Both guys were from just outside Richmond – Vinnie Pasquantino from Mosley, on the Southside; Kyle Battle, from Glen Allen, just north of the city. But they didn’t know each other when they stepped onto the Old Dominion campus for a baseball camp in 2013, just after their freshman high school seasons.
It was quickly clear that Battle, an outfielder, was the better player. He ran a 60-yard dash, the baseball standard for speed from first to third base, in lockstep with an older, highly regarded recruit.
“I came back for a showcase tournament a year later, and (coaches) toured the school with me and showed they had a lot of interest,” said Battle, now a Monarch sophomore center fielder.