From laying out for a diving catch in left field to crushing a three-run homer to center, UConn outfielder AJ Soldra was right in the middle of the action during Y-D’s dominant 9-2 win over Chatham on Friday.
After being a member of the America East All-Rookie Team in his debut collegiate season at NJIT, Soldra spent his sophomore year at Seton Hall, where he hit .330 with a .940 OPS. He came to Y-D riding the momentum of a red-hot finish to his season with the Pirates, recording a hit in 22 of his final 24 games.
Following the season, Soldra announced his intention to make it a third school in three years by transferring to UConn. However, he’s draft-eligible in July and is quickly raising his stock by starting the summer 5-10 at the plate and making multiple stellar catches in the outfield.
“Playing [on the Cape], you’re facing the best in the country, so there’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment period,” Soldra said. “Being surrounded by the guys on this team and the coaching staff that we’ve got, it’s been pretty easy to make those adjustments and continue to get better.”
Soldra began his big day in the second inning on Friday by roping a base hit into center field to win a seven-pitch battle against Chatham starter Tate Carey (Michigan). He got the better of Carey once again in the fourth when he followed up a go-ahead home run by Cody Miller (East Tennessee State) with another line-drive single.
Before collecting that second hit, Soldra showcased his defensive prowess in the top half of the fourth to help keep the game tied at two. With a runner on first and one out, Jake Hanley (Indiana) hit a sinking liner into left field that Soldra quickly closed on to make a highlight-reel grab.
“Momentum’s a big thing, and keeping that in our favor was huge during the game,” Soldra said. “These games are usually [within] one-to-two runs, so plays that help keep runs off the board are really great for the dugout.”
This wasn’t the first time that Soldra turned heads with a play in the outfield this week. He made an extremely reminiscent diving grab against Wareham on Tuesday when he came in to snag a line drive off the bat of Rylan Lujo (Dayton).
With two hits already under his belt, Soldra came to the plate with a couple of runners on and a chance to provide some key insurance runs for Y-D in the sixth inning. He capitalized on that opportunity by launching a towering 394-foot fly ball over the center field fence to give Y-D a 6-2 lead.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple, do my job up at the plate,” Soldra said. “Approach-wise, I’m just looking for a fastball to hit, something good in the zone, and then go from there.”
Y-D didn’t look back after Soldra’s three-run blast, adding three more runs on a homer from Alex Hernandez (Georgia Tech) to cap off a 9-2 victory. Following his standout night, Soldra leads Y-D in batting average, slugging and OPS (minimum 10 plate appearances) on the young season.
Soldra and the rest of his teammates will look to win their third consecutive game when they remain home to take on the undefeated Brewster Whitecaps at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
