Josh Lesniewski, a junior on the Hamilton Southeastern baseball team used to only be a kid with a dream of playing high school ball. Lesniewski has turned this dream into reality and he’s nowhere near done yet. When asked about why Lesniewski started playing baseball and who inspired him he said, “My dad and his brothers loved playing baseball growing up and it inspired me to play.” Lesniewski has played baseball for years and being on the HSE baseball team is an honor for him. “As a kid I looked up to the HSE baseball players I saw, so getting this opportunity to play as one of them means a lot” Lesniewski said. 

 Through Lesniewski’s first 2 years of high school baseball and being currently midway through his junior season, he has a lot to reflect on. There was a ton of key moments and memory’s for Lesniewski, but there was one major one. When asked about his favorite memory, Lesniewski said, “Winning sectionals and going with the team to semi-state last year” has easily been his favorite. A big thing in baseball is also superstitions or pre-game rituals and for Lesniewski, his ritual is very different. When asked about a ritual he performs before a game he explained, “Before every start I eat a bag of nerds gummy clusters.” Although this is an interesting ritual it gets the job done. 

 There is a huge mental aspect of baseball as so many games are played in just a few days. For Lesniewski, his teammates play a major role in him staying mentally and physically ready for back-to-back games or even just tough stretches on the schedule. When asked about this Lesniewski said, “My teammates having confidence in my ability to play and having the confidence in myself to get right back up from a bad inning” helps him stay ready. This season, Lesniewski believes the team is doing a full job. “Our team is doing a great job of bouncing back from game to game and not carrying the weight of a loss onto the next game.” said Lesniewski. This shows how Lesniewski has a move on mentality and no matter the result of one game, he always finds a way to move to the next.  

 For Improvement Lesniewski believes that the team needs to focus on “being able to bounce back during the game and in between innings and be able to counter the other team.” For the remainder of the season Lesniewski hopes to get the squad back into the winning column. He hopes to, “be a leader in the dugout and pick up my teammates when they’re down and give all of my effort while I’m pitching.” Lesniewski aspires to play college baseball and he wants to see where it takes him. As Lesniewski helps lead his team to win he is swinging for greatness and swinging for a chance to play at an elite college baseball level with elite college baseball players.