In his freshman campaign, Ohio's Anthony Gressick proved himself to be a staple in not only the lineup, but also the pitching rotation. He hit .500 in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Gressick led the Bobcats with four saves. Off-season Tommy John surgery has kept Gressick off the mound this season, but it has not stopped him from leading Ohio with seven home runs as designated hitter. Gressick sat down with The Post's T.J. Lasita to discuss dealing with injuries and fits of bad luck.
The Post: You established yourself as a quality pitcher and hitter in your freshman season. How frustrating has it been this season only being able to hit?
Gressick: As a competitor - and everyone out here is a competitor -you never want to be limited, but I had to get it fixed. If I never got it fixed, I'd never be able to do those things ever again. So I'm just trying to make it through this year, going into next year.
The Post: While your team is playing defense and you're stuck in the dugout as the DH, describe your mentality. Do you get antsy on the bench?
Gressick: We have good guys out there. It's fun to watch us play sometimes, and sometimes it's not fun to watch us play. You have a couple innings in between every at-bat, and that kind of gets frustrating. Sometimes when you're not swinging well, you just want to get up there right away. That's just part of baseball, I guess.
The Post: Has your swing benefited at all this season from not having to concentrate on pitching or playing defense?
Gressick: Definitely. Sometimes in practice when we're working on ground balls or something, I'll just head off to the cages and work on my swing.
The Post: You undergo Tommy John surgery and can't pitch this season. Then, early in the conference season, you lose 11 pounds while suffering from mononucleosis. Set the record straight, just how bad is your luck?
Gressick: Well, this year I guess it's pretty bad. Hopefully it'll even out for me.
The Post: You've been put in a situation that has limited you to just hitting. If you had to choose one, to be a hitter or a pitcher, which would you choose?
Gressick: No comment, I have no idea. Hopefully I'll never have to make that decision. I'll just leave that one up to Coach (Carbone). I love to play everyday, but I love pitching too; that's always been my first love. Anywhere I can help the team.
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T.J. Lasita
