Tewksbury Native Throws No-Hitter For UMass Lowell

Very few pitchers at any level of organized baseball can say they have pitched a no-hitter during the span of their career.

For UMass Lowell sophomore southpaw and former Tewksbury Redmen standout Vinnie DiPierro, accomplishing the first River Hawks' no-no since 1999 seemed to be just another step in the progression of a rising student athlete.

A 2008 Tewksbury Memorial High School Graduate, DiPierro was happy to get the achievement out of the way, but just as happy with his progress throughout the season in acclimating to a much more sophisticated level of batters he faces at the college level.

“You need a lot more location on your pitches in college or batters will just hit off you or the manager will take you out," said DiPierro. "In high school I had an okay curve and a good slider, but often I’d just rare back and throw the fastball past a lot of kids, but now I had to develop a really good changeup over the off season.

“The curveball was pretty good the other night, and the fastball I was able to get inside and outside.”

DiPierro's no-hitter earned him Northeast-10 Player of the Week honors.

The feat in the second game of a home doubleheader against Saint Michael’s marked a bit of redemption for a no-hitter he almost had as a senior in a game against Chelmsford, but that quality performance was commonplace for DiPierro while hurling in high school, according to Tewksbury manager Ron Druin.

Druin has kept in touch with his former star, and in his eyes Vinnie’s real growth has been in terms of scholastic achievements, due in large part to a year spent by the pitcher at Bunker Hill Community College where he was considered one of the best junior college pitchers in the country.

“(DiPierro) really matured after high school academically. He was always a pretty good student, but was kind of lazy in the classroom and probably didn’t get the most out of his abilities that he could of,” said Drouin. “He’s really grown up…It was a good thing for him to go to Bunker Hill for a year to mature academically, and he had a real good season for them as well.”

But despite the lofty dreams for a potential professional career and the growing skills that let the possibility of those dreams grow, Vinnie’s family and friends are still basking in what was a special night, particularly his parents, Donna and Vinnie Sr.

“It was truly a memorable moment,” said the proud Vinnie Sr., who was at LeLacheur Park on his son’s big day. “I was a little nervous, but he was pitching great, they weren’t touching him. So I had a feeling that he’d be near it in the end, and (as) you know, it happened.”

So far this season, DePierro is 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA, having allowed only seven hits and one extra base hit in 20 1/3 innings of work while striking out 21 and walking only eight opposing batters.