TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Talk about the season you had last year as a freshman, setting school records in hits (59), homeruns (10) and runs batted in (43).
I don’t really pay much attention to records already in existence. I try not to focus too much on breaking or setting records. I just try to be well prepared in all aspects of my game. It is hard doing that though, because I have put more pressure on myself to repeat and surpass (what I did last season). I like the pressure and I want the expectations.

What did you spend the most time working on during the off-season?
I spent a lot of time on my hitting. Hitting an inside pitch has always been my least favorite thing to do, so I worked on it a lot. My coaches have also helped me get better at doing that, and I think that’s important because at this level there aren’t too many pitches coming right down the middle.

Now that you've established yourself as one of the top hitters in the Mid-American Conference, do you see fewer pitches to hit?
That’s hard to say. I think that I have learned to hit pitches that are not ideal pitches a lot better than I have been able to in the past. Because of this, I will swing at pitches that I wouldn’t have swung at in the past – knowing I am now able to hit them.

Two weeks ago, you were named MAC East Player of the Week – an honor you won twice last season. What does a designation such as that mean to you?
It is definitely an honor, but it doesn’t really affect how I feel about my game or change anything that I do. I would love to have that honor every week and I try to earn it. It definitely feels good to be recognized in such a way, but it is something I expect of myself – so I just continue to demand more of myself.

Your season-long eight-game hitting streak recently came to an end. Did you realize you were on a hitting streak, and just how challenging is it to keep a hitting streak going?
I didn’t realize I was on a hitting streak for a while. Sometimes I read up on our games on the website, and my roommates told me not to read certain things so that I wouldn’t realize I was on a hitting streak – because it might make me think about it too much. I was glad they didn’t let me read it, but I ended up reading something that mentioned it one day and became aware.

I try very hard not to be aware of my statistics because when I know them I think about them. So, I just try to keep my head clear. Sometimes, I hear them or see them incidentally – and that is okay. I try to put it out of my head and just play, though.

I think it is very challenging to keep a hitting streak going because some games hand you circumstances that make it a little more difficult to get a hit – for example, being walked.

Last year, you saw a lot of time at shortstop. How difficult was it to make that switch, and are you more comfortable now that you're back in the outfield?
Playing shortstop last year was one of the most challenging switches I have ever made. It was a position I had been told for so long I couldn’t play because I was left-handed, and then I find myself playing it at the Division I level. As much as I joke about it now, it was very nerve racking – I wanted to do it so well and prove that it was possible. I think I was most worried about being a ‘weakness’ and letting my team down, but I was glad I got the opportunity because I really learned how to work at something. It took a lot of hard work just to do a respectable job there.

I am so much more comfortable back in the outfield. At first, I was really nervous that I wasn’t going to remember what to do or how to do it since it had been a while, but I got over that and am very happy back in the outfield.

How much better does this season’s freshman class make your team?
I think every class, every player that comes in makes us better and stronger. Each one of them and each one of us all have something unique that we bring to the field everyday. It’s different for each person, but it is all a part of what makes us stronger and will continue to. I know that they have made us better than last year’s team – as will the next incoming class as part of the cycle. This year’s freshmen have pushed us to be better, which is one thing I value about them more than anything.

Your team recently swept a double-header from the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and you have upcoming match-ups against local rivals Canisius and Niagara. Do those games have any additional significance?
Every game we play has significance, as does the result. I think we are very capable of being the best in Western New York – and beating St. Bonaventure and having Canisius and Niagara coming up gives us the chance to establish that. I know that we can beat these teams and I think we should aim to do so. Being the best in Western New York would just motivate us to widen that range and be the best elsewhere.

How have head coach Marie Curran and assistant Rosie Pagana helped you improve?
They have both pointed out things to me that I need to improve upon. I am so much more confident swinging at inside pitches than I have ever been because they recognized that it was something I needed to practice – and made sure I did. They will point out differences in when I do something wrong and do it right, so that I know what makes the difference and can keep that in mind in the future. I think that all of my coaches are very good at this and it makes me better. I also like that they expect things out of me that are not always simple things. It means a lot to know that they expect those things because they know I am capable of achieving them even when I may doubt myself.

At high school on Long Island, you hit .748 as a junior. That set a new national high school record. What did that mean to you?
As I was saying in previous questions, I never really paid attention to statistics. When my high school coach told me my batting average at that time, I didn’t really think anything of it. It didn’t really mean anything to me until I saw it in the record book. As with other honors, it meant a lot but I knew that it wasn’t a place to stop because I had so much ahead and there’s always more to accomplish.