Apr 16, 2025 4 min read

By John Sacco

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

When Dante DiMatteo joined Washington & Jefferson College’s baseball program, he was an outfielder who could hit and a strong-armed defender.

While he had not pitched much at Fox Chapel High School, Presidents’ coach Jeff Mountain had not forgotten about that strong right arm.

“There were some growth plate issues in high school and things like that so he didn’t really pitch,” Mountain said. “I don’t think he pitched from ninth grade through 11th grade.

“Obviously, that’s a key time for guys in their development, but there were some issues going on so they didn’t pitch him. Then his senior year rolled around at Fox Chapel and we recruited him as an outfielder. He’s a good hitter.”

DiMatteo made an immediate impact at W&J as a hitter, fielder and as the team’s closer in 2022 – his freshman season.

Eventually, Mountain realized DeMatteo’s real value for W&J was as a starting pitcher.

It was a spot-on decision.

DiMatteo pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-hit baseball Sunday at Saint Vincent in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game. In all, he worked 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts before yielding a three-run home run. The Presidents won, 4-3.

The win pushed DiMatteo’s 2025 record to 6-0. He struck out at least one Bearcats batter in eight of the nine innings.

In addition, DiMatteo also threw a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout in a 14-6 victory over Baldwin Wallace earlier in the week. W&J’s senior ace entered this week with a 1.11 ERA, which is among the top 10 in NCAA Division III.

His efforts helped DiMatteo earn the PAC Pitcher of the Week award.

The performance crystalized his career pitching records at W&J, including most saves at (16) – 10 in his freshman season – and he is tied for first in appearances (57) and third in strikeouts with 188.

In 57 career appearances, DiMatteo has 188 strikeouts in 161 2/3 innings.

DiMatteo has a 16-1 record in his Presidents’ career with a 3.24 ERA.

“I do love competing,” DiMatteo said. “That’s why I choose baseball. You know, as a pitcher you’re competing with that batter every day. I have a competitive instinct that I feel like baseball is one way I can show that.

“Who knows if it will be my last time at this high of a level, so I’m just trying to enjoy all of it. I also have an accounting internship over the summer, which is going take me out of baseball. I do want to get back into it.”

The Presidents entered this week with a one-game lead over Allegheny in the PAC standings. They are ranked 23rd in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25. W&J is No. 14 in the NPI (NCAA’s official national ranking system.)

“I think this year I’ve just seen the growth in him from our freshman year where he could get a little erratic at times,” said W&J reliever Brandon Bastian. “This year, when that happens to him for a batter, he just remains calm and focuses. He has a presence about himself and the whole team knows he’s going to recover no matter what.”

Said senior starting pitcher Ethan Marszalek: “I feel we both came in kind of wild and inconsistent and trying to strike everyone out. Over the years Dante’s matured, especially going from a reliever to a starter. He thrown a lot more strikes and he’s become a true pitcher.

“It’s just great watching him take that next step and go through those transformations. Even on days he might not have his best stuff, we know he’s still going to give us a really good performance.”