LHS Standout Steps Up For Seton Hall

Back in February, Livingston native Mike Genovese was expected to be just a relief pitcher and his Seton Hall Unitversity baseball team projected to finish 11th in the BIG EAST Conference.

A lot has certainly changed since those projections with the Pirates winning the Big East championship and Genovese becoming the team’s starting second baseman and No. 2 hitter.

Genovese and Seton Hall (33-23) continue their surprising turnarounds today at in the opening round of the double-elimination NCAA Tournament against Arizona in College Station, Texas. The Pirates are the No. 3 seed in the four-team regional.

“About a week before the season started, I really didn’t think I was going to play the field at all. I knew I would have a role as a relief pitcher,” Genovese said.

“I wasn’t really expecting to get a lot of playing time (at second). I just got thrown into the mix and gave it my all. I was just trying to help the team win.”

Strictly a reliever as a freshman, Genovese was expected to fill a similar role this season. But an early-season slump by Seton Hall gave him a chance at second base.

“We weren’t doing so well and they wanted me to change (positions),” said Genovese about the switch. “They put me in one game and I did well and didn’t turn back.”

Its an opportunity the former Livingston High School standout has taken full advantage of. He made his first start at second on March 5 and went 4-for-8 with a double and two RBI in that weekend series against Florida International.

Genovese has been the starting second baseman ever since and is currently hitting .290, second highest on the team. He is also second on the Pirates in RBI (31) and third in hits (54) and on-base percentage (.354). Genovese also has pitched 15 times in relief, posting a 1.56 ERA in 17.1 innings.

His best play came during last week’s Big East Championship in Clearwater, Fla. In four-straight wins Genovese hit .294 (5-for-17) with five RBI and two runs scored and was named to the 2011 All-Tournament Team at second base.

“It was a lot of fun and we got hot at the right time,” he said. “We had a good weekend at Georgetown the final week of the season and really took that into the tournament and it just didn’t stop at all.”

For Genovese, this is the third significant championship win he has been a part of. At Livingston High, Genovese quarterbacked the Lancers to their first-ever state championship in 2008 when they defeated Hackensack in the North 1, Group IV title game at Giants Stadium. He was also the starting shortstop/ace pitcher when Livingston won the Greater Newark Tournament in 2009, the Lancers’ first GNT title since 1991.

“Every championship is great,” Genovese said. “My high school state championship from football is something I’ll never, ever forget. I was happy to be a part of that and I loved my teammates. Then with the GNT baseball, I had been playing with those guys for a while. And then this, to get Seton Hall back on the map was just a fantastic feeling.”