TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Last week, you set a new single-season doubles mark at UB. You also have a chance to break the school’s single-season runs batted in record. How much pride do you take in having such a successful season?
It means a lot to me. To get my name in the UB record books is pretty neat. I have to give a lot of the credit for what I’ve done this year to my coaches. I’ve progressed as far as hitting the ball the other way, which has allowed me to get a lot of hits to right field.

You had six homeruns and had driven in 38 runs coming into this week, as compared to last year when you hit one homer and had 10 RBI. What do you attribute to the significant increase in your power numbers?
Probably a lot of that has to do with confidence. Also, we have a great weight program that (Strength and Conditioning Coach) Ed Fitzsimmons runs in the off-season – I think that has a great deal to do with the increase in my power numbers.

Heading into this week, you have a chance to set a new team-high for Mid-American Conference wins since joining the league in 2000. How much has this program grown and what upside does it have heading into future seasons?
We have had our fair share of ups and downs, just like every team probably has. But right now, I feel we have a lot more depth than we have had in the past. I hope that continues to be the case and that we build upon what we have done this year.

You had only one error and a .998 fielding percentage heading into this season’s final week. What types of work do you do on a regular basis to make yourself strong defensively?
Our coaches make sure we get a lot of ground balls each day. But I feel comfortable at first base – I think it’s a position that really suits my style of play. It’s important to be strong defensively, because you don’t want to have your pitchers throwing more pitches than they need to throw.

What has been the most difficult part of the transition from being shifted over from third to first base?
I think the hardest part of the adjustment has been getting a feel for what balls to go after and which ones to allow the second baseman to get. Also, there’s certainly an adjustment period working with the pitchers on plays where they are covering the bag.

What are your plans for playing baseball this summer? How do you go about selecting a league to play in?
Right now, the coaching staff is looking to set something up for me. Maybe it will be in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, but I don’t know for sure yet. Wherever my best option is though, is where I will end up.

You are an industrial engineering major. What kind of classes does that program entail and what type of job will you be looking for down the road?
Up to this point, I have taken most of my general education classes. Now I will be moving onto more specific areas – for example, operations research, facilities design, ergonomics and other trades in the industrial engineering field.

As far as a career, I plan to start out with some sort of industrial job – maybe working at a place like General Motors. Then maybe I would go back to get my Master of Business Administration and go from there, but I am not exactly sure what I am going to do in the long run.

At Medina High School, you were an All-Division/League selection in baseball, basketball and football. As the number of multi-sport athletes in high schools continues to decrease, what advantages do you feel that playing all three sports had for you?
Going to a Class B school here in Section VI, maybe because it was a bit smaller I had more of an opportunity to play three sports. But I think being involved with three sports put me in a lot of different situations, and helped me deal with pressure and other things along those lines. You also get the chance to be around a number of different teammates.

How neat is it to have played against a future big leaguer like Miami first baseman Mike Ferris, or even have played with a Major League draftee like your teammate Mark Tourangeau?
That’s really neat. Maybe someday when I have a son or am just talking to a buddy and one of those types of guys is on television, I’ll be able to say that I played with or against that guy. Down the road, that type of experience will definitely be interesting.

What Major League Baseball team do you follow? Is there a lot of discussion and debate about the big leagues on your team?
To be honest, I don’t really have a favorite team. My roommate Dave Amaro roots against the Yankees any time they are on, but I usually am neutral in that regard.

A lot of the guys obviously have favorite teams, which leads to a lot of discussion. Lately though, the hot topic has been which players have used steroids.

-The "10 Questions with…" feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.