La Salle's Joey Ravert A Versatile Standout On The Diamond

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Never let it be said that Joey Ravert doesn't keep himself busy.

The La Salle University junior baseball player has really done it all for the Explorers this season. At the plate, Ravert is hitting .331 with a team high 11 home runs. On the mound, Ravert has made 12 starts, throwing a team leading 66 1/3 innings while going 4-5 with an ERA of 3.80.

"Been a lot of fun this year," Ravert tells KYW Newsradio. "I'm getting opportunities to pitch and hit and now within the last couple of weeks feel I can do both on the same day. Now I'm hitting well and pitching too, it has been a lot of fun. Team is a great group of guys, we all get along really well. We have a lot of fun on these road trips and these are memories we're never going to forget."

Listen: Joey Ravert with KYW's Matt Leon

Ravert, who plays first base and serves as DH in addition to pitching, hails from Havertown and graduated from Malvern Prep. He says this dual role was always part of the plan for him at La Salle.

"(Head) Coach (Mike) Lake and (former assistant) Coach (John) Duffy, they both recruited me as a two-way player and they told me that I would have the opportunity to do both," Ravert says. "They told me my freshman year I'd probably do more hitting than pitching and that's the way it kind of worked out. Really that's what they recruited me as and they gave me shots both to hit and to pitch and its been a ton of fun. I get to play a lot, it's a lot of game action."

This is the first time Ravert has really hit for power in college. He had just three home runs in his first two seasons, combined. Despite the increase in long balls, Ravert says he doesn't necessarily see himself as a power hitter.

"I guess I would definitely consider myself a line drive guy with a little bit of power," Ravert says.

On the mound, Ravert's ERA is about two runs lower than it was his first two years with the Explorers. He says a key to success pitching-wise here in 2015 has been getting his body and arm in great shape so he can maintain his velocity deeper into games.

"And a lot of the mental approach going into starts has just been way different this year in terms of my mental preparations and the outlook I have going into each start," Ravert says.

Ravert and the rest of the Explorers return to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon when they visit Rider.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.