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Former Ridgewood Standout Excels For West Point

Eric Horchy/The Suncoast News

Used primarily as a pitcher this season, Army's Ben Koenigsfeld finished with a 6-4 record on the mound with a 5.61 ERA in 69 innings. Koenigsfeld also batted .333 in 24 at bats.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: May 23, 2008

On the night of April 13, 2007, the Ridgewood High School baseball team was in the midst of suffering only its sixth loss of the season, at cross-town rival Gulf.

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

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

That same Ben Koenigsfeld – now Pvt. Cadet Ben Koenigsfeld – started on the hill and tossed eight innings of two-run, nine-hit ball to earn the victory in one of – if not the – most storied collegiate rivalries in all the land.

Big difference

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

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

"It's been an interesting experience, there's a lot to get used to from high school," Koenigsfeld said of his first year at the Academy on and off the field. "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."

Periodic trash duties at night, 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls and evening restrictions to campus are not on your typical college athlete's daily itinerary. But like all other current and past Army athletes, these are a few of the responsibilities to which Koenigsfeld must commit to proudly call himself a Black Knight.

In doing so, the freshman 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 started) with a 5.61 ERA. Koenigsfeld also took advantage of his 24 at bats by hitting an efficient .333.

Numbers such as these were good enough to recently land Koenigsfeld second-team All-Patriot League honors, as well as some positive words from his head coach, Joe Sottolano.

"Ben's a very poised individual," Sottolano 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."

Ex-Beets-baller

Koenigsfeld's former Ridgewood head coach, Larry Beets, has been accustomed to these sorts of 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.

Betts has known Koenigsfeld throughout his entire life through friendships with his family. The cadet's father, Randy Koenigsfeld, is the principal of Ridgewood High School. His 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 firsthand Koenigsfeld's remarkable senior season at Ridgewood (.495 BA, 38 RBI, 7 HR, 0.93 ERA, 111 K) that earned him praises like being named Pasco County Player of the Year by the Tampa Tribune.

Now as a Black Knight, Koenigsfeld is sticking with the trend. On top of the All-Patriot League selection, he was also once 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 went the distance for 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 somewhat modestly. "It was my first time going all nine and continuing to pitch strong."

Sinking Navy

Given the scope of the games he played in two weeks prior 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."

Now that there is a year of these surreal experiences under his belt, Koenigsfeld said he is excited to see what he and his young team can accomplish come next season and beyond. A year of Division I baseball has also taught him a wealth of lessons to carry with him through his future progression on the field.

"You just can't focus, as a pitcher, on any one batter," he said. "One-through-nine can all get you. It's really a mental thing to have your head in the game for every pitch."

Sottolano has his own promising expectations as well for his soon-to-be sophomore hurler.

"He's going to improve by just knowing the system better," he said. "He'll be able to relax more by just not being a freshman."

Being one of a 15-freshman class, Sottolano and his coaching staff will be looking for Koenigsfeld to help further improve upon Army's 25-25 showing this past season.

"I'm extremely pleased with the direction our program's going in. We have a solid future and hopefully we can continue to evolve as a program."

"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."

"We really want to get after it," he said, referring to the team's outlook for 2009. "We want to surprise some people. That's what you have to do to get to the NCAA tournament."

The lofty aspirations you would expect from one of those striving to be the best they can be.

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