When the Norwich baseball team has a late innings lead, coach John Rhoades smiles. And, with what he has in the bullpen, he should. After all, not many college baseball coaches can go to a cadet colonel to help cinch up a win.

“Donny puts the ball around the plate,” Rhoades said. “He’s not overpowering, but he’ll make the opposition swing the bat. He gives his fielders a chance to make plays.

“He has been great to have on the team,” he added. “He is very driven and is always working on his game … taking notes on hitters during the game and so forth. He leads by example, too. I think the favorite part for me is when he sprints in to pitch. It doesn’t matter where he is.”

The Norrisville, Maryland native’s rise to the top-ranked cadet came about, in no small part, to his sunny disposition and his ease in working with other people. His ability to organize due to a double major in business administration and accounting with a concentration in sports management helps, too.

“I’m so glad I decided to do this,” he said in regards to the overall cadet experience. “It has been very rewarding. I’ve been able to develop my leadership abilities through the entire process. I’m not looking into going into the military full-time after graduation, but that could always be an option.

“The process of reaching cadet colonel is based on working alongside with the leaders in the Corps,” he added. “I made an impression during my first two years, along leadership lines, and rose up through the ranks. I was very humbled when my name got put into the mix for the cadet colonel slot. There were so many deserving people on the list.”

DiBastiani has enjoyed life in the cadet regimen, but his love for baseball is just as much a part of who he is.

“I’ve always been a baseball fan in regards to playing and watching,” he said. “The game has given me as many opportunities as being in the Corps.

A recent opportunity with the Boston Red Sox gave DiBastiani a chance to work towards a career goal of being involved in professional baseball. “It was a dream come true,” he said of his day-to-day operations work last summer. “Someday, I would like to be able to do something like that full time.”

Rhoades has no doubt that he will reach his goal.

“He is very driven,” he said. “He has already been offered some positions in baseball due to what people have seen of that and his organizational skills.”

DiBastiani’s post-collegiate plans include his favorite pastime.

“I'm currently working on deciding on where I'm going to go,” he said. “I went to the Major League Baseball/Minor League Baseball winter meetings in early December and got multiple offers. It’s all in the business side though sales, promotions, marketing stuff like that.”