SalemNews.com, Salem, MA
Sports
Oxford still a hitting machine as a Holy Cross freshman
Published: April 29, 2008
Eric Oxford may be surprised that he's the leading hitter among the starters for the Holy Cross baseball team. He's a 19-year-old freshman, after all.
Yet the first baseman from Danvers and reigning Salem News Player of the Year admits that he headed to college wondering how much playing time he'd actually get. There was a senior first baseman for the Crusaders with a ton of experience in front of him, so Oxford spent a summer full of apprehension.
He was almost resigned to being a spare part; a game here and there in doubleheaders, a pinch hit role on occasion, a chance to play in a blowout. In Oxford's eyes, his playing time outlook was not very promising.
But when the opportunity for him to play materialized, Oxford took full advantage.
Now he's batting .326 for a Division 1 college baseball program as Holy Cross (20-25) plays its regular season finale today before beginning the Patriot League playoffs later this week.
At this stage, he's at least a candidate for Rookie of the Year in the Patriot League.
"I guess it's taking advantage of an opportunity," the sociology major said in response to a simple question: How did this all evolve?
"I feel I have to give the older guys on the team a lot of credit. I talked to many of them about the different approaches to hitting," Oxford continued. "College pitchers throw the offspeed pitch for a strike consistently. You have to make adjustments, pitch by pitch and every at bat, based on different counts."
The Crusaders certainly thought highly of his potential and ability to hit the long ball. His high school grades were pretty good, too. That combination earned him an 80 percent academic-athletic scholarship to Mount St. James in Worcester, where Holy Cross sits atop a hilly cluster.
The Cross must feel it hit the jackpot with this particular recruit.
Oxford told a story about fall ball that will shock his friends who knows how passionate he is about baseball. He said he took a couple of weeks off when the Crusaders' fall program got going, saying he had to re-evaluate his situation. Oxford even wondered if he might give up baseball.
"I had to find out where I was at," he admitted. "I did consider not playing, but knew I'd definitely miss it.
"I guess I was overwhelmed. The transition was tough: studies, Division 1 baseball, the mandatory weight room. I went to see Coach (Greg) DiCenzo and told him I needed some time off. He understood and said he had seen my issues with other kids."
Basically, DiCenzo told the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder to take the time off and see where he was at after the break.
"I knew after four or five days that I'd return, but took a week-and-a-half off. Then I was rarin' to go again," said Oxford.
"The whole adjustment to college was my problem. Holy Cross is known for its academics. I figured that out right away, there was so much work to do right from the start."
He said the remedy was learning to balance everything on his table.
"You're living on your own and inherit a lot of responsibility. There's no relying on parents and your family," he said. "It's an individual challenge. What you've got to establish is your time management. I guess everyone goes through that process."
Oxford has played in all 45 games for Holy Cross, starting 34. His .326 average is topped only by Steve Soldi's .360 mark, but the latter is a part-time player with only 25 at bats.
The smooth slugging lefty is second on the team in hits (45) and tied for second on the club in doubles (12) with one triple, 24 RBIs and 59 total bases. Oxford is slugging .428, has stolen 4 bases in 5 attempts, and even has a cool .988 fielding percentage.
Oxford had a pinch-hit single in his first at-bat against Stetson when Holy Cross opened the year in Florida. After nine games in the Sunshine State, Holy Cross returned home before heading back out, this time to the West Coast for a pair of weekend doubleheaders against the University of Washington.
"I had no idea what the plan was for me," Oxford said. "I don't know how many hits I had (5 in 13 at bats in Washington, all HC losses), but I was pretty satisfied and gained a lot of confidence. I said to myself, 'If I can do it against a Pac-10 team, well, why not against anyone we play?'"
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Peabody's Fernando Braz had more than a passing interest in David Vassallo, 23, of Wilmington, who was the 24th overall finisher in last week's Boston Marathon. Vassallo was the ninth American overall (2:24.58).
A Colby College graduate who formerly worked at Grabock Associates in Peabody, Vassallo ranks among the country's top marathoners despite running only two. He won the Maine Marathon last Oct. 8, in a course record time of 2:26.54. He's also Braz's prize protege with the Merrimack Valley Striders.
"David has incredible potential," Braz said. "He's hard on himself and works hard at it. But he ran the last four miles in Boston with glycogen (issues). He was on a pace for 2:23 when this muscle condition hit him, but was smart enough to slow down. He may not have finished if he hadn't."
Vassallo is currently an intern with the Portland Sea Dogs minor league baseball team.
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Steve Libby of Beverly won a $20 bet from his youngest granddaughter, Hamilton-Wenham freshman Christine Knowles, recently. She didn't think her grampy could finish the Boston Marathon. Thus, the wager.
"My oldest granddaughter, Margaret (an H-W senior) may never get to see me do something crazy again like the marathon," said Libby. "I started back in the pack and by some miracle managed to finish around 5:15 by my watch ... or 6:45 BAA time.".
His goal was to finish before dark and the Boston DPW started "rolling up the streets" behind him.
Libby's ambition was to raise funds for Tory Cortese, a student in Mrs. Costello's fourth grade class at the Centerville Elementary School in Beverly. Mr. Libby's grandson, Mark Knowles, is one of Tory's classmates. She has leukemia, and his race was a fundraiser in her name.
"I doubt I'll be running in 2009 at my age (55) and present weight (215 lbs.). It's about 20 miles too long for me," he said.
Bill Kipouras is a staff writer at The Salem News. He can be reached at 978-338-2615 or by email: bkipouras@salemnews.com.
