Malaika Bigirindavyi
As senior captain Shea Pekarek reflects on his recent commitment to play baseball at Concordia University, he said his summer coach Aaron McEachran is the person who motivated him to continue with baseball post high school.

“He really pushed me throughout the summers and through the off-season and got me to a point where I could compete at the highest level I could,” Pekarek said. “He is the one that made me realize I could play at a collegiate level.”

According to head baseball coach Brian Kelly, Pekarek’s leadership skills as a captain are a great asset to the baseball team.

“He is the one making sure the guys are doing their sprints after practices, making sure they help clean-up, set-up and all of those things,” Kelly said. “I’ve seen him grow in leaps and bounds as far as his comfort level being a captain.”

Pekarek said participating in collegiate baseball presents a unique opportunity to make new friends.

“I am just excited to hang out with the guys, meet some new guys and definitely play. Just having a cool college experience with a cool group of guys,” Pekarek said.

Pekarek said he looks forward to a final baseball season with his teammates.

“It’s been a long road with them and to have one last season will be fun,” Pekarek said.