Published: May 07, 2008 11:32 pm            

Porohnavi intense behind the plate

HANCEVILLE — His eyes never shift, nor do they ever seem to blink. His forearms, steeled by several seasons of heavy lifting and throwing baseballs 60 feet, six inches, bear tattoos full of personal meaning.

A brace on his left ankle betrays a slight limp for his six-foot, 195-pound frame, though he runs full-speed when head coach Randy Putman calls him behind the batting cage.

Rich Porohnavi is intense.

Porohnavi, who’s handled the starting catcher responsibilities for Putman’s Wallace State baseball team this season, came to Hanceville from Northeast High in Pasadena, Md., where the sophomore subjected himself to a grueling off-season workout schedule to get ready for his senior season in 2006.

“It was my New Year’s resolution that year to cut out fast food and get in really good shape,” said Porohnavi Wednesday as the Lions prepared for Saturday’s first round ACCC Tournament matchup with Lurleen B. Wallace.

Porohnavi said he did weights and cardio at 5:30 a.m. every day before going to school. After the bell rang, he was right back at the gym to work on whatever he missed in the morning.

So when Porohnavi came to Hanceville in the fall of 2006, he must have felt right at home.

“We go through some brutal workouts,” said Porohnavi, who split time with Logan Eads behind the plate last season. This year, Porohnavi and sophomore Sean Finucane have given Wallace plenty of experience calling pitches, while freshman Chris Cain can also fill in when necessary.

“After the winter workout, you’re in Olympic shape,” Porohnavi added.

Six weeks before each season, Putman’s team gathers for workouts six days a week. Infielders and outfielders lift as a group, while pitchers follow their own conditioning schedule.

It’s a schedule that has the Lions in top physical shape heading into this weekend’s tournament. In fact, Porohnavi said the Lions might have a physical edge over some of their opponents.

“A lot of other teams got the week off until Wednesday,” he said. “We get one day off a week, on Sunday — and that’s if we perform well enough on Saturday.”

And though the workouts can be intense, Porohnavi said he and his teammates recognize Putman knows what he’s doing.

“Coach Putman knows a lot about what he’s doing,” said Porohnavi. “He knows more about your body than you do.”

With all that time working out together, the sophomore catcher said the team can’t help but become close. So much so that the Lions are like a group of brothers.

“We’re just a big family of brothers,” Porohnavi said. “And coach is the one who runs it.”

        

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