dutchmenbaseball.com

(ALBANY, NY)-- Matt Bergevin (Fairfield) has been named the Generation Land Management Player of the Week for Week Seven (7/18/22-7/24/22). Bergevin was 5-16 with a double, a grand slam and six RBIs on the week, as the Arizona native returned to the squad fresh off an 11 day hiatus to his home state.

“I love the game and it felt so good to play the way I can and enjoy the game, I hadn’t been home since January so going home was huge, I came back with some pep in my step and it showed,” Bergevin said.

While the trip back home was for Bergevin to reconnect with family after seven months on the east coast, while also taking a mental and physical break from baseball after starting 51 games for Fairfield and 25 for Albany, it was the rest, the reconnection, and a special batting practice session that pieced it all together for the first baseman.

“I went home and worked with my hitting coach that found something in my lower half, my hitting coach at Fairfield noticed I was being long with my hands, I went to the cage and made the adjustments, everything was being hit hard, and then after I hit the best part was I got to go see my old friends and relax, it was good to get done what I had to, but it was nice to get away from the game a bit and remember I have people that I care about,” Bergevin said.

Bergevin made an immediate impact upon return, as he pieced together a two-hit evening in his first game back, followed by a grand slam the next evening. Bergevin credited his grand slam to his return to the Grand Canyon State which had helped him off the field, but now added to his in-game success.

“The at-bat before I popped up to second base on a fastball, I knew it was a good swing and that I was on him, I knew I had to let it get three inches deeper and that the fastball was coming again, it was a similar spot, I trusted myself, and it was the most satisfying feeling in awhile, hearing it off the bat was everything I needed and that swing was a culmination of the on and off the field work,” Bergevin said.

Now with six games in five days, Albany finds themselves 2.5 games out of the playoff picture with a massive week ahead.

“It’s put up or shut up, we’ve got everything in front of us, it’s a tough week that’s going to test what we can do, personally it’ll be a good test for me to come off a good week and with the pressure up a bit and something to play for, we have to balance pushing to get big wins while also letting the game come to us, I believe the offense hasn’t reached its full potential, it's time to show the people what we’ve got,” Bergevin said. 

Bergevin and the Dutchmen start the week on the road, at Amsterdam on Monday and at Glens Falls on Tuesday. The squad returns home for the final home game of the regular season on Wednesday against Amsterdam, before rounding out the playoff push with a Thursday doubleheader in Oneonta and finale Friday at Saugerties.