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07/13/2017 12:00 AMEven though Nikko Liguori’s high school baseball career at Branford was curtailed by injuries, he still went out on a high note this spring and is now looking to achieve his goal of competing at the collegiate level.
Nikko tore his left ACL prior to his sophomore year with the Hornets and then tore his right ACL two-thirds of the way through his junior campaign. Both injuries were big-time obstacles for Nikko to overcome, but he fought hard to get back on the field for his recent senior season, and wound up earning All-Quinnipiac Division honors as one of the Hornets’ captains.
“The first one, I didn’t know what to expect. As long as I worked hard, I knew I could get back. It was going to physical therapy three times per week and, in four months, I was able to hit again and, by six months, I could run. After a year, I was fully recovered,” Nikko says. “That was one of the hardest times of my life, but the second one was mentally the hardest time of my life, because I knew what I was in for. I hate standing on the sidelines, but I overcame everything, because of my work ethic. It made me faster and stronger as a person and a player.”
Nikko says that his hitting coach, former Major League Baseball player Adam Greenberg, helped him cope with those tough times. Greenberg, who suffered a compound skull fracture after getting hit in the head with a pitch as a member of the Chicago Cubs, related to what Nikko was going through while sidelined and did whatever he could to help his protégé see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“He’s easy to work with and somebody that is self-motivated beyond the call of duty. When in that situation, it’s very easy to give up, but he has a desire and work ethic in him. When I get a kid like that, it makes it so much more fun,” Greenberg says. “Because I can relate to what an injury is like, I’m able to converse with him and keep his spirits up. He understood what I had gone through and knows I could relate and be a friend and mentor to help him out.”
Aside from playing in high school, Nikko is well known throughout the region for his skills on the ballfield. Nikko started playing with the Connecticut Bombers at age eight, moved to Goose’s Gamers Baseball when he was 13, and then joined the Connecticut Grind the next year. Now, he’s playing on a travel team out of New Jersey. Nikko typically plays the middle infield and bats out of the leadoff position.
“I mostly play shortstop and a little second base. I like the middle infield, as I’m more involved in the game,” says Nikko. “I think of the outfielders; you’re not always doing something on every play. As a middle infielder, you have to know what is happening every pitch and know what you’d do if the ball is hit to you. You’re moving on every play.”
In his freshman year, Nikko started at shortstop for Branford’s varsity squad and posted a .300 batting average. Nikko was only able to play four games at designated hitter after tearing his ACL as a sophomore, but he hit .303 in those games. Through 15 games as a junior, Nikko was sporting an average of .381 before getting injured. As a captain this season, he hit for a .411 clip, while making the All-Quinnipiac Team and helping the Hornets finish 18-7.
“It was a great feeling [to be captain]. The kids know my work ethic and the juniors on the team are some of my best friends,” Nikko says. “The ability to be a leader is to make other leaders, and I feel I accomplished that this year. Our three pitchers stepped up every time they pitched, everybody hustles, they all have a great work ethic, and I feel I led them to be those people. They saw what I overcame, and it inspired them.”
Next season, Nikko will be playing at IMG Academy, a private boarding school in Bradenton, Florida, with designs on continuing his baseball career in college the following year. Greenberg believes that Nikko’s confidence at the plate will help him fare well in his postgraduate season.
“He has tremendous poise, and his timing is really good. What makes him effective if you watch him, he doesn’t get himself into trouble,” says Greenberg. “Most kids have huge leg kicks or difficulty getting set. You have to hit in a balanced position. If that’s off, it makes a pitcher’s job easy. A good thing Nikko does is he has good poise, balance, and a good, solid approach. He uses all fields, and he’s a pro hitter.”
Nikko is already excited for next spring as he believes his year at IMG Academy will prove huge in terms of getting him prepped to play in the NCAA.
“I never wanted to quit, because it’s been my dream and still is. People go through rough times and, with what I needed to overcome, I know anything is possible,” says Nikko. “The athletes at IMG are 100-percent committed. I know the people behind me are going to make the phone calls. It’s a matter of me showing the colleges what I have. With the [postgraduate] year, I’ll have new doors open, so I can develop and mature more for another year. I think it’s going to be a blessing in disguise.”