SAMANTHA TROUP | senior staff writerr
Senior second basemen Galen Komo and Grant Beyer, have worked well together this year, sharing a starting position, a unique experience in and of itself, to help the baseball team continue to win. Recognizing that their situation is different from many other baseball players because they share a starting position, both players seem grateful for the chances that they have been given.
“I feel like it makes us a little stronger, mentally, to go in knowing that we’re not going to play the whole game, it causes us both to stay mentally focused throughout the whole game because we don’t know who’s going out and who’s going to be staying in,” Beyer said.
When Komo was injured early last season, head coach Paul Svagdis decided to put Beyer, originally a shortstop, at second base. When Komo came back, the decision was made to have Beyer and Komo share the base and starting position.
“It was tough, but the way that our team performs it shows that sharing the base works. I think that we’ve embraced our roles,” Komo said.
Beyer, who grew up playing shortstop, says that while he misses playing shortstop he wouldn’t change the current lineup because it is obviously working for the team. The unique situation that Komo and Beyer are in, sharing a starting position and subsequently sharing at bat time, is different from many other college programs in their league.
“It’s normal to have more than one player for each position; I think it’s kind of a unique role that we’ve been put in, though,” Beyer said. Usually, there’ll be a starting second baseman that plays the majority of the games. Ever since last year it seems likes Coach has been splitting time, one of us will play half the game and the other will finish off the game.”
The relationship on and off of the fi eld between Komo and Beyer also helps them both become better players and teammates. “Grant is probably one of my best friends on the team, Komo said. “We share and we get along, but we also compete against each other every day. I think in a lot of ways I’ve gotten a lot better being challenged by him every day.”
Both transfer students started in the same place at the same time, creating a bond between them that has helped to strengthen their relationship on-and-off of the fi eld and has helped them maintain the delicate balance between having a healthy competition that makes them grow as players and the desire to get the most at bat time that they possibly can.
This winning combination of a tried and true process is part of what makes the baseball team great. However, the winning personality dynamics shared by Komo and Beyer also helps the team win games and grow closer together because they are willing to sacrifice some of their own at bat time for the good of the team.
Their personalities, both friendly and winning, and their dedication to the game help to make them well-liked on the team as both players and people. “What Galen and Grant do together for the team is tremendous, neither one of them has ever shown one ounce of selfi shness or unhappiness because they both are about the team and taking care of the process,” senior catcher Stephen Kohatsu said.
Komo, a business administration major, and Beyer, a social science major, are people off the baseball fi eld too though. They go to school, work and have social lives that don’t completely revolve around baseball.
Their winning mix of talent, dedication and personality are what, in the end, make Beyer and Komo a great working team, and are what gives them the ability to juggle everything in their day to day lives.
