TAMPA, Fla. — Since he began playing baseball at Leto High School in 2019, Coltin Pizzio has fit right in with the Falcons. Starting with his freshman year, Pizzio’s offensive production has continued to climb and is setting the tone leading up to the 2022 campaign.

As a freshman, Pizzio wasted no time making an impact and found his way on the school’s varsity team. Number 19 finished his 2019 season batting an even .300 and led the club with 23 runs scored and three triples. To top it off, the team also made it all the way to the state final four.

Due to the emergence of COVID-19, Pizzio missed out on his sophomore season with the Falcons, but the break in action did not slow him down in 2021. For his junior season, the infielder recorded a .356 batting average, led the team in RBIs (17) and had the most plate appearances with 89.

Following the conclusion of his junior season, Pizzio announced on Aug. 21 via Twitter of his commitment to St. Petersburg College. He will begin his collegiate career with the Titans in the fall of 2022.

As Pizzio has endured plenty of success in high school baseball, his father and coach, Bobby, was intrigued by the sport of hockey and wanted to learn more about the game. With the desire and help of Bobby, Leto High School got their first ever hockey team for the 2019-20 school year. In fact, it even led to his son getting involved.

With the buzz of Leto getting this latest addition to their athletics program, it was only fitting that the team properly represented their school. Coach Bobby decided to get all of his players their own jackets to commemorate the special moment.

“It was a huge surprise, a really nice surprise,” Pizzio said in an article done by Bryan Burns of the Tampa Bay Lightning. “It’s probably the nicest jacket I have right now. Just thankful for it.”

It was an exciting time to be part of the Falcons hockey program, but there were some real growing pains to begin Leto’s inaugural season. To start the season, Leto endured numerous blowout losses and were shut out five times in their first eight games. Despite this, players continued to look at the bright side and wanted to keep on improving.

“They stayed positive,” Coach Bobby said. “I think that was a testament to their wanting to actually being good and seeing that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Over time, the Falcons team slowly started improving and became a more competitive group to play against. In their first season, Pizzio registered four goals and two assists over 17 games played. He also scored the game-winning-goal for the Falcons en route to their second win in program history.

“We were going out there, surprising some teams,” Coach Bobby said. “And the nice part was we gained the respect of some teams.”

During the 2020-21 school year, Pizzio matched his goal total from the previous season (four) and the Falcons similarly grabbed two victories like they did in 2019-20. Currently, Pizzio and the Falcons hockey program are in the midst of their third year, searching for their second win of the season.

“These kids, they want it,” Coach Bobby said. “They want to be part of something. They understand it’s a privilege what they have and not many people get it. They’re definitely taking advantage of it.”

In regards to Pizzio’s senior season with Leto’s baseball club, big expectations await as he’ll look to not only further improve his offensive statistics, but also attempt to help the Falcons secure a state championship.

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