BURG Sports Network

1.     When did you first start to love the game of Baseball?

• Probably around the age of 8. I was always into sports growing up, but baseball became the center piece of it all for me. It became a year round activity, where if I wasn’t playing little league or travel ball, I’d be playing in a pickup game or home run derby with my friends. At that time, I was playing baseball in its purest form. I wasn’t thinking about statistics, winning conference championships, or whether or not a scout from a specific school noticed me. The game was just pure fun.

 

2.      Who has been the Biggest Role Model in your life?

• This is a tough question to answer, because I can’t really pick one person. It seems cliché, but in between my parents and my brothers, it’s impossible to pick. They each bring something to life that I aspire to one day do so myself. My mother Valerie, brings such tenacity and passion to everything she does. My dad Bruce, brings the quiet calm leadership that puts everyone at ease when situations get tough. My older Brother Vincent, has a mind for innovation, and he’s always looking to stay one step ahead of the competition. My younger Brother Brandall, is extremely creative and can entertain just about anyone. He’s the type of person that when you meet him for the first time, he never fails to leave a lasting impression. Like I said before, each one of them I consider by biggest role model in some sense, so it’s impossible to pick one.

 

 

3.      What was it like playing Baseball at Heritage?

• It was a lot of fun. I got to continue playing baseball with a lot of the friends I grew up playing the game with or against in the area. Each year playing in the Dulles District was extremely competitive. Teams in our District like Broad Run, Potomac Falls, Park View, and Dominion were all really talented teams at the time. It made every year in the District something to look forward to.

 

4.     What was it like to play for Coach Price?

• I enjoyed it. He believed in my ability from a very early standpoint in my high school career. At times he took a little flak for it, but he stood behind his decision. I will always respect him for that. If you’re reading this CP, I hope all is well in Chicago!

 

5.     What was the most memorable game you played in at Heritage?

• It would either be the District Semi Final game against Broad Run my Sophomore year, or the game against Dominion my Junior year. The District Semi Final was a crazy game that came down to a final play at home to decide the game. Broad Run was down one, and our closer was on the mound to try and close it out for us. We had already gone into extra innings, and they had a runner on third with 2 outs. That year’s team had a knack for winning in dramatic fashion, so of course a pitch scoots under the glove of our catcher, and the runner comes rumbling home. I’m out at Shortstop thinking, well looks like we’re tied again, but our catcher turns and gets back to the backstop quicker than I’ve seen anyone my entire career get back there. He gathers the ball, and fires it back to our pitcher as he’s running home to cover the plate. The next few seconds in my eyes were like a scene straight from a sports movie. The runner from third and our pitcher, racing one another to home plate in slow motion. You can almost que the dramatic music playing in the background. The runner slides in, and coming from a cloud of dust, all I heard was “You’re out”. Everyone went wild, and we were off to the District Championship game. 

 

   The Dominion game, was more memorable for me as an individual more so than for a team as a unit. I had been somewhat out of rhythm at shortstop and was struggling a little defensively. In result, Coach Price decided to move me from Shortstop to Third Base for the game. I can’t lie, at the time I was a little angry at the decision. However, looking back on it with more experience as a player and now as a coach, it was the right decision. Every now and then when someone is out of synch, no matter who the player is or how talented, you need to find a way to break the slump. It was a moment that reset me, and lit a fire that fueled the drive for that to never happen to me again. It also just so happened to be the same game that we were facing Dominion, and their ace Chris Taylor. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in the Dulles District at that time, and I couldn’t wait to get my shot to face him. As I said already, I was amped up to go against one of the better guys in the league, so me getting switched from Shortstop to Third Base just tipped everything over the edge. My first at bat - I hit a scorching line drive to centerfield for a triple. The centerfielder made a diving effort to catch it, but couldn’t come up with it. My second at bat - was quite uneventful, and I lined out to the centerfielder. My Third at bat - I hit an inside fastball over the right field wall for a homerun. My fourth and final at bat was probably the one I’ll remember the most. The half inning before I was up again, Chris Taylor had hit a homerun off of our Ace John Rogerson. John was one of my friends that I had basically grown up playing with through little league and Babe Ruth, so I felt comfortable in telling him, “Next time we’re up I’m going to get it back for you”.  John had been pretty lights out all game, so he shook the homer off and got the final out pretty quickly after that. We get back into the dugout, and I make my way to the on deck circle. While I’m strapping up my batting gloves, I look over to John again and said, “I’m taking him deep”. Chris was still on the mound pitching, so it setup pretty nicely for a little bit of revenge. Finally, it was my turn to hit. Both John and I grinned a little as I was departing for the plate. I get in the batter’s box, and Chris starts me off with a curve ball. The next pitch, was an inside and high fastball that I hit over the right field wall for my second homerun of the day. It was a surreal feeling. Calling a homerun is one of those things that baseball players talk about doing, but it really doesn’t happen all too often. Most of the time guys who swing for the fences and end up rolling over to the second basemen or shortstop, but it didn’t happen to me this time. It ended up being just one of those days where I can really say that I was in the zone, and nothing was going to stand in my way.

 

 

6.      Why did you choose to play Baseball at Cornell??

•  Cornell checked all the boxes as a school that I was looking for. They had strong academics, a Division 1 program, and they were one of the most competitive teams in the Ivy League. During my official visit, the coaching staff and team did a great job at making me feel like Cornell was the place I was meant to be. I committed quite early, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

 

7.      What was it like playing college Baseball at Cornell?

• It was a great experience! It was difficult at times having to balance academics and sports, but after a while I started to get used to it. I got to play against some really good players and quite a few guys that went on to play in the majors. I’d say the highlight of my Cornell career was when we won the Ivy League Championship my Junior year. We played Dartmouth in a 3 game series, won the first game, lost the second, and won the third game with a walk off home run in extra innings. Overall I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. I met some of my closest friends playing on the team, and we won quite a few games.

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8.     What is it like to see your younger brother play for Heritage and play college baseball like you?

• It is a strange feeling – and I mean that in a sense that when I was watching him and his teams play, I’ve never wanted somebody to win more, than in those moments. Every time he came up to the plate, I was thinking, “Alright this guys coming with the get me over curve ball first pitch be ready for it, or this guy is trying to set you up don’t chase.” It may make me sound a little crazy, but in some way, I was hoping that if I thought it -  then he would think it too. Looking back to when I was watching him during his Conference Carolina tournaments, I’d feel more nervous than I ever had been when I was actually the one on the field. After it’s all said and done, I’d said I’m proud of what he was able to accomplish. At any moment he had the ability to shake up the entire game, and it was exciting to watch.

 

 

9.     How is it  coaching American Legion baseball? why did you  want to become a coach after your playing career?

• It’s an absolute blast! Honestly, it’s some of the most fun I’ve had surrounding the game of baseball. We have a coaching staff comprised of guys that know baseball, are great leaders, and are all good friends of mine. Also, this past year my younger brother Brandall joined the staff, and it was good to have him bring his perspective and instincts and put them in the mix. Each day we have a practice or game, I wake up with an extra pep in my step.  

 

• I wanted to become a coach for the Post 34 Leesburg Rangers, because I love the game of baseball and I also love our Legion Program. With all of the travel teams that are out now, I feel that baseball has become more so of a transaction. Parents pay the teams to get their child exposure to college, and teams gladly accept the money and churn their guys in and out. Our program’s focus is to not only get our guys exposure to different programs and better at baseball, but also to develop our guys on a personal level. The coaches and people involved with the legion organization are volunteering their time, because they truly care about helping these young men develop. I simply wanted to be a part of that.