(Photo credit: Perfect Game)
Vinny Tosti recalled the night before he went to bed on Oct. 8th, 2017, not knowing that his life was going to change forever in a matter of hours.
“I remember I was going to go workout before school at six or seven in the morning, so I went to bed early,” Tosti said. “I remember it being really hot and windy when I was going to bed.”
It was 74 degrees, with the wind just starting to pick up at 31 mph.
The moment of truth came a few hours later, when he woke up in the middle of the night, wondering what was going on.
“I woke up sweating in my sleep because it was so hot and windy, and I tried to turn on my fan, but the power was out,” Tosti said. “Then I heard my dad downstairs and he said there was a fire nearby and we had to evacuate.”
The ASU redshirt sophomore outfielder grabbed just his phone, keys and wallet before his family evacuated from their Santa Rosa, CA home.
It was the night after homecoming at Cardinal Newman High School.
The Tubbs Fire ignited at 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8th in Calistoga, CA. It quickly shifted southwest toward Santa Rosa, burning 36,807 acres and destroying 5,200 structures in its path.
One of those structures that was destroyed was the Tosti family home. Another key structure partially lost was Cardinal Newman. The damage included the baseball field.
A couple days later, Tosti walked on his property for the first time since leaving and saw with his own eyes that everything was gone.
“I couldn’t find my house because everything was in rubble, and the way I found my house was the little house number on the mailbox that was still there,” he said.
When Tosti and his family evacuated their home, they went to a family friend’s house in Sonoma County.
During that time, Tosti was in shock. He wasn’t really thinking about what the road ahead looked like. He just took it one day at a time.
Tosti has gone through a lot: multiple moves around the state, injuries during his baseball career, the fire. All have been unexpected hurdles, but he’s climbed them every time.
The former Oregon product grew up in Southern California before moving to Santa Rosa in eighth grade. He then went on to attend Cardinal Newman in Sonoma County.
“Newman was great,” Tosti said. “Not being from Northern California, it was super cool to go up there and go to a smaller high school and get to know everybody. I really enjoyed the sports there and the culture of the school. I’m definitely thankful for the time I had.”
With the Cardinal Newman baseball field and other parts of his school burned to the ground, Tosti had a decision to make. He decided to reach out to a former teammate of his, Matthew Foxcroft, who at the time was at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA.
After the uncertainty of the ongoing fire, and not having a place to live, Tosti and his family made the decision to return to the southern portion of the state. He was to live with Foxcroft, attend classes at Mater Dei and play the baseball season in the spring uninterrupted.
“It was good being able to have a sense of normalcy to finish out my senior year,” Tosti said. “It was a big change going down there, but I had done that before so I wasn’t too worried about it. I loved Mater Dei. It was a great experience.”
Tosti later attended the University of Oregon and planned on being a part of the baseball program. After his freshman year there, Tosti decided to take his talents to Golden West College, a community college in Huntington Beach, CA and get the playing time he was looking for.
In 21 games with the Rustlers played before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Tosti hit .429 with two home runs, 11 RBI and 18 runs scored.
During the final weeks leading up to the season’s cancellation, Tosti had been in contact with ASU coaches and staff about the possibility of coming to Tempe to play for the Sun Devils.
“I had spoken with them a few times, and they knew I was having a good year,” he said. “We started talking and we both felt it was a great fit. I couldn’t take a visit out because of COVID, but I had been to the campus before and had a good feeling about it.
“I loved the staff. I love Arizona and the school. It’s been great so far.”
With the recent No. 1 overall draft pick of Spencer Torkelson and No. 10 overall pick Hunter Bishop in 2019, Arizona State has quickly risen up the ranks as being one of the top programs in the country that sends their players to the professional ranks. That is one of the reasons why Tosti decided to become a Sun Devil.
“Going to the next level has always been an aspiration of mine, and seeing what ASU has done over the past few years is really impressive,” he said. “I know this is a place I can come and get better and move onto the next level. I definitely feel confident about that.”
Tosti will be a redshirt sophomore in 2021 and is looking forward to competing with a winning program.
“Arizona State has shown that they are a winning program the last few years, and I’m hoping to help them win, get to Omaha and win the whole thing. That’s the main goal.” Tosti said.
While Tosti begins his time in Tempe, he still remembers the bigger picture: the ability to keep working, stay confident, and know things will work out in the end. The events off the field have helped him keep that mentality. The challenges he’s gone through might have been tough, but he’s still humble.
“Baseball is such a small part of life,” he said. “Just be thankful for the things you do have not let things get too big and live in the moment.
“Just don’t give up.”
