City College baseball player Shane Hersh (No.8) was having an exceptional sophomore season until it was ended by injury. Now, he is optimistic for a full recovery on his mission towards playing for a division one school.
The sophomore from Ojai had been one of the best hitters on the team this season in a breakout year. He started all 21 games before an unfortunate on-field incident ended his season with a torn medial collateral ligament on March 15.
“I tore it when I was turning a double play. A guy slid into me and took out my knee,” Hersh said. “ I got surgery over spring break and it’s a four month recovery time so I will be back around July.”
After not having the season he wanted to have last year, Hersh was determined to exploit his challenges and learn from his mistakes from a season ago. He wanted to stay positive and become less frustrated when he didn’t do well, and was told to become more consistent by his coach.
Hersh responded by increasing his batting average by 15 percent, .390 after hitting .239 last season, while additionally increasing his on-base percentage by 13 percent from .321 to .457.
“Last year he was hitting at the bottom of the lineup,” said sophomore pitcher Ryan Ward (No.15). “This year he really improved with power and hitting the ball into the gaps. He came up big in situations where we really needed him.”
Hersh’s athleticism has been driven by his family, but he says that he motivates himself and does things because he likes them, not because he is forced into it. Regardless, his family has been important to his success in baseball.
“I kept playing baseball after high school because it’s my dream,” he said. “ It’s my goal. It’s my passion. My family has definitely helped with the building stage of that.”
After Hersh went down, the Vaqueros won the next game by a run, and then lost six in a row in what was the team’s worst stretch of the season.
“It was very tough to lose him,” said sophomore catcher Zach Stockton (No.12). “He’s pretty consistent with his glove. He’s a very vocal leader. Some guys have had to step up and fill his shoes.”
With the semester coming to an end, Hersh is still unsure of his future, but will continue playing baseball wherever he ends up. He has an offer from Concordia University Irvine but will keep division one in mind, and stay open to whatever opportunity he can get.
“He’s one of the toughest, scrappiest, hard-nosed guys,” said Ward. “I’ll miss his presence, his gamer mentality. He always wants to be on the field.”
Hersh will miss his team too, as well as his view that looks over the ocean on Cliff Drive.
“I will definitely miss the beach,” he said. “ But also just being with the guys. I like the competition that City College brings. The next guy pushes you to be a better person and a better player.”
After recovering from injury, Hersh is ready to move on from City College with what he has learned in his time as a Vaquero.
“You’re going to fail and that’s okay because you learn from your failures. You really gotta trust yourself and trust the people around you. Now I have the confidence to move on to the next level and know I can do it because of what I have learned here.”
