By Doug Hastings, Lexington Mintueman


Lexington - Bob DeFelice has seen plenty of talent on baseball diamonds in more than 40 years of coaching the team at Bentley University.

So when DeFelice scouted Ross Curley of Lexington three years ago and the LHS shortstop actually misplayed a couple of grounders, it didn’t scare DeFelice away, not even for a second.

“There’s just something about him,” DeFelice said.

Also a successful football and basketball player at Lexington, Curley decided to bring his baseball talents to Waltham where he has been Bentley’s starting third baseman for the past two years. Curley has started 89 of the team’s 97 games at third and upped his batting average from .239 as a freshman to .271 as a sophomore.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” said DeFelice. “All aspiring athletes should have the substance he has and the determination to be good. He’s a baseball player and I think that’s the ultimate compliment I can give to someone. He just loves to play.”

When Bentley’s season ends, Curley returns to Lexington, but he hardly puts away his glove. For the past two summers, he has been the third baseman for the Lexington Blue Sox of the Intercity League. Last year, Curley’s .367 average helped Lexington win its second straight championship. This year, Curley’s .355-performance at the plate ranked him second in the league and has Lexington as the top seed in the playoffs that are currently being played.

Sunday, Lexington won its playoff opener by a 5-1 score against Medford. Curley was 1 for 3 with an RBI.

The Sox won that series and open the best-of-five championship series with home game at LHS on Thursday and Friday night.

“He just quietly goes about his business,” said Blue Sox manager Rick DeAngelis. “He’s very mature. You’d think he was two or three years out of college, not just finishing his second year of school.”

DeAngelis credits some of Curley’s success to his “seasoning.”

“He’s played for some very demanding coaches,” DeAngelis said. “He learned a good work ethic early on. If you want to succeed, you have to work hard and Ross works hard.”

“He accepts criticism like a man,” DeFelice said. “He’s a little bit of a throwback in that respect. [After criticism] he just plays harder.”

There hasn’t been much to criticize in Curley’s game this summer. He’s established himself as one of the Intercity League’s most reliable sticks.

“Ross doesn’t just go into the batting cage to swing away,” said DeAngelis. “He goes in with a specific plan in mind.”

That plan Thursday will be pretty simple, win.