As the weather warms up the Lucchetti’s have made their names known on the diamonds around Stockton with Anthony playing baseball at Delta and his younger sister Carly playing softball at the University of the Pacific.
“We were always pretty close,” said Anthony about his relationship with his younger sister, who is a freshman at the University of the Pacific. He is a sophomore at Delta, and redshirted a year before being part of last year’s state championship-winning team.
“They were extremely close,” said mother Melissa Lucchetti. “They both played softball and baseball since they were five. She wasn’t really annoying but things did have to go her way. Her brother pretty much just gave her what she wanted, so there were no problems.”
Born into a baseball family, Anthony has spent most of this season batting in the heart of the order and is hitting .300 with 30 runs batted in, after hitting .339 with 34 runs batted in last season when he was named to the Big 8 All-Conference second team.
“He came into Delta at just 17 years old and he felt like it would be better for him to grow and develop a little more,” said Melissa about her son sitting out a season. “He has done nothing but grow and succeed at everything they’ve asked him to do.”
Anthony recently committed to play baseball next season at UC San Diego which is a perennial Division II power that is transitioning to become a Division I school in two years. That would put Anthony as a senior in the school’s first year playing as a Division I program.
“It’s really interesting because I’ll be going from high school to juco and then I’m going to get a D2 experience and D1 so it’s going to be different than most,” said Anthony.
Nearly joining her older brother at Delta, Carly is currently a freshman at the University of the Pacific and is second on the team with a .289 batting average while leading the team with nine stolen bases.
“That kid is just an all-around athlete,” said Melissa about her daughter. “We figured she would end up at a Division I college. She loves (Pacific Head Coach Brian) Kolze. She was like I really want to go to UOP and she got her wish.”
Anthony’s family is a near-constant presence at games. Not only are his mother and father at nearly every game, but they are often joined by his grandma and great-grandma. The group is hard to miss in their self-made front row seats — as close to the Delta dugout as you can get.
“It’s good for them as they can pretty much catch every game,” said Anthony about his family that is able to make the short drive to Stockton from Linden — not only for his games, but his sister’s as well.
While Anthony had a tough time deciding between his uncle John and his father Anthony when asked who was the best athlete in his family he did give himself the nod over his younger sister.
“That’s a tough one,” said Anthony. “She’s super athletic and faster than me but overall I would go with myself.”
“We are so excited and happy for them,” said Melissa. “They are both great students and doing exactly what they wanted to do and we can’t be more proud of them.”
Before Stockton loses one Lucchetti to San Diego the Delta Mustangs’ baseball team will be looking to defend its state championship as they are currently 25-6 on the season and in a battle for the top spot in the Big 8 Conference.