Switch-hitting sophomore steals the show for Bergen Catholic at Last Dance World Series
A four-hit day didn’t quite satisfy Lukas Tsai.
The first thing Bergen Catholic’s promising underclassman planned to do after his trek back home to Fair Lawn following the BC Crusaders’ 10-0 win over Mount Olive in the Last Dance World Series Round of 32 on Tuesday?
“Probably going to go to the facility and get some more swings in,” Tsai, who just finished his sophomore year, said in the concourse of Yogi Berra Stadium.
The grind never stops for Tsai – a should-have-been everyday player on Bergen Catholic’s varsity team this spring with “a Division I future,” his coach, Bob Muggeo, said before Covid-19 robbed him of that opportunity earlier this year.
So, during quarantine the past four months, Tsai worked – and worked some more – and, after dabbling with switch-hitting for years, the naturally right-handed hitter is on his way to mastering his swing from the left side of the plate.
Asked to estimate how many swings a day it took to get comfortable enough for live game action, Tsai couldn’t even put a number on it.
“A lot,” Tsai said, laughing, before reiterating. “A lot.”
The effort and work has paid immediate dividends.
On Tuesday, Tsai’s pair of doubles and two singles all came swinging left-handed, including an opposite-field double during Bergen Catholic’s six-run first inning against Mount Olive. He finished 4-for-4 with a pair of runs and one RBI.
“He’s worked very, very hard at it,” Muggeo said of the 16-year-old switch hitter who has already started receiving interest from Stony Brook and William & Mary, with others likely on the way. “We were in the building the other day and he was hitting from the left side and I said to him, ‘I can’t even tell the difference anymore.’ Usually you watch someone doing what he’s doing and you can tell the side they’re working on and the side they’re more natural on.
“With him, the left side looks like his natural side.”
The versatility Tsai displays at the plate pales in comparison to the versatility he brings to the field.
On Tuesday, Tsai flashed the leather in right field, but that’s only a fraction of what he has to offer for Bergen Catholic.
Tsai, according to Muggeo, could have started this spring at any of the infield positions or any of the outfield positions, and is capable of both pitching and catching – allowing for some unique roster and lineup flexibility.
Years ago, Tsai said, he even was capable of throwing with both arms, too, though admitted that particular talent has since been retired from his repertoire – perhaps his next quarantine hobby.
“What a baseball player,” Muggeo said. “We never got a chance really to see where he’d end up [in the spring], so what his role was going to be remains to be seen.
“But he’ll be a big part of our future.”
JJ Conrad can be reached at jjconrad8@gmail.com