Opportunity arrives for top-ranked East Catholic
Jun. 12—Alex Irizarry decided to attend East Catholic High in January 2020 after his family moved to Tolland from Massachusetts because he believed the school offered him the best opportunity to succeed both in the classroom and on the baseball field.
Irizarry has thrived under the tutelage of Eagles coach Martin Fiori.
The junior shortstop is hitting .434 with an OBP of .511, a slugging percentage of .776 and an OPS of 1.287 this season for the Eagles (24-0), who will play Northwestern in the Class M tournament championship game at 3:30 p.m. today at Palmer Field in Middletown.
"He's a pure hitter," Fiori said. "When you meet him, he doesn't really pass the eye test, he's not 6-foot-4, but he's extremely strong. When you watch him play and you see some of the plays he can make, you can see that he's gifted defensively. And he really can handle the bat. He's a smart hitter."
Irizarry (5 foot 10, 170 pounds) played his freshman season at Amherst High in Massachusetts. That summer, he received scholarship offers from Hartford, Rhode Island, Elon, Seton Hall, UMass-Lowell, Northeastern, and Maryland after displaying his talent at travel tournaments and prospect showcase events.
Irizarry was invited to a prospect camp at Maryland in August and made a verbal commitment to coach Rob Vaughn and the Terrapins program in September 2019.
"I just felt at home at Maryland," Irizarry said. "The coach is so high energy. Every single guy on the staff is young, they have one of the youngest coaching staffs in all of baseball. I really liked the tight-knit community there."
Irizarry enrolled at East Catholic for the second semester of the 2019-20 school year and joined the baseball program in time for preseason practice. A few weeks later, the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Irizarry played for North East Baseball— one of the most selective travel teams in the country — in the summer and fall of 2020, a move that was invaluable to his development.
"It's a little bit of a shock when you're hitting balls that kids are tracking down that you thought were hits," Irizarry said. "But a rising tide lifts all ships, so playing against the best competition is what you want. It was a great experience. It pushes you."
Irizarry leads the Eagles in RBIs (26) and home runs (4), is second in runs scored (31), and is third in hits (33) this season.
"He's going to be the next really good one," Fiori said. "You could see it when he was young with the way that he worked. You can tell when a kid has something special. He's got all the tools, and it's going to be scary because he has another year of high school to go. He's going to get bigger, stronger and faster."
After playing in the state championship game, Irizarry will fly to Georgia on Tuesday to begin his second season with NEB.
Irizarry is steadfast in his commitment to the Terrapins — whose 2021 season came to an end with a loss to host East Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA Greenville Regional on Sunday — even if other programs come calling.
"Maryland is definitely the right spot," Irizarry said. "They've shown they're one of the top teams in the country. They had a great season and have a pretty bright future. That was the team to get over the hump, and it's only up from here. I've talked to the other guys committed there and we're all ready to go in and make our mark on college baseball."
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