Rounding the Bases with Danny Hultzen

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Less than a month into his Virginia baseball career, Danny Hultzen already is making a name for himself. The freshman from Bethesda, Md., is the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week following a dominating 13-strikeout performance last Friday against Florida State. Not only is he 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA on the mound, he is batting .333 with nine RBI as well while playing a solid first base. Today he sits down to discuss the strong start to his freshman year.

Question: What do you attribute to your success thus far?
Hultzen: Definitely the offseason. We all worked really hard, especially with conditioning. We all came together as a team then. We all get along outside of baseball and that really translates well out on the field.

Question: The team camaraderie is amazing this year that has to be a huge help to come into such a good environment as a freshman.
Hultzen: Going in and knowing that everyone gets along and there aren’t any quarrels among the team is great. I’ve been on some teams where that has happened and it translates back onto the field in a negative way. It’s good to have everyone together on this team.

Question: What has it been like balancing pitching, hitting and playing first base?
Hultzen: It’s a lot of fun, but you have to be able to separate them all. When you’re pitching, you have to focus on that. When you’re hitting, you have to focus on that.

Question: Does it help that Coach O’Connor moved your starts to Friday night and you can get your pitching out of the way for the weekend, then focus on playing in the field the rest of the way?
Hultzen: It doesn’t make that big of a difference, but it is nice to focus on pitching first and then the rest of the weekend I can focus on my hitting.

Question: What was Friday night like for you against Florida State?
Hultzen: Going out there, everybody was a little hyped with it being a big game against Florida State. Once we got out there and settled down a little bit, it was a great game.

Question: As good as Friday was, how tough was the rest of the weekend where you had to wait out the rain and ultimately did not get any more games played?
Hultzen: We wanted to play the other games against Florida State, so it definitely was kind of frustrating to sit in the rain and not know if we were going to play any more.

Question: Tuesday was a little different game for this team, especially with it being so close.
Hultzen: Definitely, it was one of the first games where we haven’t scored 11 runs and had a 10-run lead. It was a different experience, but we got the win, which is all the experience.

Question: Tell us about your family.
Hultzen: I have an older brother, Joe, who is a senior and plays baseball at Kenyon College in Ohio. He pitches for them. My dad is a doctor and my mom is a psychiatrist.

Question: What is life like for you outside of baseball?
Hultzen: It is pretty busy. I have to keep up with my schoolwork, but I hang out a lot of with the guys.

Question: What made you choose UVa?
Hultzen: Obviously it has great academics and a great reputation for the school and the baseball program. When Scott Silverstein and I were about 14 years old, we came down here and played in a tournament, we fell in love with the place.

Question: What has the schoolwork been like for you so far?
Hultzen: Very challenging. It’s a lot different from high school. You have to take notes and make the most of your time. You really have to do your work and make sure you don’t get behind.

Question: Have there been any classes that have piqued your interest?
Hultzen: I’ve been interested in history for awhile, but I’ve also taken some psychology classes and those have been really interesting since I have never taken anything like that before.