Baseball | March 28, 2024

It is common to see people that want to grow up and be just like their parents. In the baseball world, players like Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. or Vladimir Guerrero and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are just two of the very popular father-son duos who both took on baseball. For the Pacers' Joseph Mozingo, he wanted to do the same by carrying on his father's legacy playing baseball.
 
Mozingo began his baseball career when he was just three years old. Starting off with t-ball, he had always loved baseball from a young age. He gave other sports like soccer, basketball, and football a chance. Baseball was always his No. 1 sport, but he gave up all other sports in middle school to focus solely on baseball. 
 
Mozingo grew up in Huntingtown, Maryland. According to him, he saw a lot of similarities in his hometown that are also like Aiken. 
 
"It is a very rural area," said Mozingo. "It is a smaller town, and everyone knows each other."
 
Mozingo always had Aiken on his radar when it came to picking a school to play for. His father played for the Pacers, and he wanted to walk the same campus that he did while carrying on his legacy.
 
Even though he was following in his father's footsteps, Mozingo did not expect anything to be given to him. He knew he had to earn his spot on the team. During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he saw time in four games and only started one. Fast forward to 2023, and Mozingo started 35 of 38 games played while maintaining a .393 batting average and earning a second-team all-PBC selection.
 
"I always approach the plate with the mindset that I want to do damage, and I always swing as hard as I can," said Mozingo. "Baseball is a game of failure. 40 percent in something else is not good."
 
The best part about the baseball team to Mozingo is how close the team is. They do nearly everything together and share so many memories. His favorite memory with the team is walking off against rival Augusta in the 2023 season to take the series against them.
 
The player he looks up to the most on the team is Evan Condon. 
 
"He has gone through so much adversity in his college career," said Mozingo. "No matter what happens, he shows up with a smile on his face every day."
 
Mozingo usually has no trouble motivating himself to bring his best every day. On those days where it may not be coming together, he remembers a late friend of his to push him to his best. Davis Heller, a North Greenville baseball transfer and friend of Mozingo, passed away at the young age of 22. 
 
"I strive to be like him," said Mozingo. "I just want to make him proud."

With a few weeks left in the regular season, there's no doubt that Mozingo will not only make him proud, but also his family proud by walking in the same footsteps as his father did at USC Aiken.