Pitcher Alejandro Torres off to a strong start for the team he grew up dreaming of representing, the Miami Hurricanes

Alejandro Torres was taught to be a sponge and absorb knowledge. The Miami, Fla. native lives and breathes baseball, and loves every facet of the game. That dates from when he and his brother, Umberto, picked up beat-up gloves and played Friday afternoons in jeans and sneakers at Red Berry’s Baseball Camp.

Now Torres represents his beloved University of Miami, and he still will seek out and talk to Berry behind home plate at Alex Rodriguez Mark Light Field.

High school rival – and now UM teammate – Carlos Lequerica still sees the same Torres that he played against growing up, nearly a decade later.

“That’s the Ale Torres I’ve known,” Lequerica said. “That’s the guy I’ve seen pitch since I was 13, 14 years old.”

The two take the game of baseball seriously. Both spent their winter vacations at Mark Light Field preparing for the new seasons, taking hours out of their afternoons to go through drills, gym work, and pitching.

They committed to starting at 9:30 A.M., which would evolve into an hour of talking and bonding between the two.

“I love learning about the game. Regardless of whether it’s hitting, pitching, catching, I just love the different aspects of it,” Torres said. “There’s all these external sources nowadays. You go on social media and see all these breakdowns and mechanics.”

That’s how their mornings would start, with Torres and Lequerica – once high school rivals turned teammates – exchanging videos from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok about breakdowns of baseball.

It’s a dream for Torres to start his mornings at The Light. He grew up a Hurricanes fan, dining on chicken fingers and Mark Light milkshakes.

The opportunity to play as a Hurricane was a dream come true last season, as Miami hosted a regional in Coral Gables. The initial euphoria hasn’t faded, but rather increased.

“The first season I got to represent the ‘Canes, I was so in shock and couldn’t believe every time I got to put on the uniform,” Torres said. “Now, for the second season, my nerves have multiplied. Whenever the team calls my name, I feel energy going through my legs and my arms, I feel it everywhere.”

This season isn’t the first time Torres is overcoming an emotional challenge. His freshman season was cut short at FIU due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Months later, he received an opportunity to play for the Tulsa Drillers in the Texas Collegiate League.

Torres was ecstatic, he hadn’t played baseball in months. What followed was something he never saw coming.

“I went under the knife in July for Tommy John,” Torres said. “I missed my second year at FIU.”

Torres played his entire first season at Miami rehabbing from surgery. He was told not to focus much on the results, but more how he was feeling.

He had great outings, he had bad outings. Most importantly, the right-hander never felt fear on the mound.

“No matter how I’m feeling, every time I’m out on the mound, I’m giving 100 percent of what I’ve got,” Torres said. “The competitor in me takes over.”

Torres got the opportunity to play Summer Ball again, this time in the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. Two summers after Tommy John Surgery, the opportunity seemed right for Torres to finally move past the injury.

“Being able to go out there and play, it wasn’t just about being physically ready [anymore], it was about being mentally ready,” Torres said. “Being able to be in the Vineyard for those two and a half months, probably the highlight of my life.”

Torres played some of his best baseball of his career in the NECBL. He struck out 34 batters and held a 1.29 ERA across 21 full innings.

Additionally, the Sharks won their first-ever championship with Torres. Fellow Hurricanes Ronaldo Gallo, Rafe Schlesinger and Dorian Gonzalez, Jr. all played with Torres this month.

“That friendly, funny guy off the mound is just locked in, so serious on the mound,” Sharks’ play-by-play broadcaster Eli Kleinmann said. “[He was] one of the best pitchers the Sharks had last year.”

This season, Torres has looked reborn on the mound. The fourth-year redshirt sophomore bolsters a commanding four walks to 24 strikeouts with a 3.31 ERA through 16 and one-thirds innings.

Torres has credited the improvement of his fastball command, something pitching coach J.D. Arteaga has worked with him on. He’s been working to improve some of the things he kept from the Vineyard, attacking hitters constantly. Lequerica adds he’s kept the same mentality since high school, “helping out his team, trying to get us back in the dugout as quick as I can”.

It’s just what Torres has been taught; be a sponge. Retain that information of baseball, deliver it on the mound.

Torres and the No. 17 Hurricanes face a pivotal series this weekend as they travel to No. 2 Wake Forest for a three-game set.