How pitching coach Joey Lancellotti helped La Salle throw its first no-hitter since 1997
Lancellotti is two years removed from pitching in the New York Mets’ minor league system. In his first stint as a college coach, he has quickly seen results from his pitching staff.
When Joey Lancellotti was 3 years old, his father, Joe, lied about his son’s age so he could play in the 5- to 6-year age group for tee ball. However, the opposing coach noticed Lancellotti’s diaper through his baseball pants.
The unusual situation was the start of a deep love of baseball for Lancellotti, a Bensalem native who threw and hit at Penn Charter under La Salle head coach David Miller. Lancellotti then had a successful four-year career at North Carolina and spent three seasons in the New York Mets’ minor league system before injuries hindered his playing ability.
As Lancellotti weighed his options, he sent Miller a text asking for advice. Miller called him and offered him a position as La Salle’s pitching coach.
He accepted the gig, and now has a new passion from the dugout. The 28-year-old has been able to connect with his pitchers and form a strong relationship with his staff.
On March 22 against Davidson, Lancellotti watched his pitchers — Kross Howarth, Josh Beck, and Titus Shay — throw the program’s first no-hitter since 1997. It was a moment of gratification for the young coach.
» READ MORE: La Salle’s loyal baseball community restored the program. Now it’s time to get it ‘back on the map.’
“The no-hitter for me was just so special, and I will remember it for the rest of my career,” Lancellotti said. “And it won’t be for saying I threw a no-hitter, that’s not what this is about. It’s the first time my pitchers at La Salle showed that we’re not just a first-year La Salle team, and that’s why it meant so much to me.”
Closing a chapter
After a standout career at Penn Charter, Lancellotti found success as a closer for the Tar Heels. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2019, but returned to North Carolina for his final two seasons. Lancellotti was not drafted after his college career ended, but he latched on with the Mets in 2022. The right-hander made it as far as Double-A before injuries took over.
Lancellotti tore his right hip labrum, which required total hip reconstruction, tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery, and suffered a stress fracture to his humerus bone in his bicep, an injury that surgery can’t fix and ended his career.
Lancellotti started to question if he wanted to keep playing.
“In pro ball, I’d come out and just be like, ‘Gosh, I hope my velocity is up today. I hope my arm doesn’t hurt. I just want to be back to my normal self,’” Lancellotti said. “The mentality I had as a pitcher was one of my biggest advantages, being this confident, tough guy, and I definitely didn’t have that in pro ball. So as much as it was such an awesome experience, it also felt like it was only half of what it was supposed to be.”
While Lancellotti was trying to rehab his bicep in 2024, he felt good for a bullpen session, but knew his arm was still not healthy, so he explored other options. Miller offered him the job , where he would work with his high school coach, along with his childhood friend, hitting coach Michael Zolk.
The decision turned out to be easy. While he had to wait a year for La Salle’s program to return from a four-year hiatus, Lancellotti felt it was a seamless transition from playing professional baseball to coaching in college.
“I think Joey does a great job having that connection with his players, like having fun with them,” said Beck, a left-handed pitcher. “I’ve had pitching coaches where they’re always serious all the time. He’s not one of those guys. We all feel comfortable around him, being able to ask him those questions, and getting advice from him.”
‘Believing in yourself’
The connection and confidence that Lancellotti has instilled in his pitchers showed on March 22.
The Explorers (15-16) had lost five of their last six games entering the final game of the series against the Wildcats. The trio of pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter and guided La Salle to a 10-1 victory.
Howarth threw the first 3⅔ innings, followed by 2⅓ innings from Beck, and then Shay closed out the final three innings. Despite what was at stake as the later innings unfolded, the pitchers conducted business as usual until the final out.
“I’d known there was a no-hitter going on, and then when I was warming up in the pen and brought it in the game, I kind of forgot,” Shay said. “I didn’t really know if it was still on or not, I kind of just locked into the game and didn’t really think about it.”
Added Howarth: “When Titus went in that’s when things got pretty surreal, everyone is looking at each other and not saying anything. It was a really cool moment as a team and as a pitching staff just coming together as one and doing a very hard thing to do in baseball.”
The no-hitter showed the talent that the Explorers have when they are confident, something Lancellotti has preached this season. They followed up that performance with an 8-0 win over Penn on March 24, their first shutout of the season.
After La Salle dropped its first game of a three-game series against Richmond on Thursday with a 6-0 loss, it’ll be back at DeVincent Field on Friday (3 p.m.).
Lancellotti is two years removed from being a professional pitcher, but he has a natural knack for coaching. He’s looking forward to help his group reach new heights as a program.
“We’re special, we have it in us, we just got to get it out of us,” Lancellotti said. “It takes a lot of confidence and belief and coming together and that was the hardest part for a new team. A lot of guys came from stories where they lacked confidence or they didn’t have that much of a team vibe. We have it now. … It’s like flipping the switch to believing in yourself, and that was where a lot of that came from.”