Collegiate Times

Tech redshirt freshman Buddy Sosnoskie waits for a pitch at English Field. The outfielder sees playing time while recovering from shoulder surgery.

"I know it was tough on him, just having to do rehab; it was tough for him to watch," Anthony said. "The happiest I think we've ever seen him was this summer when he got his first at-bat playing college baseball. It wasn't here, but just being able to play in a game was a big thing for him because nobody loves playing baseball more than him. It was just tough for him."

While the younger Sosnoskie is not putting up big numbers at the moment, Anthony and Hughes realize his potential.

"I think Buddy has struggled, and he's made mistakes that freshmen make growing up in this league," Hughes said. "You know, he's been around our program two years, and it's easy for me to say this kid's ready to go, he's going to be a good one right now, but he's a freshman, and he's learning to make adjustments and hit certain styles of pitching that he hasn't seen before."

"He's going to be fine," Anthony said. "He's a much better hitter than me, there's no doubt about it. He's always hit a lot better than me, and he has a better swing and all of it. Once he just relaxes and plays baseball, he's going to hit his stride here in the next couple weeks, and once he hits his stride he's going to hit line drives everywhere."

Long before they packed for rural Blacksburg, the Sosnoskie brothers grew up outside Philadelphia before moving to Northern Virginia in middle school.

As a result, the brothers identify with every Philadelphian's hero - Rocky Balboa.

Anthony Sosnoskie even walks to the plate to the theme of Rocky.

"Since I've been in college, I've picked Rocky," he said. "Rocky is my hero. He's my everything. When you grow up there, it's just put into you.

"We were at mass when we were five or four years old, and we have an older sister 13 or 14 years older than us," Anthony said. "A song came on at mass, and Buddy thought it was Rocky and started doing one-handed pushups in church. Watching a Rocky movie can get me through any tough situation I'm dealing with."

Through all the hard times with injury and even the success, the brothers remain humble and appreciate the chance to continue playing ball together.

"It's great. Parents get to come watch us. They love it. They're in Statesville, N.C., now. They get to see us play together for three or four more years," Buddy said.

"It's awesome," Anthony said. "I mean, nobody's harder on him than I am because we're brothers, and we're competitive people, and nobody pulls for him more than I do...When we look back, it's going to be the time of our life."

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