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With his unique repertoire, Xaverian's Blake DeCarr a mound marvel

John McGuirk, Special to ESPNBoston.com
Blake DeCarr is his own man. Make no mistake about that.
While some profess an elongated shadow continues to chase the Xaverian senior, in the form of his older brother, it is a mere myth. Veritably, the younger DeCarr has followed a similar path as big brother Austin. But in doing so, he has forged his own identity, different from the one Austin etched here.

Regarded as a pure power pitcher, Austin DeCarr possessed a lethal fastball, placing him among one of the state's elite hurlers. Upon graduating from Xaverian in 2013, he committed to Clemson over the summer and spent a post-grad season at Salisbury School (Conn.). After an explosive post-graduate campaign, Austin was picked in the third round by the New York Yankees, signing for a $1 million -- nearly double his slot recommendation.

Opting to go professional, he pitched in the Gulf Coast League before undergoing Tommy John surgery last May. According to Blake, Austin is expected to begin a throwing regiment soon.

But it's unfair to compare the two brothers. In fact, when Blake hears them, he greets it with a chuckle, knowing the paths of each run different.

"I have heard all the talk that I am living in my brother's shadow," the younger DeCarr said. "But honestly, my brother and I are two completely different pitchers. But all of the hard work I have put in is because of him. He leads by example and we are best friends. Obviously, I wasn't blessed with the velocity that he has, but he has led by example for me and I admire what he has done. He has been a great role model to have."

A year ago, DeCarr gave everyone a glimpse of his pitching prowess. He finished 5-3 with a 2.42 ERA, striking out 50. His equable presence on the mound was instrumental in helping the Hawks secure a spot in the Division 1A "Super 8" state tournament.

DeCarr's efforts were also good enough to garnish the attention of a few college programs. Last summer, he gave a verbal commitment to UMass, signing his National Letter of Intent this past November.

This season, along with DeCarr, Xaverian will be well-stocked as several key components return as well as a new bumper crop of talent coming aboard. The Hawks are already considered one of the early season favorites to win the Super 8 title, coming into the year with a No. 2 preseason ranking in ESPNBoston's statewide poll.

Xaverian's journey in last year's Super 8 was albeit brief, going 1-2 in round-robin play, which included a surprise first-round upset at the hands of upstart Wachusett. DeCarr was tagged with both defeats, something that still does not sit well with him today.

"This year, I want to pick up where I left off before the playoffs," DeCarr said. "It is important for me to keep pounding the zone and mixing up my speeds and get kids out. I worked a lot on my mechanical stuff during the off-season and I have gained 15 pounds from last year. I feel the ball should start to jump out of my hand a little more."

"Despite the fact that Blake had a great last season, he struggled at the end of it and I own a piece of that blame for using him the way I used him," said Hawks head coach Gerry Lambert. "Last year, in the postseason, he didn't have any arm soreness. It was just fatigue body-wise. He simply ran out of gas."

DeCarr's fastball was clocked between 80-82 mph a year ago. This year the goal is to reach 84-85, but DeCarr doesn't need to punch hitters out with his fast ball. His outpitch has been the changeup, which he will lean on quite often.
With the amount of pitching Lambert has in tow this year, it should allow him to limit DeCarr's innings over the first half of the season, keeping him fresh if and when the Hawks make it to the postseason.

"I think the key for Blake is for him to understand that he just needs to build up day to day," Lambert said. "You can get a little wrapped up in how things look say on June 8th but sometimes you begin to worry too much about how you are doing on April 8th. The idea is to build things brick by brick. Him being patient with himself is the key, and the other thing is it is my job to manage things this year with an eye towards what happened last year. I want Blake to challenge himself and just think about the process of getting better and not focus so much on the results.

"Fortunately, I am blessed with a lot of pitching this year and that will allow me to use Blake early in the season in a way that allows me to make sure there are still enough bullets left in the chamber when we get to June. In the playoffs, he did not pitch like he had done all year which was brilliantly. Anything besides brilliant to him is considered a failure. He is a different kid than his brother. That is valuable for him and puts him in a position of having his own career. He doesn't have to worry about measuring up to anyone."

DeCarr got his first taste of varsity ball late into his sophomore season, pitching primarily out of the bullpen. The Hawks were a .500 club that year before getting knocked out in the first round of the Division 1 South tournament. But in retrospect, it gave Lambert an opportunity critique his young hurler and see what he could do against top-line competition.

By his own admittance, DeCarr says he was not very good following the call up. He struggled often against some of the region's better programs.

"Looking back on that time, I feel it was a huge learning experience for me," he said.
Having spent much of that off-season fine-tuning his mechanics along with a regimented conditioning program, DeCarr was primed for a strong junior campaign.

Before the season got underway, Lambert pulled DeCarr aside, informing him that he would be the Hawks' No. 1 starter going into the season.

"Coach Lambert told me I was going to be the guy to start in the big games," DeCarr said. "In my mind I was ready for it. I worked hard during the off-season at Cressey Sports Performance [in Hudson, Mass.]. My pitching coach there was Matt Blake, who is the pitching coach at Lincoln-Sudbury. He helped me a lot. I give him and the others there a lot of credit because I wouldn't be where I am today without their help."

Indeed, DeCarr did turn things around last season and is now solely focused on leading Xaverian to the promise land this year.
 
"I think this team has everything to make the Super 8 and win it all," he said. "That is what I want. I don't care about individual honors. As long as this team is winning I am happy. This year we seem to have more experience. We have a lot of good leadership and pitching depth to compete with anyone. Every single game we play we know it is going to be low-scoring and a pitcher's duel. I'm really pumped up about it."

The Hawks are fully aware that playing in arguably the state's most-competitive baseball conference will test their mettle to the highest degree. There are no slouches in the Catholic Conference, which also includes BC High, St. John's Prep, Malden Catholic and Catholic Memorial -- all quite capable of reaching the Super 8.
"I love playing in this conference," said DeCarr. "I wouldn't want to play anywhere else."
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Xaverian is a Catholic, college-preparatory school for boys in grades 7-12. As an inclusive community, we embrace diverse experiences and perspectives, welcoming students and families from all faiths and backgrounds. Through exceptional academics, athletics, the arts, faith formation, and service opportunities, we help young men discover their unique gifts and talents so they can share them with a world in need.