Collegiate Times

Hughes has a mound conference with freshman pitcher Matthew Price and catcher Anthony Sosnoskie (13). Tech currently has a record of 12-6.

Driven. Motivational. Winner. Loyal.

Those are the words pitching coach Dave Turgeon used to describe baseball head coach Pete Hughes.

This is Hughes' third year with the Tech baseball program and he is looking for it to be the most successful. Throughout his coaching career, his core values have remained the same. And since more of the roster is composed of his recruits, he expects the players to work hard, give full effort and start producing results.

"He's a hard-nosed baseball guy with such a big soft spot for his players," said assistant coach Mike Gambino. "He is always conscious of taking care of the kids."

Hughes hopes the players can identify with his philosophy.

"We work out like winners, practice like winners, and approach our social life like winners," Hughes said. "We just haven't won the games yet. That's the hurdle psychologically everyone going from a losing mindset to a winning one has. Once they get over that, it's habit-forming, just like the losing mindset was."

Hughes comes from Brockton, Mass. - home to the only undefeated heavyweight boxer (49-0) in history - Rocky Marciano. The agony of defeat is something Hughes finds more emotional than the joys of winning.

"Imagine going through your whole career without ever tasting defeat," Hughes said. "Growing up in that town with Marciano as the hero, every time I lose I'm devastated."

"Whenever we lost a high school football game, or now when I lose I don't care who it's against, I am devastated," Hughes said. "I think growing up in that town makes you hate losing more than you love winning. That's who I am and it's been that way. I don't think that's going change because it's what drives me."

While it may seem like a tough way to grow up, Hughes was very proud to have gone through some of the things he did.

"When you lose, it's personal there," Hughes said. "My parents made dinner plans on Saturday night, but if our high school team lost that afternoon, all dinner plans were canceled. That's how much it meant. It may be just a sport, but it taught me to care about something."

Hughes then learned to work hard for what he cared about.

"I was taught to work for everything you got," Hughes said, "and be grateful for everything you have. I had two unbelievable parents that taught me adversity isn't something we dwell on. Learn from it and move forward."

"Nobody will work harder to achieve goals than him," said junior catcher Sosnoskie, one of Hughes' first recruits.

Hokies baseball is something teams in the ACC have laughed at. Teams mark a 'W' by their games against Tech when the schedule comes out. Hughes can't stand it.

"Nobody talked about this team winning the ACC Championship," Hughes said. "They just tell them to make the ACC Tournament. Talk about a defeatist goal. You have to lose a lot of games just to back yourself in the tournament. That's not why I come to work everyday - to come in eighth?"

So far, the Hokies have gotten off to a 12-6 start overall - 11-2 in non-conference play - by crushing many of the teams in their path. Some of their opponents may not have been comparable to their ACC foes, but beating teams convincingly is something Hughes finds important.

"You have to put your head down and play at a certain level," Hughes said, "no matter if it's a Tuesday non-conference game or Friday night against Florida State. I don't care what uniform you're playing against, how cold it is or how hot it is. Play the same way and want to win more than anybody else, no matter what the conditions are."

The chip-on-the-shoulder mentality Hughes has also comes from his days at Davidson College. Hughes was a two-sport athlete and balancing that with academics was difficult.

"I played baseball games in the spring," Hughes said, "then went to spring football practice at night as a quarterback, then study for three hours. The worker just does it. He puts his head down and grinds through it. The competitor does it because you are competing against the books. I was competing against everyone in the world who didn't think I could go to an academic school and play two sports."

Hughes stresses academics to his players and takes no excuses.

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