ELON, N.C. — With the Elon baseball team set to begin full-squad fall practice Friday, several Phoenix players are looking to build off strong summers. That's especially the case for right-hander Joe Savino, who was among the most dominant pitchers in the prestigious Cape Cod League.

Pitching for the Harwich Mariners, Savino logged a league-best 1.42 ERA with 42 strikeouts (33.3% K%) and nine walks (7.1% BB%) in 31 2/3 innings over 12 games. For his efforts, the redshirt junior was named to the all-league team.

Ahead of Friday's practice, ElonPhoenix.com caught up with Savino to talk about his summer experience.

Q: Considering this was your first taste of summer ball and the Cape is the premier summer league, what sort of expectations did you have upon arriving in Harwich?
Joe Savino: I honestly had mixed feelings because if you hear Cape Cod, you kind of automatically think, "Cape Cod baseball." I feel like that's the standard that's there. So, it was kind of mixed emotions. It was like, "I'm going to play some of the best competition in the country and in the world." And at the same time, it was almost a confidence boost. I was grateful enough to be invited to go and play in the league. Eventually, I got to realize when I was playing that I could trust myself and just realized it's just a game at the end of the day and it's something that me and a bunch of other guys have been doing for the past 10 or so years. It was special.

Q: In your first appearance, you came on in relief and struck out the only batter you faced to get out of a bases-loaded jam. What was it like stepping into that moment right off the bat? How much did that game set the tone for the rest of your summer?
JS: It was unlike anything I'd really ever been thrown in, because here at Elon, I start most of the time; I started coming on in relief toward the end of the year, but nothing in that aspect. And then my first game, it was like, "Alright, you've got to get hot. You're coming in with two outs and the bases loaded." It's almost like your instincts take over and it's like, "Well, I've just got to execute my pitches and do what I do. It's baseball, so hopefully things go my way and I trust myself." It was kind of like a sigh of relief when I got out of it.

Q: Is there any other game that stands out?
JS: There was a game (against Brewster) where we had a starter going, and the coach would put up a board of who was available to pitch that day, and everybody else on my team had pitched prior days, so basically it was me, the starter and two other guys who could have thrown. What we were saying all day was "Short board. Somebody is going to have to step up and eat some innings here." The starter ended up going (2 2/3) innings and I had to come in and ended up throwing the rest of the game. It was like 5 1/3. I think that was my most memorable game.

Q: What was it like being able to take the field for the Cape's workout day at Fenway Park?
JS: It was awesome. I played one event in high school where I got to play in Fenway, which was pretty cool. Some of those kids I played with in the Cape were also at that event. I don't think we knew if we were going to do it. It was just a chance to go with everybody on the team and get to know the guys better. It's always cool to play in a Major League park because eventually some of us will be there some day.

Q: What was your experience like living with your host family?
JS: It was awesome. I think I got lucky with a host family. They were at almost every game, and if they weren't at the game, they were watching it on the livestream. I'm a Yankees fan and they're Boston fans, so they got me a Boston Red Sox key to the house. I'm planning on getting them a Yankees key; I'm going to get one copied and send it to them for Christmas. It was something I've never done; I've only been here at school with other boys. But I thought I was really lucky, and they did a wonderful job.

Q: What's a memory away from the field that stands out?
JS: We did a bunch of stuff. They came out to dinner with my parents and my aunt. I don't want to say it was weird, but it was like, "These are the people who I'm living with and my parents are coming to visit." We did a bunch of stuff. They made me try seafood for the first time. They made some flag cake that was really good. We went on some bike rides. It was a mix of things that we did.

Q: How would you describe what it's like playing at the ballparks across the league, knowing some of the players who have come through there and the unique setting?
JS: It's so cool that we play at high school fields and they're dirt fields. They're not necessarily the best fields, but it's some of the best players who come from around the country and play in some of the best facilities and will eventually be pros. It's so cool. They have chain-link fences where kids come up and reach over and hand a ball to the team and then you sign it. You get to talk to people. And there are a lot of people at the games, especially Harwich — I think we probably had one of the better showings for games. It's an unreal experience, especially playing with a bunch of guys who are also really, really good. It lived up to the hype.

Q: What are some things you worked on over the summer?
JS: I didn't have a good spring. I thought I had a really good freshman year, and then I didn't play summer ball — I was going to go to Harwich, but I ended up throwing too many innings coming off surgery the year before, so they wanted to shut me down. In the spring this year, I didn't live up to what I wanted to do and the expectation that I held myself to — and I think a lot of people thought the same thing. So, I wanted to go up there with a clean slate and start fresh. I kind of just realized I was going up there for a reason and just wanted to trust myself. The one thing I really focused on was executing one pitch at a time. No matter what is happening, if I execute this pitch, the next pitch is going to come and if I execute it, probably something good is going to happen.

Q: What are some things that you realized you need to improve upon that you might not have realized without this experience or became more apparent because of it?
JS: I'd probably say I would like to develop more off-speed. I also am not the type of guy who is going to go out there and throw 95, 96. And I think almost all the kids who were on my team or who we saw were able to run it up to those high numbers. So, I would definitely like to find a way to build up more velocity while keeping my command, because I'm a pitcher who really relies on command and mixing different pitches. I think that's what this fall is for; I'm going to make an emphasis to improve that. So, if I could add some velocity and keep the command and develop some more of my off-speed pitches, hopefully I'll be successful — and I think that I will.

Q: What are you most looking forward to as fall ball gets underway Friday?
JS: It's exciting. This is my fourth year of fall ball, and I'm with the guys who I started with and a lot of other guys who have come in. It's honestly exciting seeing all the new talent that's come in. We brought in some freshmen and some transfers who are going to be good. As a team, we were kind of upset with how we performed last year. I think we have more than all the talent in the world. I know teams say all the time that they have a good shot to be good this year, but I truly believe we have all the talent and I think we have a lot of depth and we're returning a lot of guys who get it and have established that culture. I think we're going to hold ourselves to a high standard this year, and I think we have a really good chance to win some games and hopefully come out conference champs. The ultimate goal is to reach a regional and just keep winning, and I think we have every shot to.