Ravizza pursues baseball

Mitch Ravizza was a two-sport star for the Willow Glen Rams, but will be taking his baseball talents to San Jose State.

"My mom went to San Jose State and it has a great criminal justice program which I am really looking into pursuing," said Ravizza. "Also, the coaches have been great to me and giving me nothing but the truth and have been straight forward about everything."

During the past season, the shortstop held a .324 batting average with 18 RBIs, nine doubles, and three homers on the diamond. He helped lead the Rams to a 22-7 record, and a first-place 17-4 mark in the Mount Hamilton Athletic League. Willow Glen advanced to the second round of the Central Coast Section playoffs, but fell to Leland in a 7-5 loss to end their year.

Regarding the past season, Ravizza added, "Personally, I do not set individual goals but as a team we performed at a high level each and every game which pushed me to be the best that I could."

On the gridiron, Ravizza was a top-notch quarterback for Willow Glen. The Rams struggled during the past season due to major injuries, but Ravizza still threw for 2,111 yards and 19 touchdowns with a 61% completion rate. He also showed his dual-threat ability with 692 rushing yards for nine touchdowns.

Although football and baseball differ in many ways, Ravizza's athleticism helped him excel in both sports. "Playing football is a different mind set then baseball but the competitive nature of playing football carries over to every sport I have played," Ravizza added.

Surprisingly, San Jose State was the only school in contact with the 5-foot-10, 185 pounder. He took an official visit to SJSU during the spring, which was his only one.

Back in April, San Jose State head coach Sam Piraro told the SJSU Athletic Website, "When you get an athlete, who's coachable, and has leadership ability, it's a win-win situation, so we're really fortunate to have a guy like Mitch. Not only is he an outstanding athlete, but he has leadership qualities that are very rare in today's culture. We think that a guy like that would be a great addition to San Jose State baseball. Mitch is that guy."

In the classroom, Ravizza holds a 3.1 GPA and his favorite subject is history. He will pursue a major in criminal justice at San Jose State.

On his strengths, Ravizza believes his hard work and willingness to win are the keys to his game. To improve, he added, "I really want to improve on my defense from all over the diamond. I'd like to expand my range at not just one position but several."

Although Ravizza slid under the radar during his high school career, watch out for the shortstop to shine at the next level.