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The second installment of a weekly series on RedStormSports.com, the Captain's Corner will feature insights from each of the St. John's baseball team's three senior co-captains - second baseman Sam DeLuca, outfielder Chris Joachim and catcher Brendan Monaghan. Joachim talks about the team's first weekend of action, his transition from the infield to the outfield and his role as a team captain.

A tough travel schedule to get down to Texas this weekend, what's the team going to have to do stay energized throughout?

Chris Joachim: I think the anticipation of finally getting out there and playing that first game will keep us energized throughout the whole day of traveling. Competing against another team and finally playing in warm weather should keep us going through the weekend.

What does the individual recognition – being named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List and earning All-BIG EAST and second team All-PING honors – do to help motivate you?

CJ: It motivates me a lot.  Those accomplishments are great and on a personal level it is what you aim for every year. I just can't let these awards go to my head, and I have to keep working hard and doing the things that have gotten me to this point.

You're in your second year as a team captain, but your first as an outfielder. How have you been working to become a better outfielder and a better leader?

CJ: I owe my teammates and coaches a lot of credit for helping my transition to the outfield. Coach Vega has taught me so much in such a short period of time and he has made feel more comfortable out there every day. As far as being a leader, I think I have changed a little for this year. Last year, I learned a lot about different players' personalities and how different teammates react differently to situations. You have to approach each of them differently, which is something I did not recognize last year.

Brendan Monaghan said that he's never been part of a team with so much pitching talent. Would you agree with that?

CJ: Yeah, I would agree with him. This pitching staff has a ton of talent, but more importantly it has a lot of experience. We have so many guys coming back that pitched big innings for us and the incoming freshman class has some really good arms that are going to help us a lot.

You spent the entire 2006 season chasing a .400 batting average, how did you go about blocking that from your mind and just playing baseball?

CJ: It definitely was not easy.  I was able to block it for most of the season until May rolled around.  The most important part wasn’t what I was doing, but what the team was doing. I did find myself looking at the stats towards the end of the season, which I think hurt because it was in the back of my mind at times during games.

What kinds of things do you think you do best to help the team win?

CJ: I can't pinpoint one specific thing that I do best, but I feel that I just do a number of things at the right time to help us win. It could be a key hit, stealing a base or dropping down a sacrifice bunt; but I think my experience is more of an asset than anything else.