Beck’s Bat Comes Alive for Iona
After seeing very limited playing time in the first 13 games of the season, James Beck has become an established contributor on the Iona College baseball team. The Huntington High School graduate is batting .331 with ten doubles, five homeruns and 31 RBIs.
Beck didn’t see action this spring until Iona’s fifth game. He entered play that day as a designated hitter and went 1-for-2 with an RBI. His big break came in the 14th game of the season when he banged out four hits, including two doubles and five RBIs against Central Connecticut. The next game he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against New York Tech and has been slugging away ever since.
“Division I baseball is nothing short of a full time job,” Beck said. “With 56 games over a span of 2 ½ months, it takes a lot of hard work to stay in it both physically and mentally. Last year as a freshman I didn't see much time on the field, but this year when I got an opportunity to play, I took it never looked back.”
As a freshman, Beck collected three hits. He appeared in 14 games, starting four. This spring as a sophomore he’s played in 36 games, starting 29 of them, and compiled a .542 slugging percentage. The 6’2, 203 lb. power hitter has seen his confidence surge.
“My goal when I signed to play for Iona is to be where I am now, from a personal standpoint at least,” Beck said. “Academics have been going well also. I had made the Dean’s List last semester and hopefully this semester, as well.”
Beck earned varsity letters in three sports at Huntington High School, contributing to the Blue Devil football, basketball and baseball teams. He was All-League three consecutive years in baseball, All-Division in football as a senior and a Suffolk Gold Key Award recipient. A fine student, he garnered a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Award.
A proverbial jack-of-all-trades for Iona, Beck has appeared in games as a DH, catcher, left fielder and first baseman. Last week in a wild 21-18 loss to Fairfield he stroked four hits including his fifth homerun, scored three runs and drove in four. Against Manhattan College on Saturday, he went 2-for-3 and caught the entire game.
The former Huntington star is majoring in marketing and plans to participate in Iona’s five year MBA program. It would allow him to obtain a BA and MBA in a five year period rather than the usual six.
Excelling academically and athletically in a NCAA Division I program is not easy. “Balancing the two can get very tricky at times, as traveling and games often interfere with classes, making it hard at times to follow all classes,” Beck said. “I am enjoying the school experience a lot.”
Beck and Iona close out the year with a three game set against Rider College this Friday and Saturday at Iona’s New Rochelle campus. The Blue Devil alum said he hopes “to end the season on a positive note for the future.”
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