Chris Persichetti poses during a practice May 20. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Tom Persichetti eyes the pitcher during an 8-0 win over Hightstown at Moody Park May 6. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
After playing baseball for a while, Chris Persichetti began to realize it was time to look elsewhere when younger brother Tommy was gaining all the headlines in Nottingham Little League and Babe Ruth League.
“We played on the same team growing up, and he would always show me up and stuff,” Chris said with a laugh. “I played until Babe Ruth, but I don’t think I was the best. I played catcher and outfield. It was fun and all, but I didn’t think I was up for it in high school.”
Thus, Chris decided to follow in their brother Joe’s footsteps and attempt the pole vault at Notre Dame High School. Tommy, meanwhile, became the first Persichetti brother to stick with baseball.
It seems to have worked out for both of them, not to mention the Irish track and field and baseball teams.
After two years of learning the sport, Chris emerged last season by consistently winning the pole vault during Notre Dame’s dual meets. As a senior, he won the Mercer County Indoor championship with a vault of 12-feet, 6-inches in February, but ended up no-heighting after rainy weather played havoc with the outdoor championship meet this spring.
Tommy wasted little time winning the starting centerfielder’s spot on the varsity baseball team as a sophomore last year. This season, he has emerged as one of the top leadoff hitters in the Colonial Valley Conference, along with Steinert’s Shane Keledy.
Entering the state tournament, Tommy had a batting average of .450 and an on-base percentage over .600. He paced the Irish to the Mercer County Tournament title by going 5-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI in the semifinals against Hamilton and the finals against Steinert.
“He has just been punishing the ball,” Chris said. “It’s great to see with all the work he’s putting in. He hits every night. He’ll hit off tees, whenever he’s bored my dad will go out with him. I’m not really surprised at the success he’s having.”
It is success that Tommy doesn’t like to talk about too much, summing it up by saying “I’m just trying to get a good approach, just put the ball in play and hit it hard and hit line drives. That’s what I’m going for.”
“He’s a humble kid,” Chris said. “He really doesn’t talk a lot, especially about himself.”
Despite their busy schedules, the brothers try to attend each other’s events as much as possible and are extremely supportive of one another.
“We’re just working hard every day, trying to do the best we can,” Tommy said. “We’re close. We always push each other to extreme efforts to get the best out of our abilities.”
Since his brothers both went into pole vault, the youngest Persichetti actually gave it a shot. That lasted exactly one day.
“It wasn’t for me,” he said. “I didn’t do too good.”
Chris didn’t succeed right away either, but he was not going to change events for one very simple reason.
“I really didn’t want to run anything like sprints or distances,” he said. “When I was a freshman I had no idea what I wanted to do in track so I figured I would do the pole vault since I wouldn’t have to run. I embraced the fact I didn’t have to do that. It was fun right off the bat. I had no stress or trouble, and Joe helped me a lot.”
Chris had a bit of a setback when he put on some pounds during his sophomore year.
“I gained a lot of weight,” he said. “I would use a lot of energy and eat double to replace it. I started eating everything, and I was kind of chubby.”
He eventually dedicated himself to dropping the weight, regained his speed on the runway and started “bending poles.”
He finished sixth in the MCT outdoor meet his junior year and was excited to win the indoor title this year. The spring county meet was disappointing because Chris and several other top vaulters in the county were having trouble gripping the poles, yet the event was allowed to continue in the rain.
“It was frustrating, because I had a great week of practice and was hoping to get a PR,” he said. “It just busted my bubble a lot. I felt great going into it.”
Tommy’s county tournament went a whole lot better as Notre Dame defeated the Spartans, 3-0, in the championship game at Arm & Hammer Stadium on May 11.
“This was our goal for the whole season,” Tommy said. “We’re gonna keep going forward and hopefully make a run in the states but this is a game we wanted to win. Steinert is a big match-up and we came out today with extra stuff.”
He has had the right stuff from day one, as he is the sparkplug of a Notre Dame offense loaded with talent.
“He’s the ultimate leadoff hitter,” Irish coach Joe Drulis said. “He’s a great centerfielder and has a high baseball IQ. He’s also the ultimate team player. He picks other people up, he’s always encouraging kids. If something needs to be done it’s like ‘Hey coach, I’ll do that.’ He’s even a better person than a baseball player so I’m sure his parents are happy about that.”
They’re happy with all three brothers. Joe attends LaSalle but does not compete in track. Chris noted that Tommy has already gotten college interest from some smaller schools, but thinks the offers might increase with the way he has been playing. As for the senior, he is headed to Rutgers next year and may try and walk on to the track team.
“If I can hit 14-6 this summer or maybe higher, I’ll be in a great position to walk on,” he said. “They’re vaulters are going 14 and 15 feet.”
If he makes it on to the Scarlet Knights, Tom will support him in any way possible. Just don’t ask him to explain it.
“From watching him I know the basic moves,” Tommy said. “But just get over the bar, that’s about all I really know about pole vault.”
Further proof that both brothers made the right decisions in which sports to pursue.
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