This week, the Mount Aloysius athletics department celebrates DIII Week, an NCAA initiative focused on the celebration and recognition of Division III student-athletes, their experiences, and their contributions. 

Joey DeRubeis will leave Mount Aloysius this spring with a bachelor's degree in business, starting his job in the sales department for Curry Supply Company after the school year. As a relief pitcher for the Mounties, he carries a 1.17 ERA this year, picking up six saves across seven games as the team puts together one of its winningest seasons in program history. His path to both graduation and pitching has been anything but straightforward. 

"I came in as a catcher." DeRubeis recalls, looking back on his first season. "I was like 'I could play here, I'm fine, high school prepared me for this stuff' and then, I was wrong."

As he struggled for playing time on a strong roster, his grades began slipping. Things became bleak.

"That first year, I was looked at as that promising freshman, and I was not that. Sophomore year, I was academically ineligible for the spring, and then they ended up winning a [post-season] championship that year. I wasn't on the roster for that."

Missing out on playing for the tournament champions hurt, but the impact was lessened by his teammates, especially the upperclassmen.

"They still incorporated me in the team, and that brotherhood and everything I really enjoyed. But my job was to make sure all the equipment was out on the field, sit at the bucket, and catch [batting practice] all day."

DeRubeis wanted back on the field, but the catching situation on the team made that difficult. The championship game catcher was back this season, with another strong recruit at the position coming in. Instead, he found an opportunity on the other side of the ball. 

"I was third string [as a catcher]. I had the opportunity to pitch, and then I ran with it. I don't think at many other programs, especially at higher levels, DII, DI, I would be able to get the chance to flip and reinvent myself."

He would pitch ten innings his junior year, the first experience he had on the mound in his career. The position took hold for him, and summer league baseball in North Carolina would give him the tools to hone the craft. Playing with and against a talent pool including players representing top-20 DI programs gave DeRubeis a new understanding of hard work.

"I learned from them… I came back the following year taking everything I learned, working really hard in the weight room, and trying to learn how to pitch."

The hard work would pay off, with DeRubeis seeing his pitching load upped to 25 innings, earning two saves as the program won its first ever regular season AMCC championship. His experience as a pitcher culminated that season in a spring break game against Colby-Sawyer. 

Up 3-1 going into the sixth of a seven inning game, DeRubeis would enter the game in relief with the bases loaded, no outs. Three batters later, he walked off the mound to his teammates' cheers, having struck out the side. The Mounties would go on to win the game.

"It was electric… That moment right there was definitely a testament of all the hard work I put in, and trusting the process, coming in every day and just doing the small stuff to get a little bit better each day, so when it's my time, my opportunity, I seize the opportunity... That's what I'll really take from baseball, and from my time here."

This peak could have been the capstone on a career, the culmination of success through reinvention. But DeRubeis wasn't done. 

"Over the years, I really looked up to all those guys that grinded out that fifth year." DeRubeis remembers, citing teammates Jeremy Iellimo and Douglas Cannon as important figures when he found himself struggling. 

"I would come in here every day and the guys that performed on the field were the guys always in the weight room, even just at the facility… I remember sitting at the wellness center desk, I wasn't working or anything but the [fifth year] guys were, and I would talk to them about what I'm going through and everything like that and they would just give me the best advice they possibly can… Those fifth year guys just said 'buy in, keep on going."

With some schooling left to finish, DeRubeis returned to the team for his fifth year, not just for more time on the mound, but for the legacy of leadership he had so benefited from. 

"Becoming one of those guys for the younger guys and having all the knowledge I've learned over my experience to give to them, that's what I've really been enjoying this year, is really being a mentor and being able to help the younger guys for the future."

His mentorship comes in a variety of forms, with his fascination in the technical side of the game manifesting in the work he does with the younger pitchers.

"I have what I call a 'pitch lab' with the younger guys. We come in and throw, and I'll help tinker and stuff. All the research I've done, all the experience, I want to give back… Trying different grips, trying different mental cues, throwing the ball, seeing the shape."

However, DeRubeis's biggest focus remains on what helped him the most, in the sport and in life.

"In the game, you can't control the umpires calling pitches, you can't control if the batter hits the ball, you can't control if your fielders make the play or not. All you can do is control your attitude, your effort, and your preparation… Baseball player or not, it's just controlling what you can control, and taking it day by day, step by step."

As the Mounties continue their march forward, carrying a top-30 win percentage in all of Division III, DeRubeis's contributions seem to be having an impact, on and off the field. As he looks back on his unexpected path through college baseball, he is reminded of one of his favorite quotes. 

"You can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails."