(Photo Credit: Bill Ziskin)
By Justin Paura
Being asked to do everything is hard. There are very few people who you can count on to do backflips for you one day and run a mile for you the next. But for Albany junior Patrick Lagravinese, it has become second nature.
In his first two seasons with the Great Danes, Lagravinese saw himself playing all over the infield. It helped him get some burn as an underclassman, playing in a total of 80 games through his freshman and sophomore years.
“Getting experience early has really helped me develop as a player,” Lagravinese says. “Some kids don’t see time until their sophomore or junior year. I’ve been lucky.”
The only thing is, it hasn’t been a matter of luck. It’s been a matter of flexibility. His role in his junior year has completely changed. He now plays the outfield and pitches in relief. This isn’t anything that surprises Neal Heaton, Pat’s coach when he was with the South Shore Heat before college.
“Pat just has a really great attitude,” Heaton says. “He’ll do anything you ask of him. He can play infield, outfield, pitch, hit. He might not like it deep down but you’d never know by the way he handles himself.”
Lagravinese has always been a hard-worker, someone that coaches and teammates can rely upon. He was a dominant pitcher and hitter for both St. John the Baptist and Smithtown East in high school. This season for Albany, he has played in 28 of 29 games while hitting .283 with a .423 OBP and making six appearances on the hill.
“It is a lot more during practice, running from the bullpen to the outfield,” Lagravinese says. “I don’t have as much time to work on just one position. Outfield comes first, but I do my best to compete hard at each position.”
The statistics have been good for the junior from St. James, but the results for the team aren’t there yet. Albany is 14-15 on the year with a 5-7 record in America East Conference play. But with still 18 games to go before the conference tournament, Lagravinese is confident that his team can make a run.
“We should win the America East championship this year,” Lagravinese says.
That’s what you want to hear from the captain of your team. The junior earned that title prior to this season, looking to fill the shoes of his friend and former teammate Matt Hinchy, who graduated in 2017.
“I looked up to Matt as a role model,” Lagravinese says. “Following his footsteps means the world to me.”
Lagravinese is coming back to Long Island this summer to play for Heaton and the Long Island Warriors in the HCBL. Lagravinese says he is excited to come back home and keep playing after the school year because he did not have that opportunity last year. His former coach is equally excited that he gets to coach someone he knows can do anything you ask.
“It’s been a while since I have coached Pat, but I can’t wait to have him again,” Heaton says. “To have that diversity in a player is tremendous. It makes it much easier as a coach to have someone who can do so many things.
“He’s an unselfish player and he’ll do whatever it takes to win. His personality never changed, he’s always been a great kid who never has an attitude.”
