Hawks’ Martellini tabbed R.I. Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year

Pete Fontaine
Posted 6/11/15

The honors keep piling up for Johnston’s Gian Martellini, Bishop Hendricken High’s All-State baseball catcher, who was recently named Gatorade’s Rhode Island Baseball Player …

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Hawks’ Martellini tabbed R.I. Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year

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The honors keep piling up for Johnston’s Gian Martellini, Bishop Hendricken High’s All-State baseball catcher, who was recently named Gatorade’s Rhode Island Baseball Player of the Year.

It was the second time in as many seasons that the talented backstop, who is headed for Boston College on a scholarship and will play under the guidance of Warwick native and BC Associate Head Coach Jim Foster, earned the honor.

Martellini’s selection also marked the 10th time in Gatorade’s 30-year history of presenting the Player of the Year Award that a Hendricken Hawk has landed the coveted honor.

“Winning the Gatorade Player of the Year award was an honor the first time and to win it again was truly a blessing,” Martellini, who has Hendricken undefeated in 18 starts and headed towards another state title appearance, offered. “During the off-season, I worked on all aspects of my game to better my skills and prepare myself for this year.”

Martellini, who was also selected for the prestigious honor not only for his athletic excellence but also his academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, went on: “During the off-season I was asked the same question at least one hundred times: ‘Are you going to get the Gatorade award back to back? My response was simply: I don’t know; all I can control is my effort and the work I put in.”

However, the Johnston native – who grew up in baseball with the town’s Little League – is more focused on Hendricken capturing another state championship than he is his personal laurels.

“Even though I’ve had a lot of individual success,” Martellini continued, “my team has played amazing all year and we hope to cap it off with a fourth straight championship.”

Winning the Gatorade Player of the Year not only distinguishes Martellini as Rhode Island’s best high school baseball player, it also puts him in a position to win the National Player of the Year and in an elite alumni association with the likes of Derek Jeter, Roy Halladay, David Price, Chipper Jones, Derrek Lee and Jon Lester, who all won back-to-back honors.

“Gian is an outstanding catching prospect,” Ed Holloway, Hendricken’s veteran head coach, offered of the 6-1, 205-pound senior who graduated from BHHS last Friday. “He is big and strong and has very good baseball skills.”

Holloway went on to say: “He has a strong, accurate arm and he receives and blocks the plate well. Gian has tremendous upside, since this is only his third year catching. He hits with power, average and is a clutch RBI hitter. He has matured so much as a player and person over the last year.”

On the baseball field, Martellini has led BHHS to an eye-popping 18-0 record and has batted .500 with one home run and 21 RBIs through the Hawks’ first 15 games of 2015. He is a Perfect Game USA Pre-season Honorable Mention All-American who has scored 12 runs and worked his way on base with 14 walks, with an on-base percentage of .607.

In the classroom, Martellini is equally impressive.

The son of Paul and Gina Martellini, Gian has maintained a 3.0 GPA in addition to donating his time as a youth baseball instructor. He has also volunteered on behalf of Habitat for Humanity and Bishop Hendricken’s peer-mentoring program for students with educational and developmental disabilities.

Martellini joins other Rhode Island Gatorade Players of the Year who also won the prestigious honor in back-to-back seasons. They are: Mike King, Hendricken; David Hopkins, EG; Harrison Barlow, SK; Anthony Aceto, NP; Ryan Morris, NK; and Ryan Westmoreland, Portsmouth.

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