Family affair
Vecchiolla follows older brother鈥檚 path of playing college baseball
Recent Laurel Highlands graduate Sevi Vecchiolla grew up watching his older brother pitch.
Andino Vecchiolla was a star left-handed pitcher for LH, as he helped lead the Mustangs to the WPIAL Class 5A championship game in 2019 as a junior.
He didn’t play as a senior the next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was recruited by Seton Hill University in Greensburg.
The southpaw has finished up his collegiate career, but still plays in the Fayette County Baseball League (FCBL).
The younger Vecchiolla brother has followed in his brother’s footsteps, and will play baseball collegiately at Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC) in Youngwood.
“I tore my left labrum in my shoulder my freshman year and the right one my sophomore year, so I knew I was behind the eight-ball in terms of development, which is why I went for a smaller school,” Sevi Vecchiolla said. “I had discussions with my dad and brother about it, and we all decided that JUCO was the best route for me. I would like to impress there and transfer out to a bigger school.”
Vecchiolla has played primarily at catcher during his baseball career, although the injuries to his shoulders could be attributed to the wear and tear of playing the physically-demanding position.
“I needed surgery both times, but I was hurt during the football season my freshman year,” Vecchiolla said. “I can’t remember any specific incident where I knew I tore it. I just think it came with the territory of playing catcher, but I love the position.”
Vecchiolla’s first batterymate was his brother in the back yard, but he also caught Andino in a FCBL game several years back.
“It was pretty cool to get to catch one of his games in the county league,” Sevi Vecchiolla said. “He is six years older than me, so I didn’t know if it would ever happen, and if it did, we both kind of figured it would be in the county league.”
Vecchiolla will study business management in college, and he would like to transfer to a four-year school to complete his degree, but he expects to play against some solid competition at WCCC.
“It is a junior college, and some may not think it’s good baseball, but they had a great team this past year,” Vecchiolla said. “I had to work my butt off the last two years to get here, so I am not going to take anything for granted. I know I can always talk to my brother about baseball.”
Baseball is a family affair for the Vecchiollas, as his father also played at Laurel Highlands. He chuckled while stating his mom “is just a mom” when it comes to baseball, which can be as important as an instructor.
Vecchiolla discovered the Wolf Pack’s baseball program from a friend, as Uniontown’s Wyatt Nehls played for WCCC.
“Wyatt just finished his career there, but he told me about the team,” Vecchiolla said. “I will also be playing with fellow Laurel Highlands graduate Noah Lion. I will be staying with Noah, as we have an apartment down there. I didn’t want to drive back-and-forth from Uniontown to Youngwood every day.”
Vecchiolla, who also plays first base when not catching, batted .340 this season with 17 hits in 17 games for the Mustangs. He led the team in doubles with six and drove in nine runs. Vecchiolla’s on-base-percentage was .459 and his on-base-plus-slugging was .919.
Vecchiolla competed for Uniontown in American Legion Baseball. He also played basketball and was a member of the golf team at Laurel Highlands.
“I would like to thank my brother and parents, plus the rest of my family, coaches, teammates and anyone else who helped me throughout my baseball career,” Vecchiolla said. “I hope to have a solid year and keep improving, but I enjoyed my time at Laurel Highlands and on the Uniontown American Legion Baseball team.”