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Show it ' It ED KRISTENSEN Ed Kristensen makes baseball comeback with SUT-birds By Jim Bayly , For someone who nearly quit ' the sport he loves, Southern Utah State's Ed Kristensen has proven you can come back. Four years ago, Kristensen, a senior from ' Escondido, California, hurt his back and quit baseball for two years. . "I would have never played again if a buddy of mine had not talked me into it," says Ed. Kristensen broke the SUSC single season batting record last season with .384 mark. So far this season he is hitting .333, and in his last nine games he has. gone 14-34 for a .412 average. Kristensen came to SUSC via Palomar Junior College not only for baseball, but to play football. He was starting tight end his junior season but was injured most of last season. "Baseball has always been my favorite sport but my least confident. I knew I could play football, but after getting hurt in baseball I did not know if I could come back in baseball," adds Kristensen. Kristensen, an accounting, major who carries a 3.50 grade point average, played outfield last season but has been moved to first base this year. "It takes some time away from my hitting practice because of needing work on my fielding," states Kristensen; Kristensen last year, was named to both the AU-RMAC and NAIA District 7 first teams. He also helped lead SUSC to its first RMAC baseball championship ever. "We can play with anybody around," Ed feels, "and I don't see any reason why we can't win' the RMAC again." Ed has a year eligibility left because of his two year layoff, but has enough credit hours to graduate in May. "I would like to be given the chance to play pro baseball," Ed comments, "because it has always been my dream, but I may decide to come back and play my final year." |