Athlete of the Week: 10 questions with Greg Campitelli, New Trier baseball

Greg Campitelli is a recent New Trier graduate who was a two-year starting pitcher for the Trevians. Campitelli is an Augustana College commit.

1. Do you have any pregame rituals or routines?

Sometimes I scout the team a little bit, because I want to know what I’ll be facing the next day. Really it’s just focusing in, not getting too nervous, too excited, just trying to play the game the way I’ve been taught to. And also listening to music the night before calms me down a lot.

2. Why Augustana?

Last summer, they reached out to me and were like, ‘You should visit. We’re a (Division III) baseball team.’ Then we talked a little bit in the fall and set up a time to visit and I got a one-on-one tour with some guys on the baseball team. … I was really just impressed with the campus for such a small student-body size. There’s a lot to do and truly it’s just scenic. And I love the coaches and the baseball is really well played. That’s why I thought it was a good match as well as the academics.

3. What would be your dream?

Honestly, maybe something to do with business. As a kid, I always used to pretend I owned some business. I used to sell lemonade, as a fun, make 25 cents every cup.

4. What’s your first memory of baseball?

It’s not the greatest memory, but second-grade house league, it was maybe 40 degrees, I swung and the ball hit my hand. Everyone thought it hit the bat, but I had to run to first. It was a very painful but, looking back, funny moment that I laugh about sometimes.

5. What do you love about being a starting pitcher?

I actually started out as a closer when I was like 11, 12. I threw pretty hard for my age, but becoming a starter, I learned it’s a lot more than throwing hard. You have to have good offspeed and command and be able to go deep into games and give your team a chance. So I liked to be in control and see a lot of success and always found it to be an art that I enjoyed doing.

6. What’s been your top moment on a baseball field?

Maybe throwing a no-hitter last year, or throwing the sectional final game last year that went to 11 innings. There were just so many people there at Loyola’s field. It was just really cool to experience.

7. What’s your favorite thing to do off the field?

I like to spend a lot of time with my friends. I’m out a lot, doing stuff with them. I just like socializing. Maybe golfing too, even though I’m not very good.

8. If you’re in Walgreens with a couple of bucks, what are you buying?

I’m a really big fan o the (Flavor) Blast(ed) Goldfish. Every time I go on a flight I make sure to get the big bag that is overpriced.

9. What’s something people don’t know about you?

Back in seventh, eighth grade, I was online way too much because of COVID, so I found baseball games to play on my phone. I was first in the world on this game called “MLB Perfect Inning” for like six months.

10. What was your senior New Trier season like?

I knew my senior year would be different, because it was like I’m stepping up now, and the underclassmen are looking up to me. Going into the season, I didn’t know how it would go. I’ve never been much in leadership roles … but as season went on our team chemistry was really good. We hit a rough patch, but once we got out of it we were really cruising. I think a main takeaway would be how New Trier baseball is. My junior year we had a lot of (Division I), DII players. This year we had one DI, but we still managed to have a really good season. The leadership from our captains and coaches just shows how good New Trier’s program is and is one of the best in the state.

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