By Steve Svetovich
Holy Cross graduate Nic Borgia put on quite a display as a shortstop as well as reaching a personal goal to hit over .300 in his senior year.
But now he has even bigger aspirations to become a state policeman.
Son of John and Shawn Borgia, Nic will study business at Marywood University in the fall. He also hopes to continue his baseball career there.
“But eventually, I want to become a state policeman,” he said. “It’s a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid. I come from a family of state policemen. I have cousins in the state police. My late grandfather, John Atapovitch was a state policeman. He died at 44, so I never knew him. He was my mom’s dad. I heard a lot of good stories about him.”
Nic finished second on the Holy Cross team with a .323 batting average and .429 on base percentage.
He led the team in hits with 21, runs with 15 and stolen bases with 10.
The Crusaders finished the season with a 7-13 record, but Nic’s performance was one of several bright spots for veteran coach Sandy Menichetti.
The talented infielder had a 3.0 academic average at Holy Cross, His best academic subject is Math.
Nic was a four-year member of the Holy Cross baseball team. He was a second baseman his first three years on the team, but switched to shortstop his senior year. “It was an easy transition for me,” he said. “It’s not too far from second base. You just need to make a longer, harder throw. My coaches were there for me, hitting a lot of ground balls and watching my throws to first base. And when I wasn’t practicing with them, my dad was hitting ground balls to me.”
Well-spoken and confident, Nic said he set a goal to hit over .300 this season. He more than accomplished that by hitting .323.
“I kept practicing with my dad and friends. I practiced as much as possible. And we practice hitting here with the best coaches five days a week at Holy Cross. My goal was to hit over .300 and with all that practice I did it.”
The hard-working infielder said his parents are always a positive influence.
“They always teach me to be respectful. That kind of goes along with attending a Catholic school. They are always behind me, but tell me to show respect, Be nice to everyone. Treat people like you want to be treated.”
Nic said he enjoyed Holy Cross right from the start. “I loved it from day one,” he said. “I had a great time there. I met great people and made great friends. The teachers are all very good people. It was a great experience every step of the way. My siblings set me up for success there. My brother John and sister Allie went there before me.”
A hustler on the diamond, Nic praised veteran baseball coach Menichetti. “He always told us there are two things we can control–effort and attitude. If you have that, you are ahead in the game. He’s a great coach.”
Nic was also a member of the Holy Cross golf team for two years. He enjoys listening to music in his spare time and would love to see country artist Morgan Wallen in concert.