Outfielders provide punch in baseball lineup
5/29/2008 1:00:00 AM | Baseball
From The Huntsville Item
By Tom Waddill, Sports Editor
One of them is a born leader, another is Captain Clutch.
They call one of their friends the mayor of Huntsville, another is Mr. Smooth and the final guy is tougher than spiral-shank nails.
Together, Sam Houston State seniors Todd Sebek, Bobby Verbick, Tyson Mire, Keith Stein and Ryan Trevino make up one of the country's most potent outfields.
Combined, the Bearkats' five amigos have hit .355 this season. They have scored 242 of their team's league-leading 492 runs, they hit 31 homers, drove in 197 runs and stole 36 bases. Defensively, they recorded as many outfield assists (12) as they made errors.
And they did all of that playing baseball the right way ? all-out and with a little boy's joy in their hearts.
That may be the biggest reason the Bearkats are going back to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
On their journey to Rice's Recking Park, where they meet the fifth-ranked Owls on Friday at 6 p.m., Sebek, Verbick, Mire, Stein and Trevino provided the examples their teammates point to on good days and bad. They lead other players on and off the field and show them the proper way to handle sticky situations.
Five guys who came to Huntsville from different parts of the state have become like brothers. They are the best of friends, three of them even room together.
They may have taken a different path to get here, but all are thrilled to be part of the growing Bearkat baseball family.
“We kind of got forced out of A&M. It was not our choice,” Stein said of himself and Sebek, former Aggies who left Texas A&M after the 2006 season. “I had taken the summer off and was out in Weatherford when I heard Coach (Mark) Johnson was interested in the job at Sam Houston. ... The day I heard Coach Johnson got the job I got a call from him. Once I found out he was coming here, I decided to come to Sam Houston, too.
“Coach Johnson makes it fun to play baseball,” Stein added. “It's hard, but you never want to jump off a bridge or run your head into a wall after one of his practices.”
Like Stein, Sebek jumped at the opportunity to play for Johnson again.
“That was the best thing that could have happened,” Sebek said of his departure from Aggieland and his arrival at Sam Houston, a school he admits knowing nothing about when he agreed to come to Huntsville. “It was a whirlwind of confusion at the time, but I wouldn't trade my (Bearkat) uniform for the number one team in the country. I wouldn't trade it for playing at Oregon State, the two-time defending College World Series champs.
“As far as the A&M thing goes, it's over and you have to forgive people and move on. I've just got to remember, it was for the best. Two rings and two regionals in two years, that's pretty good. I never thought when I came over here that this could happen. ... It's been absolutely amazing.”
It has been amazing.
The Bearkats began this wild ride with a trip to the Oxford (Miss.) Regional last spring. Trevino wasn't part of that bunch. He sat out last season because he was academically ineligible to play.
Following his old teammates from afar was tough, Trevino says today, but it was exactly what he needed to encourage him to take care of business away from baseball.
“I took everything for granted and it showed,” Trevino admits. “When I became ineligible it hurt me a lot, but that was the button that needed to be pushed. It made me a better person, student and athlete.”
Trevino spent this spring working overtime in the batting cage, and in the Bearkats' Learning Enhancement Center at Bowers Stadium. He pushed hard because he wanted to experience the thrill of a championship and earn the prize that comes with it.
“Ryan told me, ?I'm so jealous of y'all. I really want that ring, I really want that ring,'” Mire said.
After finishing fourth in the conference for the second consecutive season, Trevino needed some convincing that he still had a shot at the prize he so coveted.
“I told him, ?You still have the tournament,'” Mire said.
Until Nick Zaleski stepped on first base for the final out last Saturday, Trevino said he was a basket case in left field. The Bearkats had a big lead on Lamar, yes, but in baseball anything can happen.
“I was on edge the whole game. Even when we were up 15-7, I was going crazy out there,” Trevino said. “I wanted that ring.”
When the final out was recorded and the Kats clinched their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, Trevino said he was dumbfounded.
“I didn't know what to think,” he said. “I was about to cry. I came back after being ineligible last year, and I'm glad I did. This is a fun group of guys. At the beginning of the year, they probably didn't believe in me.”
Mire said he believed in Trevino and knew he could help the team. The other three were not so sure.
After a spring in which Trevino hit .359 with 41 RBIs and made A's and B's in school, Sebek was sold on his teammate's commitment and dedication.
“Vino's contributed so much to our outfield,” Sebek explained. “He made good grades this semester and surprised himself a little bit, I think. He was chosen as one of our leaders in our offseason thing, and at first I'm not sure he liked that, but he became a huge contributor for us.”
Mire's been a contributor, too. Once a starter in left field who has become the Bearkats' top pinch-runner, the fifth-year senior is also the team's biggest rah-rah guy. He keeps the spirits up in the dugout and knows what to do or say to young players who need a pick-me-up.
“It's not exactly how I pictured it to turn out, but there's not a lot I can complain about when the guys in front of me are hitting .360 to .370 with 40 to 50 RBIs. I understand it,” Mire said.
“It's not easy all of the time. As a sophomore I started a lot, but as a junior I didn't start as much. The younger guys need to see that everybody is important. That's why I'm the first guy off the bench to give high fives. ... This has been a lot of fun. It's been a roller coaster getting here, from Holleman Field to Sanders Stadium, and now to get two rings in two years is pretty special.”
Mire said he was asked last summer about his plans for his senior year. Friends and coaches were shocked when he told them he was returning to Sam Houston.
“I wouldn't trade this experience for anything,” Mire said. “The friends I've found, the moments we've been through, the things I've learned, it's been really awesome.”
