Don’t worry college guys, we didn’t forget about you!

With the high school action having gotten started last week, it is definitely tougher to follow along with the college guys on a more day-to-day basis unless we are tagged in stuff, but we still want to set aside Tuesday’s for doing our roundup article and social media posts.

This week we had a couple of firsts, as we had two first college HR’s to lead the way as at this point every college program has started and we now have a lot tougher of a decision to make when it comes to who makes the cut.

Jack Stead, NJIT (Malvern Prep)

It feels almost rude to have a player in here that homered against Villanova, the closest thing we have to a Delco D1 school, but Jack Stead left us no choice.

The Malvern Prep alum and Narberth area native didn’t get too much playing time last year as a freshman for the Highlanders, but has came out swinging this year and looks to be working his way into more time. He’s hitting .346 with an .846 OPS on the year and has hits in each of his last four games.

It’s going to be hard to keep him out of the lineup if he continues to play like this.

Stead and NJIT will be back in action Wednesday night against St. Peter’s.

Ben Ettien, Penn State Altoona (Penncrest)

A Second Team All-Delco catcher for us last year, Ben Ettien probably should have made this list earlier in the season when he went 3/3 with 5 RBI in his first college start.

He certainly earned this one.

Ettien is hitting .389 in his eight games this season, hitting his first college HR against Mass-Dartmouth on Thursday. He’s already driven in seven runs this season as well.

Ettien was a big part of the Penncrest team last year that won a playoff game for the second time in school history, and looks like he has earned at least a split of the catching duties up in Altoona which is not an easy task as a freshman.

Altoona will host Thiel for a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Chris Zupito, Seminole State (Upper Darby)

It’s really great to be writing about Chris Zupito again.

I mean this guy was absolutely ridiculous at Upper Darby, almost single-handedly winning them a playoff game when he had 18 K’s (no, seriously) against Council Rock South back in 2023.

He fell off the radar a bit last year as a freshman who did not see any action at NC State, so he hit the portal and found himself at Seminole State, a JUCO in Florida. It seems he is reinventing himself as a closer, and it’s hard to argue with the results so far.

Zupito already has five saves this season and has yet to allow a run in 11.2 innings *knocks on wood*

Side note: Look at the neck on this guy. I mean the blue route should take notes on how wide that thing is to avoid traffic jams at rush hour. Just eats 45 pound weights for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Really hoping that this success can lead Chris back to a Division I program next year. It’s obvious that he has D1 talent, it’s just about finding the right fit.

Aiden Pearson, Northampton (Marple Newtown)

Another guy that we got to cover on a good playoff team from last year, Aiden Pearson had a monster day on Thursday vs Henry Ford.

Pearson went 3/4 and drove in a whopping five runs. He scored two runs as well and had two doubles. He raised his batting average nearly a full .100 points, so that will certainly play.

I promise I won’t use this entire column just to talk about players appearances, but Pearson’s afro is a sight to behold. He doesn’t even need to wear a helmet out there, the ball would simply just bounce off and he wouldn’t even notice.

Pearson was a two-way player at Marple Newtown, but it looks like he has settled into just being a hitter here. He’s hitting .270 through 11 games and looks to be a pretty regular starter there. He’s also struck out just twice in 26 AB’s.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up at a solid D3 school after this year, or perhaps next.

Josh Illing, Williamson (Springfield)

Thanks to how good Cody Grande has been this season, we already had the graphic template made up of the Springfield/Williamson variety so this one was easy.

Josh Illing had a big time week, ripping 10 hits in 21 AB’s and driving in eight runs in the process. It appears that Grande was intentionally walked like five times in a doubleheader, and Illing just took care of it on his own instead.

Williamson is off to a blazing hot start to the year as he is hitting .441 with 2 HR and 12 RBI in 10 games, while also stealing 11 bags.

Williamson will be back in action Saturday as they host Patrick Henry for a doubleheader.

Mark Quatrani, Cornell (The Haverford School)

A regular on this list last season as the Ivy League Rookie of The Year, Haverford School alum Mark Quatrani was a little slow out of the gate, but he has picked it up at the right time before conference play starts.

Quatrani now has hits in each of the last five games and eight of the last nine, including a 6/12 series against Towson that included his second homer of the year.

Quatrani is hitting .302 through 11 games, and seems to be getting a bit of that power surge back which led him to 11 HR last season. He’s also been hit by four pitches in the last four games, which seems rather unfortunate for a catcher.

He’s also thrown out 5/16 runners stealing this year for what its worth.

Quatrani and Cornell will begin Ivy League play on Saturday as they travel to New Haven to take on Yale. Stop by Sally’s for some pizza before you head out.

Quinten Perilli, Elizabethtown (Penncrest)

Another guy who falls in the category of “had a ridiculous 2024 but started a little slow in 2025) is Quinten Perilli, who is already the all-time HR leader at Elizabethtown as just a junior.

Perilli went 8/17 this week and is now up to .370 on the season. The power isn’t quite here yet with just one HR in 13 games, but he does have three doubles and two triples. He has hits in nine straight games and 11/13 on the season.

He also has a 3.97 careeer ERA on the mound at ETown and looks to get some more time there this year when needed.

Elizabethtown will play a huge rivalry game on Tuesday afternoon at home vs Catholic before a weekend conference series at Scranton.

Eric Genther, Rhode Island (The Haverford School)

I don’t even think we had finished writing the article last Tuesday before Eric Genther homered again.

This guy is a machine, he’s already homered four times this year. His most recent HR gave him his 20th (!!) of his college career.

He has multiple hits five of the last seven games and is hitting .349 on the year with 16 RBI in 19 games. He’s got seven doubles and has two triples as well.

If this season is the end of the road for Genther that would be a shame because his career has been a blast to follow. I’d love to see if he could get a year as a grad transfer at a Power 4 school because I would love to see what he could consistently do against elite arms.

For all we know, he might even get drafted in 2025 if he keep this up.

Rhode Island will take on Stonehill at home for their next game on Wednesday afternoon. All I know about Stonehill is that URI alum and now Arkansas 1B Michael Anderson had 12 RBI in one game against them last year.

Koll Peichel, Dickinson (Strath Haven)

Koll Peichel had a really strong 2023 and 2024 season for Dickinson, and if 2025 is any indication, this may be his best yet.

Peichel has allowed just two runs in 17 innings so far, most recently throwing seven strong innings against Caltech.

He has also allowed just six walks in those 17 innings and his most recent start was a complete game. The 2021 Delco Player of The Year is a senior this year and will most likely be done after this year unless he were to go to grad school.

Dickinson will head to Messiah on Wednesday for their next game.

Frank Parrotti, DeSales (O’Hara)

In his first four outings of the year, Frank Parrotti threw two or fewer innings for DeSales.

They let him go longer than that against Del Val on Saturday and it certainly paid off, as he threw seven shutout innings. He allowed just four hits and struck out four while only walking one in the process.

Parrotti has not allowed an earned run in each of the last three outings that he has had and is now 2-0 on the year.

DeSales will look to complete the sweep Tuesday afternoon at Del Val.