Matt Hasenbeck loves pitching and loves hitting and, fortunately, found a college baseball program where he'll be able to do both for the next few years.
That was one of the reasons why the Eureka senior-to-be recently made a verbal commitment to Missouri State.
"I definitely feel privileged to get the shot to do that," Hasenbeck said. "It was going to be hard to give up hitting. I knew that."
The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder will move on to Springfield a year from now with an opportunity to be a starting pitcher and also play first base.
But does he have a preference, pitching or hitting?
"You definitely get more of an adrenaline rush on the mound, I feel like," he said. "I don't know. I love them both. It would be hard to give up either of them."
Hasenbeck, 17, picked the Bears over opportunities with Missouri and Evansville or the option of continuing his career at a junior college like Jefferson College or St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
"I had a lot of college coaches telling me if I found the right thing, do it," he said. "I took a visit and meshed with the coaches really well. I liked the campus. They are in a good conference. I felt like it was right and the (scholarship) money wasn't going to stay there forever."
The Eureka hurler was impressed with the Bears coaching staff, including head coach Keith Guttin and pitching coach Paul Evans, and their track record for producing professional ballplayers.
"Their pitching coach I instantly gelled with," he said. "Their coaching staff has been down there for 30 years. They know their stuff. They've produced a lot of hitters and pitchers over the years."
In Hasenbeck, Missouri State is getting a power pitcher who can command his fastball and has a will to win. The Wildcats standout said his fastball was regularly around 87-88 miles per hour during the high school season in the spring, but was around 90-92 this summer with the Rawlings Titans.
In his first varsity action this spring, as a junior, Hasenbeck went 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 30 2/3 innings, including two complete games. He struck out 33 batters, walked 10 and allowed just three extra-base hits.
Playing third base when he wasn't on the mound, Hasenbeck was also a productive hitter for the Wildcats. He batted .395 (32 hits in 81 at-bats) with six doubles, three home runs, 30 RBIs, 14 runs scored and had a .462 on-base percentage. He finished second on the team in home runs and RBIs and was third in hits.
Hasenbeck is one of three members of the St. Louis area's Class of 2012 that has committed to the Bears, along with a pair of Hazelwood Central teammates in outfielder Matt Dezort and pitcher Jonathan Harris.
