St. Mary’s baseball standout Aiven Cabral had plenty of good options when it came to choosing a college. That will happen when you have a perfect pitching record and lead your team to two state championships in two seasons — sandwiched around a year lost to the pandemic.
After considering a number of schools in New England and the South, and narrowing his choices down to a handful, Cabral chose Northeastern University and made it official when he signed his National Letter of Intent Wednesday.
“I’m glad it’s out of the way and I can proceed with my senior year,” Cabral said. “It was a stressful process, but Northeastern was always interested in me and I felt like that was the best fit.”
Cabral, who has a career record of 14-0 with a 1.15 ERA and 149 strikeouts, said the quality of the university, the scholarship offer and the caliber of the baseball program were the main factors in his deciding to become a Husky.
St. Mary’s Coach Derek Dana said Northeastern is getting a gem.
“He exudes confidence, but he’s the best teammate and the ultimate competitor. He’s a humble kid and a joy to coach,” said Dana. “It’s almost too easy.”
That’s how Cabral makes it look on the mound. He went 6-0 as a freshman, beating Div. 1 powers St. John’s Prep and Andover in consecutive starts and winning an MIAA tournament game as the Spartans won the Div. 2 state title. After losing his sophomore season to the pandemic in 2020, Cabral returned with a vengeance in 2021, going 8-0 with 106 strikeouts and only five runs allowed in 64 2/3 innings, hitting 91 mph with his fastball. St. Mary’s made it back-to-back state titles, something Dana and assistant coach Tim Fila achieved as players in 1987 and 1988.
“Aiven is prepared for what’s coming at the Div. 1 level,” said Dana, who played at UMass, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and played four years of professional baseball. “I can’t say enough about the kid. He’s the real deal.”
Cabral, who is also a smooth shortstop and .300 hitter, came to St. Mary’s from Pickering Middle School, after his parents, Alpha and Alex, asked if he was interested in attending the school. He took the tour, applied and decided to enroll as a freshman, a choice for which he is grateful.
“The school felt like a good fit,” he said. “The coaches push me every day. They bring out the best in me as a player.”
And they have one more year to do that, before he takes his talents from Tremont Street in Lynn to Huntington Avenue in Boston.
