April 18, 2005 - MANTECA BULLETIN

By IKE DODSON

Matt Berezay seems to size up his bat before every pitch, staring intently at the aluminum before pulling off the donut and pacing into the batters box with bull-like foot stamps.

Then he sizes up the pitcher, an object of the game a little less cooperative.

It's his regular routine -- and it hasn't changed at all.

Not much has.

Berezay, a standout baseball player for Sierra high has never been anything less.

After high school he spent time at Modesto Junior College, gaining recognition as one of the best out-fielders in the state.

His current state of affairs reside within the University of the Pacific -- once again a standout.

"Matt is a tremendous hitter," UOP coach Ed Sprague said. "He is always dangerous."

Berezay is in the top three for UOP's runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBIs. He bats No. 3 or No. 4 in the order in every game.

He snared a hit in each of the three games against Cal Poly on Saturday and Sunday. UOP (16-18) ultimately went 1-2 against the Mustangs (22-13), dropping Sunday's contest in extra innings. Berezay scored UOP's opening run in a three-score seventh inning to extend play with a deadlock.

In the tenth, Berezay tried to keep a two-out rally on fire with a big base hit, advancing a runner to third. It ended on the next at bat, a ground out.

"I just try to hit the ball hard," Berezay said Sunday. "I do that and play my position, the only thing you can do."

The junior leads the team in triples and is second in home runs, but according to Sprague, its the timeliness of these hits that are most important.

"He doesn't have a whole lot of home runs, but they have all been very big ones," Sprague said. "It seems like they all have came with the game on the line or in jeopardy."

Berezay doesn't attribute his success to a boatload of talent delivered upon birth. Hard work --invested since he was child -- has been his road to accomplishments.

"You have got to put in a lot of hard work, and not just going to regular practices," Berezay said. "I busted my butt, going out on weekends and my days off with my dad, hitting.

"If I ever had a game where I went 0-for-4, I would come home and hit balls in the back yard. I did that in Babe Ruth and through high school."

The decline of the that routine probably came from the lack of 0-for-4 games.

It's only happened three times this year, and it's not like he hasn't had opportunities.

Berezay has played in more games than any other UOP batter, and has an eight-appearance lead for the most at bats.

"I just put in the work," Berezay said. "No one else is going to make you better but yourself."

Berezay and the Tigers will play at Nevada on Tuesday, before hosting St. Mary's on Tuesday, April 19 at Billy Herbert Field.