Matthew Bodnar
Staff Reporter
Spearing blazing fast line drives, picking short hops, and knocking down bad hops all while standing a mere 90 feet from the batter.
Such is the life of McDaniel Baseball’s third baseman, Matthew Pace. Matt is a junior and three year starter from Baltimore, Maryland. During his three years on the Hill, Pace has become a constant force in the McDaniel’s lineup. Known for his imposing stance in the box, and his cat-like reflexes in the field, Pace is an all-around baseball player whose game has no glaring weakness.
As a freshman, Pace appeared in 15 games while hitting .280 with a home run. In his sophomore year, his first full year as the starter, he really broke out hitting .353 with 3 home runs and 25 RBI’s. When asked what his personal goals are for this year, Pace responds, “Keep the offense up and play better defense.” When evaluating himself so far, Pace continued, “I feel I’ve played better defense, but my hitting has been slow to come around.”
In terms of team goals, Pace notes this is a young team. Personnel losses from last year have hurt, but Pace believes this year’s squad needs to play better fundamental baseball, “We need to pitch better, play better defense, and execute situational hitting. The fundamentals are essential to our team’s success.” Players who have impressed Pace so far have been junior Brandon Kline and freshmen Zach Jones and Giovanni Fricchione. In closing, Pace stated, “I’ve seen a lot of improvement from the fall. I see the potential in our young guys and I think the future is bright. Wins and losses will not ultimately determine the success of McDaniel Baseball in 2010.”
