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08/05/2022 12:37 PMDavid Antonetti was standing on the pitcher’s mound when the Daniel Hand baseball team won the Class L state championship last year. In his senior season, David continued delivering for Hand as a pivotal pitcher, while also developing into a strong leader for the Tigers.
David started throwing a baseball in his backyard when he was two. He grew up in a baseball family that includes his father David, who introduced him to the sport. As soon as he started tossing the ball, David knew that he wanted to be a baseball player.
Born in Alexandria, Virginia, David played his first few years of youth baseball in the state. David’s family later moved to Connecticut, where he continued playing at the rec level. David was cut from a few of his travel teams until he made the roster for the CT Tides when he was 11. He was also cut from several Madison travel teams before making the town’s All-Star squad at 11. David then began playing AAU baseball the next year.
Each team allowed David to gain different forms of experience. From being cut to competing at the AAU level, David saw it all. Whether good or bad, all of David’s experiences helped shape his mentality on the baseball field.
“I have been the worst pitcher and the best pitcher on the team. I’ve been the worst player and best player on any given team. I’ve been cut. I’ve made teams. I’ve won. I’ve lost,” says David. “I’ve done a lot of things and been in a lot of different positions. It provided me with some experience I could draw upon.”
David’s favorite position was shortstop while growing up. He moved all around the diamond during his youth days and was willing to play anywhere to get in a game. At age 15, David found his home on the field when he became a pitcher.
David started taking lessons with Kyle Anderson, a Hand baseball alum. David struggled with the switch from the little field to the big field, and it took years for him to find his command. Once he found the zone, David got to work on refining his control and developing his off-speed pitches. Now, whenever he’s on the hill, David knows that he’s in command of every batter that he faces.
“I’m going to get the guy out. I just think I’m better than the hitter,” David says. “That might not be true. There are plenty of instances when it’s not. That’s my mentality every time—that the pitch I’m going to throw is going to get the job done.”
David joined the Hand baseball program in his first year of high school and competed for the freshman team. He was entering a program that featured numerous athletes with whom he had previously been teammates on other clubs. That first year gave David a chance to continue playing alongside those teammates, while also connecting with Hand’s coaching staff and gaining an understanding of what he would need to do to succeed.
“On the freshman team, I was playing with guys I knew. All my friends were there. I had a good season, and we had a lot of fun,” says David. “Getting to know the coaches was really important that year.
I made a lot of strong connections. It really set me up for success.”
After his sophomore season was canceled, David returned to the Tigers as a full-time varsity pitcher as a junior. David started the year strong by throwing 6 shutout innings against West Haven. However, following a pair of poor outings, David’s coaches pulled him aside and told him that he would have one more opportunity to prove he belonged on the varsity mound.
David’s opportunity came against Notre Dame-West Haven. His first three pitches hit the backstop, and the Tigers soon had another pitcher warming up in the bullpen. After walking the bases loaded, David escaped the inning without allowing a run. David performance not only kept him at the varsity level, but also changed his point-of-view as a pitcher as he was now starting to focus on one inning at a time.
David turned his season around from that point and ultimately earned the start when Hand faced Berlin in the 2021 Class L state championship game. Hand won the contest by a 3-0 score to give the Tigers their first state title in school history. Once the game was over, David felt proud to look around and see that all the hard work put in by Hand’s players and coaches had paid off in a major way.
David pitched a complete game in which he allowed just 1 hit to lift Hand to its historic victory. When he learned that he would be getting the start that day, David was locked in and ready to pitch. After getting an out on his first pitch, David knew that he was in store for a great game. Following the victory, David’s teammates hoisted him up on their shoulders. David had just made the best start of his career when the lights were the brightest.
“Having the game of my life in that moment was awesome,” David says. “I had a really good postseason, so they decided to pitch me.
I was so excited. I couldn’t wait. I just knew I was going to try and enjoy it, no matter what happened. I got an out on the first pitch of the game, and it went from there.”
David continued playing an integral role in the Tigers’ rotation during his senior season, finishing the year with a 5-3 record and
38 strikeouts in 52.2 innings. David, a right-hander, had more control of his pitches this year and felt comfortable throwing the fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup in any count.
David was tasked with being the leader of Hand’s pitching staff as a senior. Head Coach Travis LaPointe praises David for taking on a captain’s-like role this spring. It was a new role for David, but one that he embraced as he had an opportunity to lead a group of teammates with whom he’s spent years playing baseball.
“That was one thing I didn’t have much experience in, being the anointed leader. This is the kid you’re going to follow. It came pretty naturally to me,” says David, who went on to pitch for Madison’s Senior Legion team in the summer. “I had a good staff, a lot of talent. We’re really just a friend group that happens to be good at baseball. Being the leader of that type of team is easy. Everybody knew what they were doing and knew what was expected. All I had to do was lead by example.”
Coach LaPointe says that David’s talents on the mound have been apparent since his freshman campaign. LaPointe describes the recent Hand graduate as a key piece of the Tigers’ success during the past few seasons.
“David has been a staple in the program for many years. He has always shown leadership on and off the field, especially on the mound,” Coach LaPointe says. “Watching him grow as a player has been an honor.”
On the heels of claiming a state title, David helped Hand have another solid season that featured 15 victories and a run to the state semifinals in 2022. Following the season, David was selected to the All-SCC Team. While he felt honored to be recognized for his accomplishments, David’s main goal was to simply enjoy playing baseball. David was able to do that with the Tigers while playing the game alongside several teammates whom he also felt were deserving of recognition.
“The individual stuff is nice, to get that recognition, but all I ever wanted to do was play ball and play as many games as I could,” says David. “We had a lot of guys on the team that could have gotten that award and didn’t. Getting that award was an honor, but I tried to focus on more team success over individual success.”
David will be attending Bryant University, where he will look to double-major in business and politics/law. He is hoping to either walk on to the Bulldogs’ baseball team or play the sport at the club level.
Wherever his baseball career takes him, David will never forget his time at Daniel Hand High School. He leaves the baseball team as a state champion and a pitcher who made significant contributions for a top-notch program. David says that he will remember his tenure with the Tigers for the memories they made both on and off the field, while creating an everlasting bond amongst each other.
“It’s something I’m going to look back on and really have fond memories of. It’s something I’m always going to remember well,” says David. “I’m always going to love that team. I don’t know where baseball is going to go from here, but I’ll always have Hand.”