Super Mario, Brother

This story appeared in the March edition of GoDuke the Magazine and was written by Jim Sumner. The full magazine can be found HERE.

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"Now batting for Duke, number 36, Mario Loperfido."

You might have done a double take if you heard this on the background of a TV or radio broadcast of a Duke baseball game this season.

Mario Joseph Loperfido hasn't actually changed his name. He's just made an adjustment. The Duke centerfielder was named after his grandfather, also named Mario Joseph Loperfido, but has always gone by some variant of his middle name.

Until he lost his 81-year-old grandfather last spring and decided to honor him by being introduced as Mario on the scoreboard and PA.

"He was somebody that worked hard his whole life," Loperfido says of his inspiration. "He came over from Italy when he was a little kid. He started up the business my dad still runs today. He was a special man, a hard worker. I like to think that all the hard work he put in and all the hard work my dad put in after him has given me the opportunity to be where I am today. I kind of feel indebted to them to work hard and put my best foot forward in everything I do."

Duke head coach Chris Pollard was supportive when he learned of Loperfido's plan to honor his grandfather.

"He and I had some really neat conversations about his granddad. I was so proud and excited when I heard he was going to do this."

Loperfido came to Duke from Haddonfield, N.J. It's on the Philadelphia side of the state and Loperfido is still a big Eagles and Phillies fan. He batted over .400 in three seasons at Haddonfield Memorial High School and was a national top-500 recruit.

Why Duke?

"The trajectory that me and Coach Pollard both saw the program heading," Loperfido says. "I saw the program coming together and I saw his vision."

Loperfido bats left and throws right. He was a prep shortstop but Duke didn't need one in 2018, not with incumbent Zack Kone manning the spot. So Duke moved Loperfido to first base, a position he had never played before.

"First base was the only opportunity to get on the field," he says.

Loperfido became a freshman All-American, batting .315 and slugging .475 as Duke reached the NCAA Super Regional, where the Blue Devils lost to Texas Tech. Having mastered a new position, Loperfido moved to second base as a sophomore, again where Duke had a need.

Notice a trend?

"Off the field I'm pretty adaptable and on the field I'm prepared to fill any role that would be needed. I've never really considered myself one position, just trying to be more of a complete player."

As a general rule, 6-foot-4 baseball players do not play second base — not well, at least. But Loperfido proved an exception to the rule. He missed 23 games early in the season due to an injury but returned in time to help lead Duke to another Super Regional, where the Blue Devils lost to Vanderbilt after winning the first game of the best-of-three series.

And then he changed positions again, this time becoming a centerfielder in 2020.

Both Loperfido and Pollard say that's his best position.

"The switch to centerfield is something that he (Pollard) and I both envisioned and where the professional side of the game thought I would end up at the next level," Loperfido says.

Pollard notes that Loperfido played shortstop in high school but played outfield in summer travel ball, where most evaluations take place.

"The first time I saw him he was making a diving catch along the left field line, playing left field. I said, 'Boy, that was athletic. I think I'll stay and watch that guy.' When you have guys that are really good athletes, they can do a lot of things. He's turned himself into a really good centerfielder."

Loperfido also has moved all over the batting order and says he is comfortable driving in runners or setting the table.

"He just comes to the ballpark ready to play every day," Pollard adds. "He's a throwback in that way. He's just a ballplayer."

Loperfido got off to a great start last year on what looked like Duke's best team in two generations. We all know how that ended.

Loperfido says his adaptability came in handy once covid-19 shut down the 2020 season.

"I think the guys who are successful are the guys who are comfortable changing things up and being able to adapt."

Loperfido spent the summer of 2019 playing in the prestigious Cape Cod league but spent last summer training in Palm Beach, Fla. — "a lot of working out, a lot of live at-bats."

He says he used both approaches to improve his game.

As a result of covid-19, Major League Baseball compressed its 2020 draft to five rounds, one in which cash-strapped franchises drafted high school players instead of college players like Loperfido, who had the leverage of signing or coming back for their senior seasons.

Loperfido went undrafted and decided to come back.

"I received some calls leading up to the draft and I thought there would be some opportunities there in the fourth or fifth round. But when that didn't happen, I didn't want to sign as a free agent and knew I would be coming back to school. I didn't even take phone calls on the day when free agency opened up for players."

"We weren't really planning on him being back," Pollard acknowledges. "We had already understood that he would be moving on. So, it was a bonus getting him back and we're glad he's here."

On-field production hasn't been the only value added to the program by Loperfido. Duke has a leadership council that acts as a communications conduit between the players and the coaches. Loperfido was the freshman representative in 2018, the sophomore representative in 2019 and the junior representative in 2020. He was named one of the team's three co-captains for 2021.

He doesn't take the responsibility lightly.

"I think parts of me are a natural leader, to carry myself in the way I do things. Being a vocal leader doesn't come to everybody and I don't think that was necessarily something I was born with but it's definitely something I've tried to develop during my time here. The way I look at my leadership roles is to set a good example for the guys who are younger than me, show them the right way to do things."

Pollard values that leadership.

"It was pretty obvious on a very veteran team in 2018 that he was a guy that people gravitated towards, that set a tone, that set an example. He's continued to do that over the years. He's not a vocal guy, not really a very excitable guy. He plays the game with a really even demeanor. He doesn't really get amped up."

Loperfido isn't Duke's only veteran this spring. Duke has 14 players who are either graduate students, seniors or redshirt juniors.

Senior catcher Mike Rothenberg also expected to be selected in the 2020 draft but was bypassed in the truncated event. The preseason All-American also elected to come back. Third baseman Erickson Nichols graduated but used the extra covid-related year granted by the NCAA to return as a grad student. He was batting over .400 at press time. Senior first baseman Chris Crabtree, Penn grad student transfer outfielder Peter Matt and senior reliever Matt Dockman are among the veterans Duke is counting on to take them to the next level.

Loperfido sees the benefits of all that experience.

"I think it leads to a very mature approach to the plate. We have lots of ways to beat you."

Pollard says he sees Loperfido playing pro ball next year and into the future.

"I think he should be drafted in the first five rounds and I think he'll have a really nice pro career."

Loperfido's take?

"Absolutely."

Loperfido will graduate with a degree in sociology, with a certificate in markets and management.

What does Loperfido see himself doing once he hangs up the spikes for good?

"I see myself working in sports, still. My dream job would be some kind of executive role, some kind of general manager, assistant general manager, director of player development for a professional baseball team."

But that's down the road. Duke has unfinished business.

"It's a competitive league and such a competitive schedule this year that you have to go out and do it every day. Obviously, everyone wants to go to Omaha, everyone wants to go to a Super Regional, everyone wants to host a regional. The challenge is to stay locked in on the next game and take it one game at a time."

Pollard says Loperfido is one of the players he's counting on to make that happen.

"He's going to go down as one of the winningest players in program history. All he knows is winning. He's been one of those guys who continued to move the needle."

Players Mentioned

Chris Crabtree

Matt Dockman

Peter Matt

Duke information