At age six, kids were struggling to throw the baseball across the infield. Jonathan Menke was launching it from left field to the pitcher's mound.

But talent is only half the story for the Highland Park, IL native. Diligence is the other key factor — with hard work, Menke was able to change his majors from chemistry to mathematics and financial economics halfway through college. It has also enabled him to shine on the mound, earning Liberty League Pitcher of the Year and All-New York Region accolades last season. For his skill and diligence on the diamond and in the classroom, Menke has been selected to receive the 2012 Lysle “Spike” Garnish Award.

Menke has been playing baseball almost his whole life. He started by tossing the ball around in the front yard with his dad — a hard worker both at his job and in his home, and Menke's role model. Menke then played in a league with players so young that the coaches had to pitch to them because they couldn't yet pitch to themselves.

Menke has come a long way since then. He has played in various baseball leagues the past 13 summers, and his post-graduation goal is to become a professional pitcher.

The right-hander was not always a pitcher. Before college, he was a basketball player and runner, and in his freshman and sophomore seasons at UR, he was a pitcher, first baseman and third baseman. As a rookie, Menke batted .355 and helped the 'Jackets snag the University Athletic Association crown. As a sophomore, he booked a .989 fielding percentage and led the team's pitchers in strikeouts.

 “No greater feeling exists than the feeling you get when you strike out a batter,” Menke says. “Every time a hitter steps into the box against me, it's simply me verse him. Who will win the battle? I love watching as I fool a hitter into taking a called third strike, [and I love watching] him wave and miss at the ball and take that slow walk back to the dugout.”

Almost 50 batters took that dreaded stroll against Menke last season. He went 5-2, recording a 3.18 ERA and holding opponents to a .223 batting average. He pitched three complete games, notched two shutouts and earned Second Team All-UAA as well as First Team All-Liberty League honors.

But the talent does not come without the hard work. Menke knows how tough it is to record 27 outs, especially the final one, and to win without playing his best game. His strategy: plan ahead.

 “I'm very big on visualization,” he says. “Usually the night before a start, I'll start my visualization process, where I'll visualize beating the other team. I focus on my mechanics and throwing strikes in my head, which I feel helps me do that in the game. Through all my preparation, I feel very confident when I step on that mound, so the pressure doesn't get to me.”

Menke's superstitions ease the challenge, too. He can't pitch without his chap stick in his back pocket. He has to warm up the exact same way every time he pitches, and he focuses best if he replays one or two pump-up songs in his head.

But Menke is not just focused on the mound. He and his friend are forming a sports business club on campus, and he succeeds in the classroom by getting work done in advance and, on nights when practices end around eleven and begin again the next morning at six, sacrificing sleep for schoolwork.

To him, the balance is not a burden. It's more like a mathematical equation — you cannot reach the solution until you find a way for the parts to work together.

“Baseball is very good at taking away some of the stresses of my academic life,” he says. “Some days I'll have a mountain of work that I've been picking away at for the whole day. I'll stress over it and strain to keep going, but then I'll have baseball practice, where I can go for a couple hours and forget all about my work and just play baseball. That eases my mind, and I can go back to work more relaxed.”

Taking breaks is essential to working hard, and, for Menke, working hard is essential to excelling.

“Hard work beats talent over time,” he says. “If you want to be the best at something, all you have to do is outwork everybody else.”