If you would have told senior third baseman/pitcher Dan Street four years ago that he would be the staff ace his senior year, he probably would have laughed at you.
"I wasn't a pitcher when I came to school," a smiling Street explained. "We had a lot of injuries and everybody was hurt so they were looking around for more arms. I was in the bullpen just throwing and the pitching coach is like 'we'll throw him in there' so I got a couple random innings and just kind of went from there. It's a hobby. I just go out there to have fun. I'm not really too concerned about stats."
Or anything, for that matter.
"I'm not real anal about school or cleanliness," the team captain said. "I'm midway on everything. I just like to have fun. I like to smile and I like to make people smile."
Despite his ear-to-ear grin and seeming indifference, Street has had a profound impact on Virginia baseball over the last three years. He was named first-team all-ACC last season and is the team's top hitter and pitcher this year.
"He's kind of an interesting guy to coach because he's a two-way player and we really need to be careful with him," Virginia coach Dennis Womack said.
Last season, Street hit .343 and finished no worse than third in every major offensive category despite not playing in 11 games.
He led all starters in wins, earned run average, complete games, walks and hits per inning pitched and opponents' batting average.
That came after Street's incredible start as a pitcher his sophomore year. He put up the best ERA in school history at 0.69, allowing three earned runs in 39 1/3 innings. Opponents hit a meager .149 against him.
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"He's been one of our top players," Womack said. "He's a guy that we depend a lot on. We put a lot of pressure on him to do a lot of good things for us, not only just physically as a player but also emotionally and mentally as a leader on our club. That's a lot of responsibility, but Danny's a guy who can handle it."
This year Street has taken on extra responsibility as a captain and the ace of the staff.
"It's been tough," Street said. "We have a lot of young guys and they're tough to handle sometimes, but they listen well. It's rewarding and tough at the same time."
Street has responded well - he hit three home runs Feb. 22 to lead the Cavaliers over Old Dominion. He has 10 RBIs on the year and is hitting .333. On the mound, Street is 1-0 but has not allowed an earned run or walked a batter.
Yet with nine freshman on the team, there is no one Womack would rather have mentoring his future stars.
"Danny's got a good disposition to handle that stuff and he's a guy who's going to put the team first," Womack said. "He's got a good personality."
Street plans to graduate this spring, but where he goes from there is unknown. Professional baseball still remains a possibility.
"I hope it's there," he said. "I'm waiting to hear."
Either way, Street will have fun. And smile.
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