.

"When Nick came out for tryouts, he looked like a completely different player," the coach recalled. "He did a great job as far as becoming a better hitter."

The senior is now one of the Cahillites’ top hitters. He entered the week with a .444 batting average (eight for 18) and .524 on-base percentage.


Napoli worked just as hard during the off-season, as the second baseman wasn’t satisfied with spending the majority of his time on junior varsity. So he enrolled in the John Marzano Baseball Academy to work out with the former Major League Baseball catcher four days a week, and focused on fundamentals and mechanics.

"[Marzano] told me that you’ve got to have confidence," said Napoli. "He really changed my whole outlook on the game."

The junior said he now has a better attitude every time he takes the field.

"Every time I am out there, I think I can help the team and make a difference," he said. "Before, I was always thinking too much."

Napoli really had to prove himself during last month’s workouts, as DeLuca said he was outplayed during the fall baseball season. Back in November, Marzano had told the coach, "I am going to make this kid your starting second baseman."

Sure enough, when the team started practicing on March 1, Napoli earned the starting nod over a proven varsity player. The second baseman is playing strong defensively, and hitting .316 with four stolen bases.

Together, Napoli and Lapetina have helped Roman Catholic get off to a 3-1 start, which includes Monday’s 19-5 win over West Catholic. For Lapetina, last week’s win over Archbishop Carroll stands out the most because he has a lot of friends on the team.

"It feels great to be one up on my friends," said the third baseman, whose favorite professional baseball player is St. Louis Cardinal Scott Rolen. "We have two games against Carroll and they are the ones highlighted on my wall."

No matter what team they are playing, the two friends, who also work together at Michael’s Restaurant on South Eighth Street, regularly provide each other with pointers to get through the games.

"Chris is the most fundamentally sound baseball player," Lapetina said. "If I am a little out of position, he’ll be the first one to come over and tell me what I am doing wrong."

Napoli also has enjoyed success as right wing on Roman’s ice hockey team, which recently advanced to the championship game of the Delaware County Interscholastic League. He described himself as more of a playmaker than a scorer.

These days, Napoli is focusing on helping the Cahillites advance to next month’s Catholic League playoffs — that is, if the weather holds up. Several teams are still a week behind schedule, thanks to an early spring that has included snow, 30-degree days and more rain than the city baseball fields can handle.

Strong performances this season would open the door for both athletes to play on the college level. Lapetina plans to attend Neumann College and major in sports medicine or early childhood education. Napoli is considering La Salle University and Gwynedd Mercy College.

For now, the buddies plan to make the most of their season in the sun. Their coach is pleased with the results so far.

"I’ve got to hand it to them," said DeLuca. "They both did what they needed to do to get better."