Deacon Sports Xtra: Consistency, Authenticity and Positivity: Turconi Named Ron and Linda Wellman Lifetime Teammate Award Recipient
5/18/2022 9:00:00 AM | Baseball
“He’s a genuine guy. There’s nothing fake about Michael Turconi. He just shows up and does his work. You just don’t want to let him down.”
Wake Forest redshirt junior shortstop Michael Turconi has consistently invested in his teammates, so it's no surprise when they reciprocated. After being nominated for the Ron and Linda Wellman Lifetime Teammate Award, several of his fellow Demon Deacons went to bat for him in the form of letters written to the committee of Wake Forest coaches and administrators who made the final vote.
"It was a great honor to even be considered for it," Turconi said. "And then to be picked, it was a great feeling. I couldn't have done it without my teammates pushing me. Part of being a good teammate is helping make those around you better and holding them accountable. Without them and my coaches, I wouldn't have been able to win that award."
The team found out Turconi was the winner on a bus trip between a pair of midweek road games. The celebration lifted their spirits and then they were able to join together just a few days later at the Black & Golden Globes to see Turconi grab the honor in person.
"They were all pretty excited for me," Turconi said. "They were all there cheering me on. It was a pretty cool experience."
Consistency is what Turconi brings to David F. Couch Ballpark everyday, according to head coach Tom Walter.
"Michael Turconi is the same guy day-in and day-out," Walter said. "His teammates can count on that. He is somebody who is there for them and stays positive at all times. He's the quiet leader behind the scenes who will grab a freshman who's struggling and will pat them on the behind and tell them to keep their chin up. He's a genuine guy. There's nothing fake about Michael Turconi. He just shows up and does his work. You just don't want to let him down.
"He does everything the right way and holds himself to the highest standard. He goes about his business in every facet in the right way."
As the only player to start every game this season for the Demon Deacons, Turconi is batting .313 with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs — those are all career highs for the Wake Forest shortstop.
"I feel really good, but individual goals don't really matter right now," Turconi said. "If you just play good baseball across the board, like we've been doing this season, those numbers kind of take care of themselves. That's really been the main focus this season.
"We have a competitive balance across the board on our team. Bringing that competitiveness to practice each day has really helped. It's helped me personally and it's helped the guys around me."
The 2022 Wake Forest Baseball team is on the cusp of returning to ACC Tournament competition and hope to hear its name called for an NCAA Regional just days later.
"It's been different, for sure, especially when you talk to the older guys who persevered through that COVID year," Turconi said. "We obviously didn't meet the expectations we had last year, but I think that put a chip on our shoulder — especially the senior class coming back. Having that year taken away from us and then not meeting those expectations last year, with this being our senior year it reminds you that this could be your last year of baseball.
"Going out with the mindset that this could be your last season really puts that mindfulness into playing with your heart."
While the Deacs often start three freshmen in the field, it's the cohesion between the experienced and younger players that was built during the fall that has allowed the tremendous improvement in 2022.
"We created that team culture in the fall and we have a great bond," Turconi said. "We have a true brotherhood where we can call each other out, and people don't get mad about it. That's the atmosphere we needed coming into this year. We're happy with where we are right now, especially with getting Nick Kurtz and Lucas Costello back. We're hoping to make great strides going into the postseason."
With a record of 36-16-1 overall, the Demon Deacons have shown they can go out and compete with the best in the country. They have wins over top-15 teams like Louisville, Virginia Florida State, Georgia Tech and Liberty.
"It's been pretty refreshing to go out there and have the confidence in yourself and your team that you have a chance to win every game," Turconi said. "We've never really had that in the past. But once we came together in the fall and started building that team culture, going out to war everyday with these teammates everyday is great. We're never out of any game. We've been down runs late in games and have come back and won.
"Having the confidence in ourselves knowing we can compete in every game, even toward the end of the season as we square off against some really good opponents — confidence is key in these games. Finishing strong and making the postseason is our goal. These last weekends will be huge for us."
Turconi said Walter tells them they never lose, but instead just run out of time.
"We're just having fun and that's key to it all," Turconi said.
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