Pasquine is tops for W&J

WASHINGTON, Pa. — Jim Pasquine is not an ordinary college athlete.

The junior outfielder-pitcher on the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team thinks and plays out of the box.

For example, he also has played three seasons of hockey for the W&J club team.

And this summer, to get ready for next baseball season, he is living in Pittsburgh and playing for two sandlot teams there while working at an internship with The Bank of New York Mellon in the asset management department.

Pasquine’s results also are uncommon. His 91 hits (in 189 at-bats) ranked No. 2 in the nation in NCAA Division III behind Wooster’s Sean Karpen (97).

Pasquine’s .481 batting average ranked No. 6. In addition, he ranked ninth nationally in total bases (138) and No. 11 in runs scored (66).

In the process, Pasquine set 10 single-season school records, and led W&J to a school-record 35 wins (35-14) and to PAC regular season (13-5) and postseason tournament championships and the school’s first berth in the NCAA tournament.

His school records were for hits, at-bats, batting average, total bases and runs scored, RBIs (58), doubles (15), stolen bases (21), games played (49) and games started (49),

He was named to the Division III American Baseball Coaches Association All-Mideast Region and Presidents’ Athletic Conference first teams, and was selected PAC player of the year.

“It is a pretty interesting combination. You don’t see that too often,” said Pasquine of his baseball-hockey background. “They are two totally diferent sports. You have to take two different attitudes. You can make up for your mistakes pretty quickly in hockey by taking out your frustrations on the next play, but in baseball you have to compose yourself.”

He said he has been playing hockey a long time, and is a forward.

“I played club hockey at Poland about three years until the team broke up, and then I played traveling league hockey in Pittsburgh,” he said.

Pasquine is playing for the Montour Minotaurs in the Pittsburgh version of the NABF, and Quinn Construction Mudcats in the Daily News League, because he said he needs the practice.

“I’m trying to get as much baseball in as I can to try to get better,” said Pasquine, who doesn’t see any problems playing for two teams.

“There are only two or three conflicts in the schedule. Whenever there is a conflict, I’ll just have to pick a team.”

The previous two seasons , he played for the Youngstown Metros of the Class AA League.

Pasquine, the son of Jim and Lauren Pasquine, believes he was able to improve from his sophomore to junior seasons at W&J because he and the team matured and helped each other.

“I think it was the team as a whole [that made me better]. It really helped me out,” said Pasquine, because, “We were a young team my sophomore year.”

Pasquine led the PAC in six major statistical categories: batting average .(91-for-189), hits (91), runs (66), RBIs (58), total bases (138) and at-bats (189). He also led W&J in triples (4) and slugging percentage (.730)

As a pitcher, he compiled a 5-3 record and 4.19 ERA in 12 apearances over 58 innings with 43 strikeouts and 22 walks.

Pasquine is majoring in accounting with about a 3.0 grade-point average, and is planning to graduate in May 2010.

XJohn Kovach covers college athletics for The Vindicator. E-mail him at kovach@vindy.com