Citizen Staff Writer
UA BASEBALL
JOHN MOREDICH
jmoredich@tucsoncitizen.com
Steve Selsky is already an offensive sensation.
“He can flat out hit,” third baseman Brad Glenn said of his University of Arizona freshman baseball teammate.
“Just watch him hit, watch him run, watch him throw. Everything is so smooth,” catcher Dwight Childs said
Selsky has done almost everything well so far in five games.
Just how much more he can do remains to be seen with the Wildcats (4-1) stepping up in competition with a three-game series against No. 12 Georgia starting at 7 p.m. Friday at Sancet Stadium.
The opposing pitching will be a lot better this weekend, but Selsky, who is hitting .368, doesn’t seem to mind.
“I have to keep doing what I am doing,” he said. “It seems to be working. I know it is a different level, but I have always been able to hit. I just have to do what I can do.”
Selsky, from Loyola High School in Manhattan Beach, Calif., made it look easy against Sacramento State in the season-opening series.
The right fielder went 4 for 10, including a solo blast to left-center field for the first homer of his collegiate career. He had three hits against UNLV on Tuesday in a 14-7 win to raise his average to .467.
Selsky went 0 for 4 Wednesday, but the Wildcats beat UNLV 16-12.
“He is one of the best hitters I have ever seen, especially for a freshman,” Glenn said. “He is better than a lot of my classmates were. He is better than I was. He is going to contribute a lot.
“He is not overwhelmed by anything. He knows what is coming at him and he is very professional.”
Selsky batted .432 with 14 doubles and six homers as a junior in high school. He upped those numbers to .437 with 19 doubles and eight homers a year ago.
Selsky was invited to the International High School Power Showcase in the summer, reaching the finals with eight homers in the preliminary rounds before falling one homer short of the title.
Selsky has been hitting since his father put a bat in his hands.
Steve Selsky Sr. played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox.
His mother, Lou Ann, has a great deal of athleticism as well. She played Olympic volleyball and earned all-American honors at Long Beach State.
“I’ve always grown up hitting with my dad. He really knew what he was doing and helped out,” the Wildcat outfielder said.
“It’s turned out pretty well. You see the ball, hit the ball. It is the same no matter where you are doing it.”
UA softball
The Wildcats (13-2) open a three-game series at Texas A&M at 5 p.m. Friday. UA has won 12 in a row since a 1-2 start.
UA BASEBALL
No. 12 Georgia at Arizona, 7 p.m. Friday, Sancet Stadium