For senior baseball captain Austin Lastimado, baseball is more than just a hobby. He’s played the sport since he was 4, when his father introduced it to him.

As the school team’s second basemen, he plays as No. 23. Lastimado reveals that he used to play football as a freshman, but decided to focus on baseball full-time.

“Baseball is my life,” said Lastimado.

He plans to further his baseball career at his choice school, the University of Hawaii. Lastimado would also like to make it to pros.

This year’s baseball team, he said, is very young and many of the top players – like Tyler Cherin, Kyle Hesse, Michael Oliver, and Galen Howard-Markley – graduated last year. Still, the team is far from lacking. Lastimado describes the team as a close group of friends and long-time boys’ baseball coach Velko Vitalich as one who “runs the team well.”

In return, his coach and teammates highly regard him. Last year, Lastimado was voted as the most inspirational player by his teammates, which his coach wholly approves. Vitalich highly respects Lastimado both as a baseball player and a person.

“[Lastimado] loves to play the game! He is highly motivated to play well for himself and his teammates," said Vitalich. "He has been voted by his teammates last year as our team’s most inspirational player. I think that is the highest praise a teammate can give you. As a person, [Lastimado] has great qualities. He is a very competitive athlete, but also a very friendly person…to be around. He is always there when you need him because he knows his teammates count on him."

According to his impressive record, his team and coach’s praises are well-deserved. Lastimado has been on the boys’ baseball team since his freshman year, and led the team in hits and home runs during the 2007-2008 season. He also retained last year’s top batting average out of all the returning Varsity players. Furthermore, Lastimado has done some pitching for the team this year, but his main position is second baseman.

“[My favorite move] is the turning double-play with [junior shortstop] Trevor Martin,” said Lastimado.

And, what exactly does that mean?

“It’s when you get two people out at once,” he hastily explains.

Elizabeth Lee is a West Seattle High School journalism student and this article appears originally in the school newspaper, The Chinook.