The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
A brotherly role
Pitcher Hartley has been an ace and mentor for Xavier
CROMWELL — Earlier this season the Xavier team was preparing for its biggest game of the season against No. 1 Amity, but due to the pitch count coach Nick Cerreta didn’t have his ace, senior Tyler Hartley, available.
Instead, he gave sophomore Quintin Sotero his first career varsity start. Sotero pitched very well, throwing a complete game one-hitter, but the Falcons lost 2-1.
Despite not being able to pitch, after each inning Hartley was the first player out of the dugout to greet Sotero with a highfive or a fist bump.
When Xavier was up to bat, the two sat on the bench and discussed how the game was going and how Sotero would attack the next Spartan batters.
“He has taken Quin on as his little brother,” Cerreta said. “Quin respects him and looks up to him.”
Cerreta said Hartley, a Marist commit, wants to pitch every day and, in every game. He really wanted the ball that April night, but he knew that just because he wasn’t pitching he could still help anyway he could.
“Obviously, he knew it was a big game for me to be pitching in my first varsity start,” Sotero said. “He told me to trust my stuff, be confident and go
get them.”
The older brother role was one that Cerreta instilled in Hartley before the preseason. Cerreta told Hartley that he was the team’s ace, that his responsibility went beyond his actions on the mound.
“You need to act like that in the dugout and with the other pitchers,” Cerreta said he told Hartley. “He’s taking that role seriously. (All the pitchers) look up to him, they respect what he says or what advice he gives.”
For Hartley it was a change of pace. The senior might have a physical presence on the mound standing at 6-foot-2, but he is quiet. He stands in the back, and he wouldn’t be noticed unless he is wearing his jersey.
But he has taken the role seriously. He came out of his shell and has made the pitching staff a close knit group. Sotero has been his biggest success. The two spend countless hours together during practice and games.
“I really never met him before this year,” Hartley said. “I heard about him, but we just clicked.”
The two run their poles together and when they’re both not pitching, they break down the game in front of them.
“He is not afraid to throw his breaking ball when he is behind (in the count),” Hartely said of Sotero. “He has a really good changeup and keeps hitters offbalance.
“We look to each other. He looks up to me with some things, asks me questions.”
They even have a running competition with their stats. Right now, Hartley is 5-0 with a 0.83 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 33 2⁄3 innings. Sotero is 3-1 with a 0.51 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 27 1⁄3 innings.
“It makes it a lot of fun between us,” Hartley said.
This all almost didn’t happen.
Hartley started his high school career at Cromwell, but then transferred to Xavier for his junior year. He got the opening day start against Sheehan, pitching his team to a win, and then he felt soreness is his elbow.
“My velocity started jumping, I was using more of my arm and more of my body,” Hartley said. “It was the first time I ever felt pain in my elbow and I was scared for that.”
The MRI came back with no tear, and he was instructed to rest. He sat out a month of the season and was able to return to the mound.
Hartley pitched throughout the summer and fall with no issues and that is when his post high school plans changed. He was applying to postgraduate schools when he was invited to Marist College for a visit.
“That’s when I got an offer,” he said. Hartley accepted. “Marist is getting a special ... like a hidden gem,” Cerreta said. “Nobody really knew about him.”
That has changed this season with Hartley leading the Falcons to a 16-2 record and the No. 6 ranking in the latest GameTimeCT poll.
And on Tuesday, Hartley got his chance against No. 1 Amity. He delivered big time.
He went 5 innings, allowed just two hits and struck out eight in a 12-1 win.
“I can’t tell you how many big games he has won for us,” Cerreta said. “You know you can win every day that he is on the mound.”