Born and raised in nearby Campbell, Mike Szenborn's love affair with baseball started at an early age and has endured until now, although his theatrics on the field of play have since ceased.
Playing for Coach Dom Rosselli's diamond men from 1972-75, Szenborn was a key cog in the Penguins posting four straight 20-plus victory seasons and in the process, set the school mark for doubles in a season (13 in 1975) and for a career (33).
An all-around player while a scholastic performer for the Campbell Memorial Red Devils, he was four-year letterwinner, pitching two no-hitters and leading the 1971 squad to a 14-3 overall mark (had had a career. 400 batting average in high school), posting a 10-1 mound record en route to Most Valuable Player honors that season.
Rosselli had been following Szenborn since his ninth grade year, and upon graduation made Szenborn one of his prized recruits that season. It was a scholarship offer that Rosselli would never regret.
His freshman season was a "get-acquainted with collegiate baseball" campaign. He batted .240 postined a 3-2 mound mark as the Penguins posted a 20-14 ledger, the first of four straight 20-win seasons for the program.
As a sophomore, he batted .381, rapping 11 doubles, stealing 14 bases as the Penguins went 21-11. He also had an impressive .514 slugging percentage.
His junior campaign was a little bit of a come down after a brilliant sophomore season. He posted a .289 batting average with just three doubles, a triple and 10 stolen bases. What salvaged the season was that the team posted a 22-6 mark, the second best mark of any Penguin baseball squad up until that time.
Szenborn was determined to exit his college career on a high note, so his off-season training habits were escalated and the proof they say is easy to see once you look at the final statistics. The team posted a 20-15 record as Szeborn hit .368 with a school record 13 doubles, one triple, four home runs and a career-best .623 slugging percentage.
For his four-year career, he batted .327 (123-of-376), played in 128 of a possible 129 games as the Penguins posted an 83-46 record, a .643 winning percentage. He scored 75 runs and had 175 total bases, stealing 39 bases with 33 doubles, five homers and two triples.
With baseball always having been his first love, it's easy to see that his success on the field of play mirrored the success of the teams that he played on. His Little League All-Star team finished fourth in the state, his Pony League team was league champion both seasons, his high school team advanced to the Sectional title game on two separate occasions, his Class B team (Campbell A.C.) won a National Championship (the National Amateur Baseball Federation crown in 1971) and his Class AA teams competed in the NABF Senior Tournaments.
When he felt baseball should take a backseat to softball later in his sandlot career, he helped lead several teams to three league titles and three runner-up finishes, garnering four MVP awards during his 10 seasons (1976-86) on the local sandlot softball scene.
He is married to the former Janet Ray, and they have three boys; Michael, Jr.; Brian and Daniel.
Mike is currently employed at General Extrusions Company.
