JOE SANTORO
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 10/8/2006

Stew Colton remembers the little nickname the Reno Huskies coaching staff had for shortstop Steve Mays.

“When he was at Reno High we used to call him a cage rat,” said Colton, a former Huskies assistant coach and now the Nevada Wolf Pack’s first base coach. “He had a key to our indoor facility at Reno and you could find him in there almost every day of the year, working at his game, swinging a bat.”

The Huskies’ cage rat is now a Pack rat.

That work ethic took Mays from Reno High in 2004 to Mesa (Ariz.) Community College for two years and now to the Wolf Pack, where he hopes to see plenty of playing time next season as an infielder.

“He’s already one of the hardest working kids we have,” Wolf Pack infielders coach Jay Uhlman said.

And that was after just one week of fall practices. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Mays, though, knows that hard work is the only way to earn playing time for head coach Gary Powers’ Wolf Pack in the 2007 season.

“We have a lot of great players on this team, especially in the infield,” said Mays, who was born and raised in Reno. “I just have to work as hard as I can. There’s a lot of great competition.”

Mays, a junior, is trying to be as versatile as he can for the Wolf Pack, taking ground balls at second, short and third this fall. Mainly a shortstop for Reno High, Mays hit .452 his senior year with 65 RBIs and 51 runs scored, helping the Huskies win the Class 4A state title. He drove in four runs in the 12-2 title game victory over Cimarron-Memorial.

“I just want to play where they need me,” Mays said. “It doesn’t matter to me. Wherever they want me to contribute is good with me. I just want to get on the field whichever way I can.”

Powers said Mays is in the mix at all three spots. Juniors David Ciarlo (second and short) and Matt Bowman (second and third) are the most experienced players back at second, short and third. For the most part, though, Mays’ three positions are filled with a lot of new faces, leaving the competition wide open.

“All of those jobs are wide open as far as I’m concerned,” Powers said.

Mays, Powers said, fills an important role at all three positions.

“He’s kind of filling a utility infielder role for us now at second, short and third,” Powers said. “He really gives us a lot of depth at all those positions. His versatility gives him a lot of opportunities to earn playing time. If he gets beat out at one spot, he can also compete at another spot. That’s a good thing for him and for us.”

Mays was part of one of the best high school baseball teams in recent Northern Nevada memory in 2004 with the Huskies. That team featured standout pitchers like Jeff Schoenbachler and Chris Rickey, first baseman John Wallace, third baseman Jake Johnson, catcher Ryan Simpson and outfielder Drew Johnson.

Rickey and Johnson later played for the Wolf Pack and Wallace started for Oregon State last year as the Beavers won the College World Series. Schoenbachler is currently in professional baseball in the Minnesota Twins organization.

It was Mays, though, that was named the Sierra League’s Co-Player of the Year in 2004 along with Douglas’ Luke Rippee.

“Steve was a quiet leader,” said Colton, who played at Mesa and Nevada in the early 1970s. “He was one of the key guys on that team. He’s just a good kid with a great makeup who loves the game.”

“He’s one of those guys that you might not notice on a daily basis,” Powers said. “But he’s the kind of guy who contributes every single day and does his job. Those are the kinds of guys who are ultimately successful because they are solid players and they keep working hard to become better.”

Uhlman got a chance to see a lot of Mays in 2004.

“I really liked him out of high school,” said Uhlman, a former Wolf Pack shortstop a decade ago. “We didn’t sign him at the time because we were a little overloaded in the middle of the infield. But we knew that Steve could play. He has very good athleticism and he has a real solid approach to the game.”

Mays played short as a freshman at Mesa and second as a sophomore.

“It was nice to see him go down to Arizona for two years and develop as a player,” Uhlman said. “He was able to get valuable experience down there for two years and we’re very fortunate he decided to come back to town and play with us.”

Mays said he was also recruited out of high school by Oregon State and Santa Clara.

“They told me that I probably wouldn’t get to play a lot my first two years,” Mays said this week. “So I thought the best thing for me was to go to a place where I could get on the field and play. And it all worked out for the best.

“I wanted to stay here coming out of high school but it just didn’t work out. And it was good for me in a lot of ways to get out of town for a while. Going to Mesa worked out great for me. I learned a lot and got a lot of playing time. I was able to get over 200 at-bats in both of my years there and I was able to develop as a player much quicker.”

Mays is right where he wanted to be all along.

“I just think that this is a real good fit for me,” Mays said. “I have a lot of people here who support me. I liked getting away for a couple years and see a different area. But it’s nice to be home again.”

Having Colton around is an added bonus, Mays said.

“When I heard he was coaching here, I was thrilled,” Mays said. “I loved him at Reno High. It’s just nice having him around again.”

“I know he’s going to be able to help this ballclub,” Colton said.