Kurt Bednarcyk has eye black striped across each cheek as he takes the diamond. It is an intimidating look. But he only stands at 5 feet 7 inches in a game of athletes looming closer to 6 feet.

“A lot of people didn’t think very highly of him because he doesn’t have the size,” said RD Long, former professional baseball player and Bednarcyk’s mentor at a sports training facility in Rochester, N.Y.

Long met Bednarcyk in January 2003 when he was a sophomore at Fairport High School in Fairport, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester.

“He was real hyper,” Long said. “[He] didn’t control his body that well, but he was very acrobatic. I could see the talent in him.”

Long said Bednarcyk has had to rise from the bottom for his entire career.

“Despite people having different opinions, I’ve always felt he was a really good player,” Long said. “And when he gets the chance, he shows it.”

Bednarcyk was still underestimated in high school, as he did not play varsity at Fairport until his junior year.

After struggling with not being highly recruited in high school, Bednarcyk ended up at the University of Rochester. In his freshman season, he hit .324, led the team with 47 hits in 40 games and was named the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year. But, for Bednarcyk, baseball needed to take a backseat to academics.

“I went to Rochester because it was close to home and I thought that I could find something to do for a major, and I didn’t,” Bednarcyk said. “It was tough to leave because I really enjoyed that team and had a lot of friends on the team, but ultimately I had to kind of be selfish and do something that was going to take me to a career in the long run.”

After his freshman year, Bednarcyk transferred to Ithaca College to study clinical exercise science.

“I read about it in a pamphlet, and it just caught my eye,” he said. “I came here, took the tour, started to see all the facilities they have, and it just really seemed like a good fit for me.”

Once he arrived at Ithaca, though, his numbers dropped significantly. He only hit .208 his sophomore year.

Senior captain and roommate Alan Kartholl said when Bednarcyk first arrived at Ithaca, he was arrogant.

“He was a little outspoken,” Kartholl said. “But after working out with him in the winter my sophomore year, I really got to know him, and we developed a very good friendship.”

Bednarcyk said after his sophomore slump, he had second thoughts about playing the following year. Then tragedy struck when a group of his friends from home were killed in a car crash.

“I just kind of re-evaluated, and I was just like I’m really not enjoying it,” Bednarcyk said. “I have to go out and do things that I enjoy.”

Long said though he did not talk to Bednarcyk about his decision to stop playing, he knew it was the right thing for him at the time.

“I know Kurt,” he said. “And if Kurt’s not happy, it’s not going to work. And when you’re fighting from the bottom up, sometimes you just don’t have the energy.”

Bednarcyk said he did not miss the game last season, but his feelings eventually changed.

“This year I came back to school and just got that itch,” he said. “I just had to come back and do it.”

While many athletes would have struggled to make a comeback to their sport after taking a full year off, Bednarcyk made the transition with ease.

His work ethic has brought him to a senior season where he’s batting .353 with a team-high 41 hits. Throughout the season, Bednarcyk has juggled third base, shortstop and second base in order to help his team.

“That’s what makes him a very good player,” Long said. “That you can put him at all of those positions and feel secure that he’s going to make plays, and not just the normal play. He can make above-average plays at all of those positions.”

Kartholl said he has been impressed with the types of numbers his roommate has put up this season because collegiate athletics are so competitive.

“When he sets his mind to things, he makes things happen,” Kartholl said.

While Bednarcyk’s abilities on the field have blown Long away, he said there’s more to him than just being a good ballplayer.

“He’s just a rare breed of person,” Long said.

Bednarcyk’s passion stretches farther than the ball field. He also spends much of his time playing and listening to music. Bednarcyk said he likes to sing and play guitar.

“That’s my No. 1 thing,” he said. “I figure I won’t have baseball forever, but hopefully I’ll have that forever.”

Kartholl said Bednarcyk sees his love for music on a daily basis, whether he is singing and playing guitar around the apartment or listening to tunes on his computer.

Kartholl said Bednarcyk also cooks for his roommates. His specialty is banana pancakes.

Whether he’s on the field, jamming on the guitar or making pancakes, Bednarcyk has an incredible work ethic that he said stems from his father.

“He works construction; he works hard every day of his life,” he said. “So I figure it kind of crosses over into baseball because every time I’m there I feel like if I’m not working hard, what am I doing?”