By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Vincent Yaghoubi is listed at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, decent enough size but not what usually leads to a nickname like "Tank." But, of course, there's a story behind it.

"There are two interpretations," said Yaghoubi, William & Mary's freshman right fielder. "The first is, I was a pretty big baby and when I started walking, I kept knocking things over. The second is, in pee wee football, I was a running back and I started running over kids.

"My dad started calling me 'Tank,' and it stuck. Now, everybody calls me that."

That name has been all over the place lately — like near the top of the CAA's statistical leaders and on the All-Rookie team, which was released Tuesday.

Going into the conference tournament, which begins Wednesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Yaghoubi (yah-koo-bee) is third in the Colonial in batting average (.377) and fourth in on-base percentage (.466). He leads the CAA in sacrifice bunts with 10.

"He's been a very pleasant surprise," Tribe coach Mike McRae said. "He certainly has been in the thick of our scoring opportunities for the last month."

This Tank isn't a power hitter -- in fact, 49 of his 55 hits are singles. Batting fifth in the lineup, his role is to get on base and/or move the runners over.

Heading into Wednesday's first-round matchup against Northeastern, Yaghoubi is riding an 11-game hitting streak in which he is batting .512 (21-for-41).

"I'm seeing the ball well," Yaghoubi said. "We faced those guys from UNCW (last weekend) throwing like 90, 92, the closer up to 98 … that doesn't seem fast anymore. I guess it's just playing over time and seeing the ball over an over every day."

Yaghoubi said he was "terrible" during the fall and was actually concerned he would be cut. McRae agreed with the first part of that statement.

"At the time, his offensive skills just didn't match up with what we needed," McRae said. "But some time, he put some work into it and made some swing adjustments. He did a much better job of buying into an approach that suited his skill set."

Yaghoubi singled in his first collegiate at bat but went 0 for his next 8. Just before a home game against Charleston in March, McRae took Yaghoubi aside and told him what was needed.

"The wind was blowing in, so the ball wasn't going anywhere," Yaghoubi said. "So he was like, 'I want you to lay some bunts down and hit the ball hard on the ground.'
"I knew I wasn't a power guy. I'm a singles hitter, so whatever I can do to help the team win."

On his first at bat that day, Yaghoubi moved the runner over with a sac bunt. That led to a run that tied the game. He walked on his third trip and singled to right on his fourth.

That ignited a 10-game hitting streak, and Yaghoubi began feeling comfortable at the plate. After that streak ended, he went 7-for-11 in three non-conference games. Heading to Mt. Pleasant, he has at least one hit in 22 of his last 24 games.

"Once my opportunity came, I went with it," Yaghoubi said. "I didn't really expect to play that much as a freshman. I thought I'd get in here and there. But I ended up doing my thing."

Originally from Long Island, Yaghoubi attended Woodberry Forest, a boarding school in Madison County, Va. He played baseball and football all four years. He also wrestled as a freshman and ran indoor track his sophomore and junior years.

Yaghoubi still considers football — at which he played running back, slot receiver, safety and return specialist — his best sport. He thought about attending the University of Chicago, a Division III school that would allow him to play football and baseball. But "running over people" isn't as easy as it used to be.

"I was talking to some schools, but I was still looking for that academic piece," said Yaghoubi, who hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon. "I was looking at some Ivy Leagues, but once William & Mary came along with Coach McRae as the new coach, it was perfect.

"This was the place I wanted to be. Of course, everyone wants to go pro. But at the same time, you've got to be realistic that if baseball doesn't work out, you have a great academic institution and a degree to fall back on."

Yaghoubi has at least two games remaining in his freshman season, but he's hoping for a longer run. Although W&M (32-23) is the No. 6 seed in a six-team field, it took two out of three against No. 2 Elon, No. 3 Northeastern and No. 5 Delaware.

"Even coming off getting swept (at Wilmington), I feel we're still good," Yaghoubi said. "The pitchers are well rested and we're coming with a new attitude. Anything can happen now because it's playoff baseball."


CAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
The Ballpark at Patriots Point, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Wednesday, May 24
Game 1 - No. 4 Charleston (34-20) vs. No. 5 Delaware (29-27), 12 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 3 Northeastern (41-12) vs. No. 6 William & Mary (32-23), 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 25
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 4 - No. 1 UNCW (31-21) vs. Lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 5 - No. 2 Elon (32-20) vs. Highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner, 7 p.m.
 
Friday, May 26
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Lowest-seeded Game 4/5 loser, 11 a.m.
Game 7 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Highest-seeded Game 4/5 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 27
Game 9 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8, 1 p.m.
Game 10 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9 – 5 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 28
Game 11 (if necessary) – Winner of Game 10 vs. Loser of Game 10, 1 p.m.