(Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) is helping his team make a statement. It鈥檚 over. The rebuilding period for the 草莓社区 (EMU) Royals baseball team has been completed. Now in his junior year, Stanley believes it is time to take care of business, but he is not the only one.
鈥淢y first three years were about changing the culture and getting the team to believe that we could win,鈥� said Coach . 鈥淭his is no longer a rebuilding year. Now that our guys know that we can get to the tournament, it鈥檚 time to take that next step and compete in the tournament.鈥�
The Royals have had a hot start to their season going 5-1 and Griffin has been a huge contributor. In the men鈥檚 doubleheader against Juniata, Stanley did his job by triggering EMU鈥檚 21-3 blowout by batting 3-5 with three runs and two stolen bases. For the week, Stanley hit .368 with four walks.
Last season, the outfielder had a total of six stolen bases; early this year, Stanley is second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) with four stolen bases and fourth with nine runs.
Being a part of Spotts鈥� first recruiting class, the 5-10 junior has some experience under his belt. For the first at-bat of every home game, 鈥淜ashmir鈥� by Led Zeppelin plays through the speakers, which is not a typical song at a baseball game.
鈥淚鈥檓 a 70’s and 80鈥檚 rock music kind of guy,鈥� Stanley admits. 鈥淪ophomore year I used to get a little nervous to bat, but after the first game this year, it was smooth sailing and this song calms me down.鈥�
So as the Led Zeppelin fan walks up to home plate, his veteran experience keeps him cool, calm and collected.聽 His only focus?聽 Get on a base.
鈥淗e runs so well,鈥� Spotts explains as to why he chose Stanley to be his lead batter for the past two years. 聽鈥淗e鈥檚 the fastest guy on our team.聽 He puts the ball into play, doesn鈥檛 strike out often, can bunt and steals bases well.聽 He proved himself sophomore year.鈥�
Stanley brings a consistency to his team not only by his continuous high level of effort day in and day out, or his coachable nature, but also with his easy going personality.聽 His coach even referred to him as 鈥渜uiet鈥� at times.聽 But just for the record, the major says differently.
鈥淚n the classroom I am kind of quiet, but outside of class I come out a little bit.聽 I have a wild side,鈥� joked Stanley.
When it comes to Stanley鈥檚 personality, the two may not always be on the same page, but one thing that Stanley and Coach Spotts can surely agree upon is that the expectations this year have increased.
鈥淭his season my job is to build off last season,鈥� Stanley said. 鈥淭here is a bunch of stuff I can improve on, which I need to do to help the team in any way possible. As a team, I want us to win some games, make the tournament and compete for an ODAC championship.鈥�
Although the season is still young, the mindset of this growing team is maturing.聽 For a team to succeed it takes every single player on the team to buy into that idea. With Stanley鈥檚 hard work and consistency on and off the field the Royals have a great chance of making back-to-back trips to the ODAC Tournament.
鈥淕riffin is very focused when it comes time to practice and play games.聽 He consistently works hard and is always trying to get better,鈥� said Spotts. 鈥淚 have never felt like he didn鈥檛 bring his all to a game or practice.聽 This year his role is the same as last year, just this year we expect more from him.鈥�
Maybe it鈥檚 time to turn the volume up a notch on that Led Zeppelin.