Nick Martini had a pretty good freshman season at Kansas State, hitting .336 with 19 stolen bases.
The way he tells it, it could have been better.
“I didn’t know my strengths,” Martini told the Wichita Eagle. “On certain pitches I’d swing and get jammed. I knew I could hit better. This year I only swing at pitches I can hit.”
Apparently, he can hit a lot of pitches.
Martini (Falmouth ’10) currently leads the Big 12 in hitting with a .424 batting average. His on-base percentage is .511 and he has struck out just 16 times in 184 at-bats. He has 13 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 18 stolen bases. He set a new school record with a 26-game hitting streak.
Safe to say his sophomore season is everything he could have hoped for.
Martini wasn’t drafted out of high school, but he had some big offers coming out of the Chicago area. He chose Kansas State and earned immediate playing time as a freshman. Over the summer, he played in the MINK League and was named the league’s third-best prospect by Baseball America.
The way his sophomore year is going, this summer could be even better. Falmouth has had the last three Cape League batting champs. Martini looks like a prime candidate to make it four.