Valley grad Jeremy Iellimo helps Mt. Aloysius capture 1st AMCC baseball title

Mt. Aloysius baseball coach Kevin Kime said he hadn’t seen anything like it in his 20 years in the dugout.

When his team arrived at Penn State Behrend for the finals of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference tournament, Kime immediately took the players into right field to discuss what was about to unfold. The Mounties had a shot at their first conference title.

As Kime addressed his players, he took note of the intensity on their faces.

“I went in the dugout and messaged a coaching friend of mine on my cellphone, which I never touch during any part of the game,” Kime said. “I told him, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen today, but I have never seen a collective look like this from a group in my coaching career.’ ”

What happened was Mt. Aloysius routed top-seeded Penn State Behrend, 10-4 and 10-5, to win the AMCC title. The Mounties came in already with one loss — to Behrend — in the double-elimination tournament but earned the sweep and a piece of history.

One of the driving forces behind the title was Valley grad Jeremy Iellimo. A fifth-year senior second baseman, Iellimo entered the weekend’s NCAA Division III regional with a .358 batting average and team highs of 38 RBIs and 40 runs.

The Mounties were eliminated from the regional with losses in their first two games. Iellimo went 4 for 8 with four runs scored over the two games as Mt. Aloysius finished 27-15, tying the program record for wins.

Iellimo was among five “super seniors” who opted to come back for a fifth season granted by the NCAA because of pandemic disruptions.

“I wouldn’t say it sunk in yet, but this is what, as a group, the fifth-years wanted to accomplish,” Iellimo said. “But we knew it wouldn’t be just us. It was going to take our whole team, a total buy-in. And that’s exactly what happened on and off the field.”

Iellimo, Kime said, spearheaded the effort. Thrust into a starting role during his freshman season, Iellimo is the most battle-tested among the Mounties. Heading into NCAAs, he had started 153 of 155 games in which he appeared over the past five seasons.

“Jeremy has played a lot over his five years here,” Kime said. “He’s the guy that just keeps us going and guys look to. In difficult situations, they’re looking for guidance, and there’s Jeremy: cool, calm and collected in every situation.”

Said Iellimo: “I just like to play the game. I don’t try to do too much. … Through my experience, I have played so many games that it just keeps me calm and light, and it helps me keep the rest of the guys light and relaxed in any situation.”

Few situations were bigger than the AMCC Tournament. Though Mt. Aloysius has had its share of 20-win seasons and appearances in the national rankings, Kime said, the conference title continued to be elusive.

Iellimo made sure it wouldn’t get away again. In the three games following the loss to Behrend in the AMCC Tournament, he went a combined 9 for 16 with six RBIs and three runs.

In the must-win second encounter with Behrend, Iellimo went 4 for 5 with a pair of RBIs and a run.

“We weren’t going to lose,” Iellimo said. “We weren’t going home without the championship. … We battled when we were down, and when we were up, we just put it to the teams we played.”

Iellimo said he “kind of blacked out” during the waning moments of the deciding game’s final inning. Mt. Aloysius had a comfortable lead, and his thoughts began to turn to the postgame celebration.

The normally even-keeled veteran was able to let loose and soak in the euphoria of doing something no Mt. Aloysius baseball team had accomplished. And regardless of the outcome in the regional, Iellimo can walk away satisfied knowing he did what he set out to do.

“It was amazing to do it with that group of guys and doing it for our fifth-years and winning for our coaching staff,” he said. “They give everything to us. They pour their heart, blood and tears into this program and for us. I’m just happy to give back to them.”