College bound: Following injury as a sophomore, Dario Freschi rebounds in junior season and signs NLI with Saint Mary’s to continue baseball career
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Adversity is only a chance for growth. After all, pressure creates diamonds and in some cases gems.
Dario Freschi overcame adversity and became an integral player for Vintage as a junior and then finally signed a National Letter of Intent to continue playing baseball at Saint Mary’s in Moraga after graduating.
However, he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the help and direction of his family. The Vintage senior didn’t get to this point without family. After all, he had to overcome a knee injury that forced him to miss a baseball season as a sophomore. Throughout the time recovering, his mom, Rebecca, kept him focused to get back.
“I’ve had those tough times my sophomore year,” Freschi said of overcoming injury as a sophomore. “But those times really gave me a new perspective of what I’m embarking on this journey.”
It also helps that he comes from a good baseball background. After all, his dad Bob was the head baseball coach at Napa Valley College till 2016. He has been the men’s and women’s golf coach since then.
“He’s had a massive influence on me as a person and on the field,” Dario said of his dad’s impact in his life. “You know, just those countless hours, him throwing me BP and working with me, it helped me out so much. It’s like you get that one step ahead of everyone from that after practice, getting extra work in, everything. He’s always there to help me, and it’s, it’s awesome to have him as an influence. He played college baseball, so I was always trying to do what he did.”
This led him to finally get recognition as he signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. After all, staying somewhat close to home was important to him.
“It’s gonna be awesome,” he explained. “That was one of the benefits of the decision was to stay close to home. My family could watch me play midweeks, weekends. It’s just so close. It’s an hour drive, maybe an hour and a half of traffic, which it’s awesome. I can come home on the weekends. It’s the right amount of distance where you could get away from home and go live and be yourself. But (if I) need anything, your parents are only an hour away, and you’re right here, they could come watch you, and couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.”
When Freschi gets to Saint Mary’s, he will be utilized as a middle infielder. This is something that he’s been doing his whole baseball career. He also likes playing up the middle because it keeps him involved in the game.
“Up the middle, you’ve got to be a captain,” Freschi pointed out. “Usually, catcher, second base, pitcher, center fielder, shortstop those are right up the middle. That’s really action. You’re in every single play, usually. So you got to be on point, ready, a leader, and I love that.”
He has also played some second base and is very comfortable with the position given the fact that shortstop and second are played very similarly. As a freshman on varsity, he was utilized as a second baseman before sliding over to short.
Freschi has been the glue of Vintage and the guy who stirs the drink. After all, he was the leadoff batter last season for a terrific offense. Last season, he hit a very solid .371 with a .504 OBP, a .415 slugging percentage, and a .920 OPS. He did all of that from the leadoff spot last season.
As a freshman, he was very good. He hit a very solid .289 with a .413 on-base, .447 slugging, and a .860 OPS. All of this combines to be a very solid .333 average and .464 OBP, with a .430 slugging and a .894 OPS, 33 runs scored, and 55 RBIs over the two seasons he’s played. He has also been a two-time Vine Valley Athletic League first-team selection.
But the most underrated part of his game is his defense. In his two seasons so far, he has a combined .924 fielding percentage. In 53 games, he’s made just 15 errors as well.
However, his impact was felt last season when Vintage’s pitching staff had an excellent 3.05 team ERA. Part of this was because he played a major part in aligning the defense for each batter. This also makes him like having a coach on the field, which is more valuable than anything the numbers can show.
“He scouts. He puts the defense in order,” Vintage head coach Billy Smith pointed out. “He moves players and he just knows the game so well. His dad taught him as a young kid, he knows all the little ins and outs of baseball that go unnoticed, and he’s just constantly thinking, and what’s crazy is like things that I’m thinking in a dugout, he’s actually thinking on the field. So it’s kind of like we’re always on the same page.”
Besides Vintage, Freschi’s baseball journey included Napa Little League, 707 Baseball Club, and Napa Valley Baseball Club. Last summer on NVBC, they finished with a nice 22-12-1 season. They were ousted in the pool play phase of the Area 1 Tournament in Fairfield. They also won the Bill Buckner Memorial 4th of July Invitational Tournament that was played at Cleve Borman Field in Yountville this summer.
When Freschi gets to Saint Mary’s, he plans to study business administration. He also had a 4.2 GPA at Vintage, putting him in the top ten percent of his class. Business is something he’s learned to like after taking the class that head football coach Dylan Leach teaches.
“I would not say there’s a particular reason, but I’ve taken a couple of business classes at Vintage with Dylan Leach, the football coach, and he’s taught me about business and that’s just kind of sparked a new interest in me,” Freschi said of his choice to study business administration at the Moraga school. “So I decided I want to learn about that and maybe get into business down the road.”
He will also attend a very consistent program at Saint Mary’s. Last season, they went 34-22 overall with a 16-8 mark in the West Coast Conference, which was good for third-place. Their season ended in the WCC Tournament when they lost to Gonzaga. One of the highlights of the non-conference schedule each year is when they do a home-and-home two-game series with California. Should this continue, Freschi would have a chance to face former teammate Miles Tenscher in a game.
“So when we visited, the coaches were just awesome,” Freschi said of the program he is heading to. “So welcoming, warm-hearted, just invited me right in, and it just felt right. Love the campus, it’s small. I don’t need anything too big. It’s close to home. Coaches were awesome, and I think it’s a place I would love to be, and I’m super excited for the opportunity, and couldn’t be more grateful.”
The moment is also very special for Freschi as he was on hand last year when Tenscher and Ian Fernandez signed their National Letter of Intents, which made him want that moment just as much.
“So seeing them do it, I knew they were gonna do it, and I knew I had the ability to do it,” Freschi said of joining his friends and former teammates at the college level. “So seeing them do it, getting that experience, playing with them, it’s awesome. And then me being able to do it this year, it just kind of fulfilled us. That was our dream, and we made the dream come true, and we’re all super proud of each other.”
At the signing ceremony on November 13th, Freschi had friends, teammates, and coaches on hand at the Vintage High Little Theatre.
