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Ready to tackle greatness

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published February 18, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Ben Koenigsfeld, barely out of diapers, crawled into the Ridgewood baseball program as a toddler, tagging behind dad Randy, then an assistant coach and now the school's principal.

When he leaves after this season, he'll go out as an 18-year-old man with a scholarship to play baseball at Army and perhaps a career in the military after that.

But before he does, he feels there is some unfinished business to take care of on the baseball field this season.

"I've been with Ridgewood my whole life," he said, "and when it ends, I want to end on a good note. I want to leave with no regrets."

This year, Koenigsfeld wants to break out in a big way, to make the jump from second-team all-conference to all-world, to turn good into great and to leave his mark at Ridgewood.

He's close, says coach Larry Beets.

Real close.

"The sky's the limit," Beets said. "He's bigger and stronger and he knows the game. He's an untapped resource who's only out to get better.

"I told him to be great, you have to leave good behind."

This was good: Koenigsfeld was 7-2 last year on the mound and one of the team's best hitters.

But if there was one weakness, it was an overeager approach at the plate. Too many runners were left stranded - at Ridgewood, that's the definition of the difference between good and great.

"The biggest thing he has to do hitting-wise is drive in those runs," Beets said. "Guys like Land O'Lakes' Caz Piurowski and (Pasco's) Robbie Shields, they changed games last year. Ben can do that on the mound, but when he's batting and those runners get there, he has to get to where people are thinking maybe they should intentionally walk you. I'd like to see him get to that point."

To get there, Koenigsfeld says, requires the one thing he has worked on all summer.

Patience.

"There's definitely some habits I'm trying to break," he said. "If I'm going to reach my full potential, I have to be less anxious. Sometimes, I would be way out ahead of the ball. I've gotten a lot better, I'm more relaxed now, but breaking bad habits is not easy."

So far, Koenigsfeld has a shutout and two hits in each of Ridgewood's wins (they played Saturday in the championship game of the Tom Varn Invitational).

It's just the kind of start Beets was hoping for. The longtime Ram skipper has coached dozens of the county's best players, and the one Koenigsfeld reminds him most of is the only one to reach the major leagues - Mike Rabelo.

As a junior, Rabelo was 8-4 and batted .257 with 13 RBIs.

His senior season, he made the kind of dramatic jump Koenigsfeld is hoping for, going 11-0 and batting .417 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs, earning all-county and all-Suncoast Player of the Year honors.

"Ben's a lot like Rabelo - Mike was right there, we could see it," Beets said. "And then whammo! With him, you just knew it was a matter of time. Same for Ben. (Instead of whammo) I'd like to see him go out with a bazooka, let's have the tank firing away."

A solid junior season. An offseason dedicated to improving. More strength, more confidence. A new, more relaxed approach at the plate.

Add it up, and Beets could get his wish.

"I'm hoping for it," Koenigsfeld said. "I've been working hard, and now I believe it's all going to pay off this year."

John C. Cotey can be reached at cotey@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6261.

[Last modified February 17, 2007, 20:28:46]