Baseball: UCLA-bound Luke Persico moves to center field

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Newhall Hart is moving standout junior infielder Luke Persico, a UCLA commit, to center field this spring, opening the way for sophomore Nicky Valaika to play shortstop and freshman Dayton Provost to play second base.

Persico, 6 feet 3, 170 pounds, batted .395 as a sophomore with 12 stolen bases. He primarily played shortstop and could still end up at the position, but Coach Jim Ozella believes he can help the team in the outfield.

‘He’s an exellent center fielder,’ Ozella said.

-- Eric Sondheimer