Baseball has been led on offense by its upperclassmen, but freshman Tommy Hook has come in and made a name for himself as one of the most consistent hitters for the Huskies.

This season, Hook has proven he was what it takes to get on base on a consistent basis as he leads the team in on-base percentage as he reaches base .410 percent of the time.

“It’s been great,” said coach Ed Mathey. “You always hope that a couple of them come in and that’s why you go out and try and recruit good players, and Tommy was one of those. But his early success has been a benefit to our team, definitely.”

Junior Jeff Zimmerman leads the Huskies in hits with 57 while batting .318 at the plate. Junior Alex Klonowski leads the team with 27 RBI’s and senior Jamison Wells leads the team in stolen bases with 19.

However, Hook has gone 41 for 133 at the plate, hitting .308, which is the second-highest batting average on the team. While Hook’s bat has been impressive, his eye at the plate is the key as he is also second on the team in walks with 21.

“That’s the thing: He has a good batter’s eye,” Mathey said. “He’s not chasing pitches out of the zone, and when you do that it slides things in your favor.”

Hook’s work ethic has been his key to success as he has spent countless hours working with assistant coach Tom Carcione on his approach at the plate.

“Tommy brings a great work ethic every day. He comes out to the park every day trying to get better,” Mathey said. “He’s a high energy guy and he works at it. He and coach Carcione have been working on the hitting approach, working on the swing, and it’s paying off. He’s gaining confidence, he’s seeing the ball a little bit deeper; he’s made a couple of adjustments at the plate that help him do that.”

Carcione’s tips and advice about Hook’s stance and approach have helped the freshman.

“Me and coach Carcione work on a lot of things,” Hook said. “It’s usually about something like your hands are casting or my backside’s dropping, and he’s always there to tell me and remind me to stay tall and stay through the baseball.”

Due to the work with Carcione, Hook’s numbers at the plate have only improved in conference play as he has upped his on-base percentage to .430 and leads the team with 15 walks. Hook is third in batting average, hitting .312 while recording 24 hits.

“I felt like I could make an impact,” Hook said. “I just needed to prove myself and get the opportunities, and I have thanks to coach. I’m just trying to make the most of them.”