Anteaters rely on senior citizen

From the OC Register:
Ronnie Shaeffer thought his UC Irvine baseball career would be long over by now. He expected to be playing professionally somewhere, working toward his goal of becoming a major league player. But three weeks into last season, the unexpected occurred. The senior catcher and first baseman dove back into the first base bag in an attempt to avoid a pickoff move against visiting Brigham Young. His right hand hit the bag forcefully and his pinky finger bent awkwardly. Shaeffer didn’t realize it at that moment, but his season was done. His college career, however, was far from over. Shaeffer received a medical redshirt that allowed him to return for another season. He readjusted his academic workload to take on a second major and then let the injury heal. Now he’s back with the Anteaters this spring and playing better than ever, hitting .311 through mid-April with three home runs and a team-leading 26 RBI. “It was tough sitting out,” he said. “The season obviously didn’t go how I wanted, but I’m taking this as another chance for my senior year, just coming out and having fun.”

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