In theory, the presence of the designated hitter position in baseball enables players to specialize in either hitting or pitching. However, one hybrid player still exists on the Brandeis baseball team: Pat Nicholson '11. The part-time pitcher, first baseman and designated hitter from Walpole, Mass. has picked up where he ended his successful rookie season and led the Judges to a 3-2 record last week.

"He's our best pitcher, and everybody knows it. As a batter, he doesn't get cheated up there at the plate and gets his swings in," assistant coach Brian Lambert '97 said.

Last week, Nicholson appeared on the mound in three of five games, playing a key role in the outcome of two of those wins.

Last Thursday, he switched from first base to pitcher to record the final out in the top of the ninth inning after Salve Regina University went ahead 6-5 on an error. After the Judges tied the game in the bottom half of the frame, Nicholson stepped to the plate with runners on first and second base and delivered an RBI single to earn himself and the Judges a 7-6 victory.

"The [opposing] pitcher wasn't really throwing a lot of strikes in warm-ups, so I was just looking for a strike to hit." Nicholson said.

Two days later, in the first game of a doubleheader against Springfield College, Nicholson delivered a complete game pitching performance and earned another win for the Judges.

As a rookie last year, Nicholson led a veteran pitching staff in ERA and saves, appearing in 19 games as a pitcher while also appearing in 33 total games as a hitter. He had an ERA of 3.23 over 30.1 innings to go along with three saves and notched a .330 batting average with 18 RBIs in over 100 at-bats.

Through 19 games this season, Nicholson has shown improvement on his rookie campaign. After last week, he is 4-1 and leads the staff in innings pitched.