Pacific Index

Nicholas Saelens discusses his recent successes this season 

   To an outsider looking at Nick Saelens’s pitching history this season, one might expect him to be a little overconfident.
  He is here to tell you that’s not the case.  

   In spite of recently being named a Northwest Conference student athlete of the week in February and in spite of coming off of big wins against the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Willamette, Saelens remains incredibly humble. “It’s great to have that success early on, but also there’s always things to work on and to change” he says.

Originally from Seattle (and a Mariners fan who enjoys watching fellow pitcher Bryan Woo), Saelens has been in love with baseball all his life. “I was begging my parents to play on my brother’s t-ball team, I think probably when I was three,” Saelens recalls with a smile. “I was always in the yard, pretending to be the Mariners and acting out as my favorite players.” 

   Now a sophomore, but already a starting pitcher for the varsity team, Saelens continues to do what he loves and with a team he describes as “close-knit.” Something he especially appreciates about playing at Pacific is the team culture. “I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far,” he says. “I think it’s a really close-knit group which is fun. Everybody gets along super well and everyone really enjoys each other.” 

   In regards to his start here last year, Saelens explains, “Obviously, I kind of got thrown into the fire as a freshman. I got to pitch a lot, which was a really unique experience, and I had some growing pains last year.” However, this opportunity is something he remains grateful for and took as a learning experience, which helped him know what he needed to work on in the offseason. 

   This work appears to have paid off. “Against Milwaukee I felt really good, I was able to establish my fastball early,” he says. “Willamette felt like a pretty scrappy start for me. I didn’t feel good, gave up a couple barrels in the first inning, did not feel great about that.” 

   In regards to his recent recognition in the NWC, Saelens says “Yeah it’s exciting, but I mean I always have eyes for the next week.” Where others might brag, Saelens maintains his focus and looks to keep improving his performance. This weekend the Boxers face East Texas Baptist University, which Saelens says is a challenge he looks forward to. While admitting he won’t be able to get away with errors, like him allowing leadoff runners in this past game against Willamette, he describes upcoming games against good teams as, “just a better challenge to be perfect and really just dominate hitters.”

   Despite a few slip-ups, Saelens remains happy about Pacific’s win against Willamette and starting conference off on a good note. Continuing in the season, Saelens hopes the team can “roll through conference again.” As for Saelens’ personal goals he says, always aiming to improve, “I just want to keep growing as a pitcher.”