By PJ Potter — STAFF WRITER
When it comes to Steven Foster’s play on the field, he is humbled by those closest to him.
As a freshman who struggled during the fall league for Hofstra, Foster was not expecting to play much in his first year of Division I baseball. “I had the jitters in the first month and I was doing too much to impress the coaches,” he noted.
The speedster out of Sachem North High School in Lake Ronkonkoma found himself batting last in the lineup and playing center field on Opening Day against #4 UCLA in Los Angeles. “Coach Russo gave me the opportunity to go out and play and I knew I had to take advantage of it,” Foster said.
Taking advantage he did. Foster notched two hits in the first two games to force Coach Russo to bump him up to the second spot in the lineup. Foster was ready for this task, whether it was moving the lead off hitter over into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt or to poke a base hit over an infielder’s head. He did just that, going 2-for-4 with one RBI.
“I think the guys were a little bit shocked that he was playing at UCLA to start the season and then he made two catches and had three or four hits and everybody’s disbelief was gone,” Head Coach John Russo said. “He was everyone’s favorite player.”
Since then, there has been no looking back for Foster. The 2014 2nd team All New York State honoree finished his rookie campaign leading the team in: batting average (.351), on-base percentage (.452), fielding percentage (1.000), hits (52), and stolen bases (19).
Foster also had the second highest slugging percentage (.439). According to ncaa.com/stats, the 5’11” 175-pounder ended the season second in the nation for most stolen bases by a freshman.
“Steve quickly turned into a crucial role for us on offense and defense. Without him, we definitely would have lost many more games than we actually did,” Foster’s teammate, Kevin Weissheier said.
Transforming from a below .100 hitter in the Fall season to the most consistent player for the club, teammate Alex Cosenza was not surprised at Foster’s sudden explosion onto the Division I scene.
“He continued to work hard in the weight room and in the batting cage and it all paid off for him once the [spring] season came around,” Cosenza said.
Foster often gives credit to his teammates and his father, who is his inspiration. He reminisced of his times as a younger ball player when his father, Gene, would take him to the field and work on all aspects of the game.
“It was hard at times, but he is the reason why I am still playing this game. He taught me life lessons and I can only wish that I will ever be half the man he is when I’m older,” Foster said.
The criminology major had many current teammates to credit for his success, especially Dalton Rouleau. Foster made sure to recognize Rouleau, the starting shortstop for Hofstra, for everything he has done to help him and the club as a leader.
“Dalton took me under his wing, like he did with all the younger guys. He not only pointed things out when I was doing something wrong or needed improvement, but also when I did something good. He always points out the positives,” he said.
On March 21st, Foster blasted his first career home run, a grand slam to right field in the top of the 6th inning against Delaware that gave his team an 8-5 lead.
“I noticed they were playing me shallow, but I don’t blame them for doing that against a guy of my size. It was surreal, but we wouldn’t have won it if it weren’t for Eric Ferguson hitting for the cycle. We all fed off of him, like we do every game,” he said.
Foster was expecting to receive the silent treatment after rounding the bags, as teammates usually do to a player who hit his first homerun, but was greeted with smiles and praise.
“I’m looking forward to hitting a few more home runs over the next three years,” he said. As a humbled teammate, he does not want to be the only one to bask in all of the glory, “And [I’m] also [looking forward to] seeing my teammates hit some so I can cheer for them as loud as they did for me,” Foster finished.
