Mark Hurley was down for the count.
In his first-ever attempt at fielding a flyball while trying out for a Hollister Little League All-Star baseball team, Hurley simply whiffed. Worse yet, the ball belted him in the stomach, putting Hurley on the ground.
“I remember one of my coaches saying, ‘You’ll be alright, you’re going to get a milkshake afterward,’” said Hurley, a 2010 San Benito High graduate. “So that made things a little less painful and embarrassing.”
It’s safe to say that Hurley, a senior outfielder for Cal State University Monterey Bay, hasn’t dropped many balls since that inauspicious start to his baseball career. The 6-foot, 190-pounder is flourishing for the Division II Otters, who went 39-17 last year en route to winning the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship.
CSUMB is off to a slow start this season, as it was 6-13 entering Friday’s game against San Francisco State.
However, Hurley has been nothing short of dynamic, as he was the only player on the team to have started all 19 games. Batting third in the order, Hurley leads all starters in just about every offensive category, including at-bats (72), average (.431), hits (31), RBI (17), total bases (41), slugging percentage (.569) and on-base percentage (.481).
Hurley is coming off a strong junior season that saw him earn All-CCAA first-team honors. He led the team in hits (69) and batting average (.347), while ranking second on the team in RBIs (32) and slugging percentage (.467).
Hurley, who plays both corner outfield positions, had a standout high school career, culminating with a spectacular senior season that earned him Tri-County League MVP honors.
Hurley’s next stop was at the College of San Mateo, which is one of the best junior college programs in the state. The move made sense considering Hurley has family in the San Mateo area, and he was able to live with his aunt, Kelela, in his two years playing at CSM.
Hurley will be forever grateful to Kelela, who died of a heart attack last year.
“I was pretty close to her, and she was nice enough to put a roof over my head and to give me everything I needed for those two years in San Mateo to get me where I am today,” Hurley said.
At CSM, Hurley became a starter by the end of his freshman season. He followed that up with a standout sophomore year, which landed him a scholarship at CSUMB.
Hurley’s mom, Tolifili, is Tongan and his dad, Mark, is Irish. Hurley identifies strongly with his Tongan roots, and he would love nothing more than to be one of the few Tongans to make a Major League Baseball roster.
“It would definitely be pretty neat to be one of the few Tongans to play professional baseball,” Hurley said. “That’s my goal, to make it professionally. It would be neat to see the whole Tongan race expand not from just football, which every Tongan grows up playing, but in other sports as well.”
Hurley said he got his athletic genes from his grandmother, Carol, who played college basketball at Marquette. However, it was Hurley’s father who instilled in him a passion for baseball.
“My dad would have me try different sports like baseball, flag football and basketball,” Hurley said. “He put a glove and bat in my hand and said, ‘Let’s see how this works out for you.’ It worked out pretty well.”
