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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2025 Page 19 Revere baseball’s culture shift starts with effort, not just wins By Dom Nicastro R evere High’s baseball program is under new leadership this spring, with fi rst-year head coach Sebastian Salvo bringing a wealth of experience to the dugout. A former Division 1 player and college assistant, Salvo is focused on building a culture of accountability, hard work and team-fi rst eff ort. Through fi ve games, the Patriots are off to a 3-4 start (3-3 in the Greater Boston League), which placed them at No. 44 in the 60-team Division 1 MIAA power rankings. But Salvo sees signs of progress—especially in the team’s pitching staff —and believes better days are ahead if the group can stay disciplined at the plate. We caught up with Salvo for a wide-ranging Q&A about the season so far, standout players like junior Domenic Bellia, and what it will take for Revere to make a push in the second half of the schedule. Advocate: Can you give me a little background on yourself as a player and coach? Salvo: I played high school baseball at Tabor Academy in Marion. After Tabor, I attended Fairfi eld University in Connecticut where I was a fouryear starter at catcher and fi rst base. During my college career, I played summer ball for the New Bedford Baysox in the NECBL and the Wareham Gatemen in the CCBL. I served as a volunteer assistant coach at Fairfi eld University (NCAA D1) 2015-2016. I have coached travel ball and worked as a private instructor for Baysox Baseball since 2017. I served as an assistant coach at Salve Regina University (NCAA D3) 2020-2021 where we won our conference and participated in the NCAA D3 Tournament. I served as the head coach at Pomfret School in Pomfret, Conn., 2021-2023. Advocate: How would you assess the team’s performance so far at this point in the season? Salvo: So far at this point in the season our pitching has given us chances to be in every game, but we have not been able to capitalize on opportunities with runners in scoring position. The team has been working hard to cut down our strikeouts at the plate and consistently make the routine plays in the fi eld. Overall, the boys have been working hard every day and buying into the culture that our coaching staff is trying to establish. Advocate: What have been some of the biggest improvements you’ve seen since the start of the season? Salvo: Since the start of the season, I have seen a massive improvement in the way our players approach practice. They are working hard and open to coaching through their mistakes. The team has been a cohesive unit so far, and as a coach that is all you can ask for: kids who work hard together and pull for each other. Advocate: Are there any players who have really stepped up and taken on leadership roles, either on or off the fi eld? Salvo: Junior Domenic Bellia has been outstanding for us this season on the mound and at the plate. On the mound he is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA with 27 K in 18 ? IP. At the plate he has a.458 batting average, 1.125 ops, three RBI, two doubles and one HR. Captains Brendan Sack, Ismael El Gharbi and Joe Angiulo have been great leaders for our team setting the tone every day and making sure the team is meeting the expectations we set for them. Advocate: Obviously, we all live and die by our pitching. How is that going? Salvo: In addition to Domenic, sophomore George Papalambros and senior Ismael El Gharbi have performed well for us on the mound. George is 1-0 with a 1.90 ERA with 21 K in 11 IP. Ismael has been our top reliever with a 1.55 ERA through 9 IP. Advocate: What are some things the team still needs to work on heading into the second half of the season? Salvo: Of course as a coach, there is always work to do, and the goal is to always work on every facet of the game as much as you can but our priority going into the second half of the season is defi nitely to have more competitive at-bats and strike out less. We are striking out too much and leaving too many runners on the bases. Good things happen when you put the ball in play, and we need to do more of that. Advocate: How are things going at the plate, and who in particular is getting the job done there? Salvo: Domenic Bellia:.458 avg., 1.125 ops. HR, three RBI, six runs; George Papalambros:.316 avg.,.803 OPS, six RBI; Brendan Sack:.312 avg., 1.042 ops, HR, RBI Advocate: What are your expectations and hopes for the rest of the season as you approach the stretch run? Salvo: My expectation is we are going to turn this thing around and become a more competitive team. Our group is capable of more than what we have shown so far. Our players will not shy away from the work that needs to be done, and I believe they will do what it takes to get us back on track. The game of baseball responds to hard work, good intention and executing on a pitch-by-pitch basis. Our hope is to be more consistent in those areas and compete for the GBL and an opportunity to participate in the MIAA State tournament. ~ RHS PATRIOTS SPRING SPORTS ROUNDUP ~ Softball splits two, girls track shines at invitational, volleyball sweeps Lawrence By Dom Nicastro R evere High School’s Spring teams were back in full swing this past week, with the varsity softball team picking up a dominant win and a hard-fought loss, girls track putting up top performances at the MSTCA Invitational and boys volleyball sweeping Lawrence behind balanced off ensive and defensive eff orts. Revere softball splits week, tops Northeast Metro with big third inning T he Revere varsity softball team posted a 1-1 week, highlighted by a 17-1 road win over Northeast Metro RVT on Friday, April 25. Revere erupted for 12 runs in the third inning, sparked by an offensive surge that included a two-run single by Lea Doucette, a tworun home run from Frankie Reed and a three-run homer from Jordan Martelli. Shayna Smith added an RBI double, and Zizi Kalliavas and Danni Hope Randall chipped in with run-scoring singles. Randall earned the win, pitching fi ve innings and allowing just one hit and one unearned run while striking out nine and walking four. Smith went 3-for-4 to lead the team in hits, while Martelli and Reed each drove in three runs. Revere totaled 11 hits and drew 15 walks, with Doucette, Caleigh Joyce, Reed and Brianna Miranda each earning three. Doucette also stole two bases. Earlier in the week, Revere dropped an 11-7 game to Lynn Classical. Doucette hit a solo home run in the fi rst and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Reed doubled and had three hits, while Kalliavas also had three hits and stole three bases. Randall pitched all seven innings in the loss, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits with six strikeouts and 10 walks. Revere was scheduled on Wednesday, April 30, to take on Lynn English on the road. Sekkat, Stamatopoulos lead Revere girls track at MSTCA Invitational T he Revere High School girls track and fi eld team delivered standout performances at the MSTCA Invitational & Pentathlon, led by senior Nisrin Sekkat and junior Gemma Stamatopoulous. “Our top performer was senior Nisrin Sekkat who took third place overall in the Javelin with a throw of 80-9. This is a huge toss for Nisrin and only seven feet off the fi rstplace finisher,” said head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli. “This throw shows she has the potential to make it to D1 States this year.” Stamatopoulous placed sixth in both the 400-meter hurdles (1:14.33, tying her PR and a state qualifi er) and the 800-meter (2:32.16). “Watching Gemma’s 400-meter hurdle race you can see she has so much room to grow in this event. Once she nails down the hurdle form and steps in between the hurdle she will break 70,” said MacDonaldCiambelli. ROUNDUP | SEE Page 21

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