NSA’s Neal named Player of the Week

By Matthew Hatfield

Correspondent

They say patience is a virtue. For Nansemond-Suffolk Academy senior Sam Neal, the Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald’s Player of the Week this week, the wait is paying off in a major way.

The Saints’ left fielder is having a season to remember, recording 38 hits through 59 at-bats for a remarkable .644 batting average to go with 24 runs scored, 21 runs driven in and eight stolen bases. Playing in 18 of the team’s first 19 games, Neal has helped lead NSA to a 16-3 record.

Sticking to his routine has proven to do the trick.

“Throughout my entire career, I’ve just tried to get into a ritual and a pattern every time I come to the plate,” Neal stated. “I do the same breathing and try to do the same swing. Ultimately, it’s whatever I can do to help my team so that we can win.”

Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Neal has faced at least nine pitchers committed to Division I programs, none of whom have seemed to find the way to slow him down.

“His hits aren’t just coming against the average high school pitcher that’s throwing 79 miles per hour,” NSA baseball coach David Mitchell said. “They’re coming against guys throwing in the mid- to upper-80s.”

During a critical stretch in the season, Neal rose to the occasion again in leading NSA to a 3-1 mark in a four-game span against fellow private schools that included a signature win over an undefeated team.

Against a left-handed pitcher headed to Dartmouth, Neal went 3-for-3 with an RBI in a 4-2 loss to Norfolk Academy. In road wins over Norfolk Christian and Bishop Sullivan, he added in three more hits, drove in a pair of runs, scored twice and was walked a couple of times. He capped the week by going 3-for-4 and scoring the game-winning run against an Atlantic Shores team that was 15-0 when it met the Saints.

“It was definitely one of the best offensive weeks I’ve seen, especially against the competition that we were playing,” Mitchell said. “In 14 years coaching at the varsity level, I’ve only seen a few kids even hit around .500 and those were guys that went on to the college level.”

What makes Neal such a unique hitter?

“His hand-eye coordination is phenomenal,” Mitchell said. “Surprisingly, a majority of his hits are with two strikes. At the high school level, most of the players get frustrated when they get two strikes, and the result doesn’t turn out too well. He’s a very patient hitter who waits to get a pitch that he can handle, and when he gets it, he tends to find a hole.”

Even though he’s not the most physically imposing, at 5-feet-11 and 185 pounds, Neal has taken the right approach at the plate to get on base consistently.

“I’ve gotten a lot bigger, but I still have the same swing when I was 150 pounds, where I try to hit for singles and not crush the ball. That’s what really helps me out when I have two strikes,” Neal said.

“When you’re playing a sport, your personality comes out in the way that you play. I’m the type of person who will wait on my perfect pitch so I can drive it.”

Neal recently announced that he will attend college at Case Western Reserve University, a Division III program located in Cleveland, Ohio, where he will get the opportunity to continue playing baseball while pursuing a career in computer science.

Before he goes there, Neal is enjoying every moment and making his final ride at NSA a memorable one.

“I’ve watched all the seniors grow up and have their last year of playing baseball. It’s not the last hurrah for me yet, but I knew I wanted to come and have fun every day,” Neal said. “I love hitting. I just try my best every day, have fun, and that’s what has worked for me.”