I interviewed Seneca Valley second baseman, Dom Pasquale, about his career, his inspirations, routines, among many other things.

Firstly, I asked Dom about his emotions during tryouts. Obviously, trying out for a team is a very stressful time and you have so much pressure on you, because you feel like you cannot mess up. I wanted to get his thoughts and he said “The first day I was feeling nervous, as anybody would, but then as the day went on I started to feel better. Especially, after one of my coaches told me ‘relax, just relax’. I felt nervous on day two as well, but then on day number three, which was the last day of tryouts, I was a nervous wreck. Right up until we found out who made the team, I was so down on myself saying ‘I’m not making it, I know I am not’ but then it happened.

I followed up and asked him “What did it feel like after you made the team, especially after you weren’t confident you would” and he said “It was a major sigh of relief, and sense of accomplishment. After spending the last two years on JV, it felt so good. The first year I made JV was the first year I attended Seneca Valley and to make my team the first year there was obviously a great feeling for me. Obviously, playing JV as a junior is not somewhere you want to be, but I made the most of my opportunity. Coach Semega came up to me last season ‘We didn’t forget about you, you are one of the best defensive second baseman we have next year’ and that gave me confidence heading in to the offseason.”

Next, I asked Dom about who his biggest role model is in baseball and who he looks up to and he said Dustin Pedroia is his biggest role model. Pedroia, the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, is the reason he has worn #15 for the past five years. He started liking Pedroia when the Red Sox were managed by his cousin, Terry Francona. Ever since then, he has looked up to him because he is a smaller player, people never believed in him and he is known as a great defender, which is what Dom thinks of himself as.

I also asked Dom what his biggest accomplishment in his career is thus far and he said making varsity and “starting two of the first four games” has been his biggest accomplishment. I then asked about his plans for the future and if he is going to play in college and he said he does not plan on playing in college, unless he attends Butler Community College and he said “if given the opportunity, I would definitely play for them.”

I also asked Dom if he has and routines before each game and he said “Before each game I will take batting practice, field ground balls during pregame and this year I have added one more thing, which I have not done before. I take out my Uncle Tito’s funeral prayer card, who recently just passed, and read it quick before we get started with everything. He played in the MLB for 15 years and I know he would have loved to see me play this year.”

Lastly, I asked what his goals are for the season and he said “My goal for this year as a team is winning a WPIAL championship and if very possible, win a state title. But individually I want to become a better player both mechanically and mentally.”