In baseball the magic number for a hitter is .300. Hit .300 and you're one of the top players. Hit .400? Well, that doesn't happen very often, unless you're Alex Pezzuto.
The Johnson and Wales senior hit .411 a season ago and is besting that number this year with a .424 average through his first 18 games. He is one of only five GNAC hitters above .400, and the only one with more than 60 at bats in 2014.
After hitting .444 over the course of a week in March, the Wildcats shortstop was honored by being named the GNAC Player of the Week.
"I was seeing pitches well," Pezzuto said. "I think I did a pretty good job of just making contact and putting the ball where the fielders aren't. Everything was sort of going our way. The wind was blowing out. I was just hitting the ball and seeing what happens."
This was not the first time Pezzuto has received honors from his conference. He was named First-Team All-GNAC his sophomore and junior years.
"That kind of ranks me as one of the top players in the conference," Pezzuto said. "I hope I get respect from some of the other teams. The coaches voted me up there so it's a great honor."
As terrific as the honor was for Pezzuto, it only made things tougher for him at the plate.
"Sophomore year they would just kind of pitch to me," Pezzuto said. "I don't know if people are afraid to pitch to me. But if I get up in a key situation they might be a little more cautious."
Although teams were planning for Pezzuto more and more, it didn't impact his play as he raised his batting average from .366 to .411 with the added attention.
He imagines he will face similar focus this year as his team heads into conference play after a strong out-of-conference start to the season, posting a 14-4 record so far.
"This year the mentality of the team has been to win every ballgame," Pezzuto said. "All we wanna do is win and it prepares us for the conference and the tournament and hopefully beyond."
The conference tournament has left scars on the Wildcats the last two years as the team lost in the final four in both seasons. Pezzuto thinks he has the answers to change that this year.
"We've gotta be really sharp offensively which has been our struggle in the tournament," Pezzuto said "We've got great pitching this year. We've got six guys who can throw it. Relax a little bit and score."
So far that pitching and defense has been stellar for Johnson and Wales, limiting their opponents to three or fewer runs in 13 games.
"We know we don't have to score as many runs," Pezzuto said "The whole baseball team, we know who we are and we try to play the best defense and pitch well so if we score more runs all the better."
Despite the emphasis on defense, Pezzuto is a hitter through and through.
"There's nothing better than getting that hit and getting on base," Pezzuto said. "That exhilarating feeling of getting on base and hitting the ball hard. Sometimes I can't explain it."
Besides hitting, it's the little things that attract Pezzuto to the game and keep him coming back every spring.
"Travelling, showing up to practice, running out onto the field. Just being out on the field," Pezzuto said. "I am gonna miss it once it's over."
With time running out on his career Pezzuto is hoping to reach the 200 hit plateau. But, what he really wants is a GNAC title.
"To be a part of the team that got over that hump and won the conference tournament, as a leader on the team it would mean everything to me," Pezzuto said. "I want to see how far as we possibly can go and see how good we are and how far it can take us."
*Written by GNAC Communications Specialist, Eddie Lockhart