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Ridgewood Athlete Scores With Army

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By ERIC HORCHY

Suncoast News

Published: June 4, 2008

Ridgewood High School's baseball team was suffering only its sixth loss of the season, at crosstown rival Gulf High, on April 13, 2007.

That evening, Ben Koenigsfeld, the Rams' standout shortstop and pitcher, went 4-for-4 with three doubles and two runs scored.

Zoom ahead 365 days and nearly 1,000 miles north as Army baseball finished off a doubleheader sweep of arch foe Navy in dominant fashion, winning 10-2.

That same standout player, Pvt. Cadet Ben Koenigsfeld, tossed eight innings of two-run, nine-hit ball to earn the victory in one of - if not the - most storied collegiate rivalries in America.

Not to diminish the Ridgewood-Gulf rivalry, but what a difference a year makes.

Coming off a productive freshman campaign at West Point, Koenigsfeld is firmly staking his place as the next Ridgewood baseball product to find success beyond the prep game.

"Everything was a little tough to get used to at first, especially with the rules, but I'm happy I got to play a lot," he said, speaking of his first year on and off the field.

Periodic trash duties at night, 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls and evening restrictions to campus aren't a typical college athlete's daily itinerary. However, these are a few of the responsibilities to which Koenigsfeld must commit to proudly call himself a Black Knight.

In doing so, he succeeded in becoming this year's second-most active pitcher on Army's roster, tossing 69 innings. He ended the season 6-4 in 13 appearances (11 starts) with a 5.61 ERA. Koenigsfeld also took advantage of his 24 at bats by hitting .333.

Those were good enough to land Koenigsfeld second-team All-Patriot League honors, as well as positive words from team manager Joe Sottolano.

"Ben's a very poised individual," he said. "He has good presence on the mound and he's very mature for his age. I think he understands what the academy stands for and I think he's a good role model to have for Army baseball."

Koenigsfeld's former Ridgewood head coach, Larry Beets, has been accustomed to those qualities and results for years.

"You knew since Little League he was going to grow into his frame and that the sky is the limit," Beets said.

Beets has known Koenigsfeld his entire life because the cadet's father, Randy Koenigsfeld, is the principal of Ridgewood High, and Ben's older brother, Jon, was another Ridgewood baseball standout.

"The key thing for Ben, though, has always been his attitude. He's focused. He knows what he wants and he's goal-oriented," Beets said.

Beets witnessed Koenigsfeld's remarkable senior season at Ridgewood that earned him such praise as being named Pasco County Player of the Year by The Tampa Tribune.

As a Black Knight, Koenigsfeld has been named Athlete of the Week by the Army Athletic Association and recognized on the College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup.

Both honors stemmed from his April 26 performance against Lafayette College. Koenigsfeld threw his first collegiate complete game shutout that day, two-hitting the Leopards en route to the 7-0 victory.

"I thought that was pretty good for me," he said. "It was my first time going all nine and continuing to pitch strong."

Given the scope of the games he played in two weeks before, though, Koenigsfeld said the Navy experience still trumped his showing against Lafayette.

"That Navy series was just crazy," he said. We weren't doing too great in conference at that point, and to go in and sweep was just unreal."

Sottolano and his staff will be looking for Koenigsfeld to help improve upon Army's 25-25 showing this past season.

"Next year, I want to basically be more consistent," Koenigsfeld said of what personal adjustments are needed. "When things would break down around me, I'd lose focus. I want to eliminate that and keep my mental composure throughout the game. I'm learning that you don't have to be perfect on every pitch."

Reporter Eric Horchy can be reached at (727) 815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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