Rob Amato tosses first perfect game in Xaverian history

May 14, 2015 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Rob Amato pitched the first perfect game in Xaverian’s history when the Clippers beat Molloy High School 7-0 on Monday. Photo courtesy of Dionne Vargas.

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With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, a sharp ground ball was hit to Xaverian’s Phoenix Hernandez. He scooped it up and fired it to first base, but the ball sailed high. First baseman Xavier Vargas jumped, made the catch, tagged the runner and everyone’s eyes turned to the umpire.

As the first base umpire raised his fist to indicate the final out, mayhem broke loose as Xaverian ace Rob Amato had officially thrown the first perfect game in his school’s history, a 7-0 win over Molloy High School in Bay Ridge on Monday.

“That was amazing,” Amato said. “I can’t even describe it. I did not think that would happen … Even during the third or fourth innings, I didn’t think it would happen. It wasn’t until the sixth when I started to think it was possible.”

Amato faced 21 batters and retired them all, in order, without letting a single batter reach base on a hit, a walk or an error. With just seven strikeouts on the day, Amato’s teammates had to play excellent defense behind him. Luckily, Xaverian is known for its defense.

“There were a couple of plays that were really tough that I didn’t think would be made,” Amato admitted. “Brian Watters made two really good plays where he was charging the ball. The last play Phoenix kind of scared me a little, but Xavier Vargas made the play at the bag. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do this without those plays.”

The game was an odd scene. Hernandez said he had never seen Amato so quiet during a game and said the teammates didn’t want to talk around Amato either to avoid drawing attention to the potential gem or disrupting his concentration. After the game, it was pandemonium as teammates doused him with water and hoisted them up on their shoulders for a victory lap.

Not only was a big personal achievement, but the win helped Xaverian (14-2) to clinch the Catholic High School Athletic Association’s Brooklyn/Queens division title.

Xaverian’s coach Frank Del George hopes that Amato can use it as motivation for the playoffs. Last year the Clippers won the city title, and, despite the fact that they lost very few players from that team, they did lose their leader — Anthony Sigismondi. Now they’re going into the playoffs red hot, but they still lack that leader.

“Siggy was special,” Del George said. “You only get those types of kids coming through once in a while. This year we haven’t had that one guy where he’s having such a great season that other guys can rally around him and say, ‘Let’s follow him.’ Rob is starting to get that way. Maybe this will give Rob a positive push to make him a leader on the team.”

Amato is certainly going to play a big role as the ace of the rotation as the pitching just isn’t as deep as it was a year ago. The defense is still great, if not better, but that means the offense is going to have to pick up some of the slack for the rotation.

Luckily, the offense has improved this season compared to a year ago. Hernandez and Nick Meola have improved to become more consistent hitters, and Anthony Scotti gives them a powerful bat in the middle of the lineup. The key differences may be newcomers Vargas and Lou Mandile, who have made a big impact.

“We’ve been fortunate this season because guys have done a great job picking each other up,” Del George said. “We haven’t had a time when one-through-nine everyone is hitting, but it seems that when some guys start to slump, other guys pick them up. That’s how we’ve been consistent.”

Repeating as city champions still won’t be easy. It’s a long road and Xaverian starts as the No. 3 seed behind St. Joseph By-The-Sea (15-0) and Iona Prep (15-2).

“If Rob can become the leader we need him to be and the bats can stay consistent, then I think we have a good shot,” Del George said. “I think they learned a lot from last year about not letting up or thinking too much with big heads. It’s certainly going to be a challenge.”