The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/125393
r several leaders on our team. Grant Clyde, Grant Sasser, Chris Overman — they're all good leaders. They all set a good example with the way they approach and play the game. That's what I try to do. "I'm not a big rah-rah guy, and I'm not the kind of guy to get in someone's face. I try to set a good example, work hard, respect the game and play it the right way." If selflessness is part of leadership, then Senay showed that trait in the offseason when he agreed to switch positions, from left field to first base, which he had never played previously. The move was not easy. Gone are the days when teams try to hide a bad glove at first base. Between scooping throws from infielders, coordinating plays at the bag with the pitchers, and playing a pivotal role in cutoffs and relays from right field, good-fielding first basemen are essential for a championship-caliber team. Most of the best players at the college level were shortstops or center fielders in high school, and Senay was a shortstop, albeit an outsized one, at South Park (Pa.) High School. Upon his arrival in Raleigh in the fall of 2009, the coaches gave him an outfielder's glove and pointed him to left and right field. Three years later, he was a pretty accomplished college outfielder, which did not necessarily qualify him to play first base. "After three years in the outfield, first base felt completely different," Senay said. "It's closer to home plate and it keeps me in the game more. I like that. But I had never played there before this year, and it was a lot of work to learn the position. "I came out here every day last summer with Coach [Chris] Hart and Coach [Brian] Ward and took ground ball after ground ball. We worked for hours on cutoffs and relays. It was a lot of work, but it paid off. I feel like the move went really smoothly." The best of times are always the quickMay 2013 ■ 57 56-58.Baseball.indd 57 4/30/13 2:34 PM