The Collegian

Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Sports

Mention his name and anyone who has met him breaks into a smile.
Meet him and you will smile, too.

Senior Joe Schoonover's talent for spreading cheer is simple: His naturally gregarious personality spreads vibes of friendliness to those around him.

Pattie Schoonover, his mother, said Joe takes after his dad, who loves playing with words and teasing people.

"He has always derived great pleasure from making people laugh," she said.

Junior Andrew Davis, Joe's Charger baseball teammate, agreed.

"He always has a good attitude - always positive and encouraging … He's definitely comic relief," Davis said. "I've never seen him down."

At 6 feet 4 inches, the pitcher is a staple of Hillsdale personage - often spotted loafing about the Grewcock Student Union draped in athletic gear. His toothy grin compliments his promise of non-stop chatter.

"Sometimes guys [on the team] will get frustrated, some get angry … Joe is always talking," said junior Ben Davis, a teammate.

In addition to his trademark chattiness and grin, Joe's penchant for creative goatee grooming - the token fu Manchu - is an indication of Joe's fun-loving demeanor.

"The fu Manchu," Ben said, shaking his head with a smile. "That's typical Joe, typical Joe."

The Food
Despite his naturally lanky, athletic build, Joe sports a pitcher's gut, the result of coaches prodding him to gain weight to add a little oomph to his pitch.

Far from self-conscious about the bulge, he merely smacks his protuberant belly in response to teasing and shakes it. With hands laden of pitcher belly, he cracks a joke about "winter insulation."

"Having to gain the extra weight didn't bother him," said Pattie. "He was never concerned with his weight."

Food is important to Joe. Though, his teammates say he may have followed his coach's advice with a little too much verve. He has a near obsession with late-night Taco Bell runs and an abiding love for the Pizza Hut buffet.

"We actually met at [Pizza Hut buffet]," junior Tom Thistleton said. "At least that's where we fostered our relationship."

Joe and friends ditched their Tuesday lunch ritual of Pizza-Hut buffet after the lunches progressively became more impractical. Now, all Joe can do is lament.

"No more punch cards, they give you less food, not to mention, they raised the price three times," Joe said. "I said, 'That's it, we're through.'"

"He always knows where all the deals are on food," Thistleton said.

The "Mexican"
Joe possesses a creative nickname indicative of his heritage. Close friends call him simply: "Mexican."

Joe's friend, Joel Musser '07, said the name was created one afternoon in Galloway Hall. As Joe was opening his mail, Musser said he asked about a check sitting on Joe's desk.

"I asked, 'What is this from?' and [Joe] said, 'It's because I am Mexican," Musser said. "I said, 'What? You're not Mexican!'"

While reflecting on his friendship with Joe, Musser squeezes his words between flurries of laughter sparked by memories of Joe.

Musser said Joe has an impressive napping skill, which he and others dubbed, "siestas," in celebration of Joe's decent. Musser said Joe naps randomly around campus, such as at the library or the Lane Hall lobby.

Ben said, because Joe holds the reputation of goofball, he is often the brunt of such jokes.

"But he takes it really well, never gets mad," he said.

"One word I would use to describe Joe is 'absurd,' or 'ridiculous,'" Musser said. "He's always walking around with his Big Fizz bottle and his stupid hats and his nasty mustache."

The Game
Joe, Hillsdale's "knuckleball pitcher," did not join the team until his sophomore year.
"I didn't know if I was disciplined enough to do both [baseball and academics]," he said.

After he found balance, Joe walked onto Hillsdale's team the fall of 2004.

Joe said being a one-pitch pitcher can be difficult, especially when the other team knows what to expect.

"But if you throw it right," Joe said, "The knuckleball is almost impossible to hit, unless you have an extremely disciplined batter."

Sometimes, the knuckleball fails. Earlier this month, Joe gave up nine runs in the second inning against Central Michigan University. Although the Chargers did not fare better against Wayne State University April 5, he remains one of head coach Paul Noce's standby pitchers.

"The knuckleball is not consistent - sometimes it's really hard to hit and sometimes it's like hitting a beach ball," Andrew said.

Ben said games, such as their recent loss to Wayne State, are difficult for everyone and the first thing in each player's mind is surviving the game.

"You just have to throw it and pray they don't hit it to the fence," Joe said.

Joe's love for baseball began at a young age.

Pattie said Joe's first word was "ball," and the first word he read aloud was "Dodgers," from a sign.

The Future
Joe is finishing his fifth and final year at Hillsdale. He opted to stay an extra year for the opportunity to play baseball one more season. His extra year allowed him double major in Spanish along with economics.

Pattie said when Joe came home from his first year of school he was so excited about his economics classes that he began educating his youngest sister, Rebecca, on the principles of economics.

"He explained these complex ideas in ways she could understand - in her own terms - I think Joe should be a teacher," she said proudly. "I think he missed his calling."

Pattie said when Joe was four he told her he wanted to be a fish when he grew up.

Joe said he would recommend being a fifth year student, citing the advantages of knowing everyone, how things work at the school, and playing baseball for another year.

After graduating, Joe said a financial management position in Traverse City, Mich., is in the works. Yet, Joe said he will miss college, all his friends and baseball, especially.

"All I have to look forward to now is beer-league softball," he said.

In his five years at Hillsdale, Joe showed everyone with whom he came into contact the value of not taking yourself too seriously.

"He's got a great heart - when he's not smiling, he's siesta-ing," Musser said.

For more baseball pictures, please click on this link.

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