Marist's Gavin Noriega keeps producing as huge hit with Worcester Bravehearts

WORCESTER — When it comes to the singular task of hitting a baseball, Gavin Noriega has two superstitious habits.

The Worcester Bravehearts first baseman takes his pregame cue from fictional Cuban outfielder Pedro Cerrano, who was played by Dennis Haysbert in the 1989 comedy “Major League,” and rubs his bats on the spiked hair of a Jobu doll for good luck.

And then each time Noriega walks to the plate, he draws a B in the dirt with the knob of his bat in memory of his great grandmother, Blanca Feliciano, who passed away a couple of years ago, before stepping into the batter’s box.

“She’s always with me when I’m hitting,” the amiable 20-year-old Bronx native said Saturday following batting practice at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field. “That could be a reason why I’m hitting so well, because of her.”

Hitting has always been Noriega’s forte dating to his time at Salesian High, an all-boys Catholic school of 500 students in New Rochelle, New York — where he also anchored the Eagles bowling team with an outstanding 220 average — but he’s been on an absolute tear for the past 12 months.

The 5-foot-8, 185-pound lefty batted .359 for the Bravehearts last summer while being named a Futures Collegiate League all-star. He followed that in the spring with a .350 average as a redshirt freshman at Marist College, earning all-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first-team honors.

“I really just look to hit something straight,” Noriega said of his approach. “I look for the fastball, react to off-speed and just try to put the ball in play hard anywhere. It doesn’t really matter where I hit the ball, I just try to hit it hard.”

The hit parade has continued in his second stint with the Bravehearts.

Noreiga, who has crafted hitting streaks of 11 and seven games, entered Sunday  second in the league with a .371 batting average. He led the league with 10 doubles and was fifth with 24 RBIs.

Want more? Noriega checked in third with 124 at-bats, but was tied for 68th with just 16 strikeouts due to a successful two-strike approach that emphasizes putting the ball in play to the opposite field.

“He hits every single place he goes,” Bravehearts manager Alex Dion said. “He does a really good job. Plays every single day for us (33 of 38 games); left field, first base, designated hitter.

“He hits everything and has the best two-strike approach I’ve seen out of anyone in the league. So it’s nice to be able to write his name in the lineup every day. Just a great kid.”

Dion made bringing back Noriega one of his top priorities in the offseason, not only due to his production, which includes 10 steals in 13 attempts, and dependable defense — no errors at first and as a corner outfielder — but also his leadership.

It wasn’t a hard sell.

“Coming back here was an easy choice because they really treated me well last year, and it’s been more of the same this year,” said Noriega, who also cited the Bravehearts’ enthusiastic fan base as a reason for his return.

“It’s just something you can’t beat. I love the energy that they have here, the Worcester energy is a different type of energy, and I just love playing here.”

In a setback to Brockton on Saturday, the crowd included Noriega’s parents, Eric and Michelle, and his 10-year-old brother, Evin, who is also a talented baseball player.

“They actually encouraged me to come back here because they like it so much,” Noriega said.

Noriega, a psychology major with a 3.3 grade point average, is again being hosted by Chip and Kim Collins of Shrewsbury.

The Collins family, which has three college-age kids in Julia, Chase and Ben, also has welcomed infielder Lewis Barnum, who hails from San Diego and attends Bryant, and outfielder Mark Darakjy, a New Jersey native who goes to Northeastern, into their home for the four-month season.

“They treated me so well last year and made me feel like their own son, so I came back,” Noriega said. “They love me, and I love them. It’s just a great place to be.

“We hang out all night; just laugh and have fun. It’s a great time with the host kids. They’re great kids.”

So, just another way Noriega is hitting it off as a Braveheart.

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Marist's Gavin Noriega keeps producing as huge hit with Worcester Bravehearts