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Team Of The Week: 1st Edition - De La Salle Collegiate

WARREN - It is all about believing according to Dan Cimini.

The first-year head coach at De La Salle Collegiate appears to have the Pilots on the right track in that regard - at least based on the first week of action.

A 4-0 start to the 2025 campaign has the veteran mentor excited for his team after two wins apiece over Brother Rice and University of Detroit Jesuit, earning De La Salle recognition as the Prep Baseball Team of the Week in the whole state of Michigan.

“I believe we’ll be successful as long as we believe we’ll be successful,” Cimini said about his expectations for the season. “They’ve bought in, they know I’ve had success. Now they have to go out and execute.”

What a start to the season it was on Wednesday with the opposition Brother Rice, the team Northville defeated in the Division 1 state championship in June with Cimini the head coach.

Trailing 2-1 with one on and two away in the top of the seventh, Cimini inserted Pashk Daka to pinch hit and the senior promptly unloaded a two-run home run that propelled the Pilots to a 4-2 season-opening victory.

“He’s one of those kids that played JVs as a junior,” Cimini said. “We call him Pedro Cerrano, he can hit one out at any time.”

The script on Wednesday could have been part of the movie “Major League” with the energy produced in game one.

“What a great feeling for the guys,” Cimini reflected. “Moments like that can change the complexion of a team.”

JJ Jurczyk went the distance with a six-hitter for the win, fanning a dozen for De La Salle, which came back to knock off the home team 5-1 in game two. Zack Wagner permitted one run in 4.2 innings on the mound before Dylan Luepke closed it out with 2.1 frames of shutout relief.

Those wins were followed by two more on Saturday, 4-2 and 10-1 victories over U of D Jesuit, with Mason Pilarski striking out 14 and allowing two runs on two hits in six innings of the opener. The senior committed to Western Michigan, who hit one home run in each game against Brother Rice, had three doubles and four RBIs in the twinbill versus U of D Jesuit.

Senior catcher Vito Zito - “the coolest baseball name I’ve been around” in the opinion of Cimini - had three doubles and a two-run bomb against U of D Jesuit while Luepke came on in relief of game two to throw six innings of two-hit shutout ball with eight Ks for the victory.

“More than anything it’s self confidence,” Cimini explained about the early success of the season. “The guys have confidence in themselves. We’re playing the number one team in the state and number 15 in the nation, but we have eight committed to play somewhere. We just haven’t put it together.”

That is the intention of the veteran mentor in his newest position after his one-year stint at Northville.

“After winning state, I wanted to stay but I didn’t get the job I wanted outside of coaching,” related Cimini, who had previously coached at University Liggett from 1999-2023 winning five state titles. “De La Salle opened and I live on the east side.

“They have a good history, they’ve won four state titles. I just want to get the best out of each player. They deserve to win games and compete at a high level.”

Cimini, who in addition to being the head coach at De La Salle is the Director of Admissions, is of the belief success is going to happen with so many solid players on the roster.

Second baseman Mason Stempin, an Adrian commit, and right fielder Brady Lee, a Lawrence Tech recruit, each had five hits in the four games to date while Wagner, a junior 1B/LHP, drove in five runs.

“We want to push for a league title and push for a shot at a state title,” Cimini said. “Believe in yourself and shoot for the stars. If you don’t do that, why play baseball?”

Cimini understands there has not been a great deal of recent success in the De La Salle program, which has been around the .500 mark of late.

“The Catholic League is very tough,” Cimini pointed out. “It’s not about the record, it’s about competing at the highest level and your record will take care of itself.

“The parents and the players here are excited to be pushed by a coach,” Cimini added. “Let the chips fall where they may.”

For at least the opening week of the season, memories were being made, especially beating a team with the reputation of Brother Rice.

“Riker has beat me plenty of times over the years,” Cimini said about Brother Rice head coach Bob Riker. “He runs a great program. But it’s baseball. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day.”

Making his team believe that was the challenge for Cimini in coming to De La Salle.

“I love these guys,” Cimini said. “You have to as a coach. They’re an extension of my family. I will do the best I can to be there for them. Our motto is everything counts. Everything off the field. How you treat people. Love each other. Do the best you can to be the best you can be.

“We’ll teach baseball inside and out, but it’s the lifeskill things that will make the difference in winning and losing.”

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