March 27, 2008

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The idea of being a building block doesn't appeal to everyone, but it's just fine with Alex Hassan.

The sophomore center fielder and relief pitcher is part of a core of young players recruited by coach Sean McNally to help turn around the Duke baseball program. The Blue Devils, 21-5 overall and 4-5 in ACC games, have a golden opportunity to show how much progress they've made when they host a three-game series starting Friday against powerful Miami (7-1 ACC, 17-2 overall, ranked third, fourth and sixth in the three major baseball polls).

"Every game we go into we expect to win, no matter who we play," Hassan said. "That's the mentality we expect to embody in our program. If we didn't have that attitude, there would be no point in showing up."

A good example was last weekend's series against Georgia Tech. Duke lost the first two games, but won the third 10-3. Hassan said the players didn't let the results of games one and two affect their outlook for the third one.

"We've worked hard and we're going in with the attitude of why not beat these teams," Hassan said. "We're extremely prepared and the attitude has definitely changed."

Hassan is doing his part. He's hitting .400 and you can find his name among the ACC leaders in batting average, hits, runs scored, doubles, stolen bases and one unexpected category - saves.

As a freshman, Hassan was an outfielder and starting pitcher. He did both in high school and said more colleges showed interest in him as a pitcher. But McNally wanted him as an everyday player who could also pitch. Although McNally liked what he saw of Hassan on the mound last year, the team defense was weakened when he wasn't in center field.

Because of off-season wrist surgery, Hassan was limited to one or two innings at a time when spring practice began. So when McNally approached him about being a relief pitcher, Hassan was willing. It has paid off with a 1-0 record, four saves and a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings spread over nine games.

"It was something I never really thought about doing," Hassan said. "The coaches asked me if I thought I could close and I was open to it if it was going to help the team. They showed confidence in me and it has worked out pretty well."

McNally said Hassan uses a fastball, breaking ball and changeup, keeps all three pitches low and throws them for strikes.

"We wanted to see how he would adapt to (closing) and makeup-wise he has really embraced it," McNally said. "He loves being out there with the game on the line. He has taken to it, it has been great for his arm and I think he enjoys it probably more than starting."

It's not an easy transition to be a position player for seven or eight innings and then switch to the mound, often with the game in the balance.

"I feel like my mental approach is a little different on the mound than it is when I'm hitting," Hassan said. "There are a lot of ups and downs with hitting. I'm not going to get a hit every time, so there's a lot more failure. Once I get the ball, I forget about how I've played that day and just get a little more aggressive on the mound. I try to come in with the best that I have that day."

McNally likes that competitive desire and the way Hassan is willing to take on a role that's not natural but is working out well for the team. Hassan admits he'd rather hit than pitch, but he finds ways to enjoy both.

"I love hitting and it has definitely been my passion," he said. "It's something that I do with my free time. This past summer (in the New England Collegiate Baseball League), I pretty much just hit and I enjoyed that. But I love pitching for Duke because I love competing for Duke. There's no team I'd rather compete with than the team I'm playing on."

McNally said Hassan is a line-drive hitter who uses the whole field with power to the gaps. He hits third or in the leadoff spot. Hassan runs well and gets good jumps on pitchers (nine stolen bases in 13 attempts this year). Defensively, he positions himself well in center field and has made no errors this season.

"Of all the different things that he's asked to do, I know he loves to hit," McNally said. "He works on it tirelessly and has got a great mentality to hit. We count on him to get on base, to get extra-base hits and drive guys in and steal bases. There are a lot of different ways that he helps us offensively."

A native of Quincy, Mass., Hassan is a life-long Boston Red Sox fan. He attended Boston College High School and, of course, the ACC's Boston College recruited him. But McNally, who recruits a lot in the Northeast, thought Duke would be a good fit academically and socially.

And the warm weather helped, too. Hassan was sold after taking an official visit to the Durham campus.

"I knew I would enjoy my time there and they would have all the resources I would need to become a better baseball player," said Hassan, a psychology major. "I wanted a place where I could develop to my fullest potential.

"I talk to my dad all the time about how much of a difference it has been to be able to be outside and play every day. Back home, there's always snow in the yard. I'm extremely blessed to be able to play outside and I don't take it for granted."

Other sophomores who are playing key roles in Duke's season are outfielder Jeremy Gould, second baseman Gabriel Saade, third baseman Ryan McCurdy, starting pitcher Will Currier and reliever Michael Ness. Two freshmen who are contributing immediately are starting pitcher Grant Monroe and shortstop Jake Lemmerman.

Those classes are the cornerstones of what McNally hopes to build, a program that will lift Duke into contending status in the ACC, one of the toughest baseball conferences in the country. There's not much precedent - the Blue Devils have won just 31.7 percent of their ACC games since 1954, and just 23 percent in the league since 2000.

But McNally understands what it's going to take. He was a member of Duke's 1994 team that finished second in the league with a 16-8 record and was, at times, nationally ranked. He guided the Blue Devils to a 29-25 mark last year, their first overall winning record since 1998.

"Having played here during a successful era, I know the potential we have in our program," McNally said. "I'm dedicated to restoring that and also expanding on it, taking our program beyond where it has been before. That's a process; it doesn't happen overnight.

"But I feel really good about the strides we've made in two-plus years and am excited about how our third year here is going. We're changing our culture in terms of how prepared, how dedicated and how committed our players are day in and day out."

McNally sees particular improvement in the way the team practices, how it plays defense and the way the pitchers pound the strike zone and keep games close. That's why there's optimism against an opponent as talented as Miami.

The season is a grind and there are 21 ACC games left, including the three this weekend. In addition to the seven three-game series remaining, the Blue Devils have their eyes on making the ACC Tournament. Only eight of the 12 teams will qualify.

"We want to get to the ACC Tournament this year and the way to do that is to be competitive in our conference," McNally said. "There are no days off, no easy games, no games you can really count on. We have to focus on the small steps, which are to play well in our non-conference schedule, which we've done well to this point, and really battle on the weekends."

There's no magic formula for figuring what it will take to make the tournament. Right now there are three clear-cut teams (Florida State, Miami and Georgia Tech) and then six more, including Duke, bunched with records from 5-4 to 4-5.

"One of our team goals is to play at least .500 in the conference and I think if we do that we'll be able to qualify," Hassan said. "We want to compete every game for 27 outs and as long as we do that I think we should be OK.

"The class I'm in, the sophomores, has set a certain precedent to play as hard as we possibly can so everyone will know that's what Duke baseball is."

And that's the way to change a baseball culture.

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Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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