Longtime area baseball coach served 20-years as head coach at Stonehill from 1974-94, returned to Coach Boen's coaching staff in 2019
EASTON, Mass. (January 13, 2023) – The Stonehill College athletics community mourns the passing of longtime baseball coach Louis "Lou" Colitti, Class of 1966, at the age of 78 on Thursday.
Colitti, who had returned as an assistant coach at his alma mater for current Stonehill head coach Patrick Boen, '89 in 2019, was a longtime baseball coach in the South Shore region. The Brockton, Massachusetts, native served as head coach at the College for 20-years between 1974 and 1994. He guided Stonehill to Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships in 1984 (10-2) and 1985 (9-3), while also capturing the NE10 Tournament title in 1985 with a 6-3 win over Bryant University. Stonehill also finished second in the NE10 standings two other seasons during the early years of the Conference's existence. Prior to that he led the 1980 Stonehill squad to an ECAC Championship to earn New England Coach of the Year honors.
Colitti (second from right) returned to the Stonehill baseball coaching staff in 2019 under former student-athlete Patrick Boen '89 (left). Colitti, a 1966 Stonehill graduate, served as head coach at Stonehill from 1974-94. |
Before to returning to Stonehill, Colitti was an assistant coach to Rick Smith at Bridgewater State University for 18 years. Colitti was part of nine MASCAC Regular Season Championships, five MASCAC Tournament Championships, and nine NCAA Tournament berths. Colitti served as an assistant coach at Massasoit Community College in Brockton for three years and helped the Warriors reach postseason play each year including a berth into the Junior College World Series in 1995. He was the head coach of the original Cranberry League team in Brockton, the Brockton Merchants, for two seasons in 1978 and 1979.
Lou is survived by his four children, John D. Colitti and his wife Karen of Abington, Robert L. Colitti and his wife Lisa of Raynham, Matthew T. Colitti of Brockton, Leanna L.A. Colitti - Stanley and her husband Ahbleza of Long Beach, CA. He is also survived by his grandchildren Michael, Stephanie, Gabriella, and his great grandson Benjamin, as well as nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at the Russell & Pica Funeral Home, 165 Belmont Street, Brockton on Thursday, January 19th from 4 to 8 p.m. His funeral mass will be at the Chapel of Mary, on the campus of Stonehill College, 320 Washington Street, Easton, MA on Friday January 20th at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be private at the convenience of the family.
