By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
X @tortreports
PHILADELPHIA — Kingsway Regional High’s Tommy Popoff has played in a lot of big-time games during his prep career as a member of the Dragons’ football and baseball squads.
Perhaps no game was more memorable than Tuesday.
Popoff channeled his inner J.T. Realmuto as a member of the Tri-Cape all-star team that played in the Carpenter Cup semifinals at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It’s definitely really cool to come out and play at Citizens Bank Park,” Popoff said. “I’ve been watching people play on it my whole life. To really be out here, the whole vibe was awesome. I was trying to just treat it like a regular game, but obviously it’s not just a regular game. You think about all the big stuff that’s going on, it’s going to mess you up. I’m trying to keep the mindset that it’s like every other game.”
Popoff was behind the plate for the first six innings in Tri-Cape’s 6-3 victory over Delaware County (Pa.), helping the team punch its ticket back to the tournament final for the fourth consecutive campaign.
The storied Carpenter Cup tournament features some of the best players from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
“It’s definitely up there with them (among his most memorable games),” Popoff added. “It’s really cool to come out here and represent the school. Me and (Nate) Bott came out here, and coach Bob (DelVecchio) and just represented the school in a really good way.”
While it’s the senior’s first — and only — Carpenter Cup showing in his career, it’s the fourth for Tri-Cape assistant coach Robert “Bob” DelVecchio, who also serves as a volunteer assistant at Kingsway and had nothing but great things to say about Popoff.
“You know, the most satisfaction, it puts tears in my eyes, that he thanked me after his senior year that we were finished with all the training I did with him during the school year,” an emotional DelVecchio said. “He worked his butt off in the offseason by lifting, training, and he’s a D1 commit. He’s such a great kid, and I’m so happy to coach him all those four years. When he started as a freshman at Kingsway, I was his catcher coach. I told him from Day One, ‘listen I’m tough, this is the way it is, you’re going to hate me and I’m going to be on you constantly.’
“I was actually tickled pink, I put something on Facebook on his mom and dad, and they raised a great kid. Never, never did he give me any grief, and he was a team captain. He hated me a lot of times because I was on him, but that’s the name of the game. That’s how I coach him, and it paid off. I’m proud of that.”
DelVecchio also said that it’s a thrill to coach the team knowing there are two of his Kingsway players on it. Nate Bott, an incoming junior, is also on the roster as a rotational pitcher.
Not only is Popoff a flashy baseball player, he also excelled on the football field in the fall for the Dragons. He led Kingsway with 1,345 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns last season, and an upset victory over Hunterdon Central in the first round of the playoffs.
As coach DelVecchio mentioned, though, Popoff will take the 200-mile trek to Binghamton University in New York to continue playing baseball, this time at the NCAA Division I level for the Bearcats.
“I’m very excited to go up (there),” Popoff said. “We, Binghamton, have a great team up there, great coaches, and I think it’s definitely going to be a great time playing with everyone up there.”
First, however, Popoff will look to end his high school days on a high note. Tri-Cape will take on the Inter-Ac/Independents (Pa.) on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. right back at CBP.
