LORMAN – Alcorn State senior infielder Dario Rosa never saw former Pittsburgh Pirate great Roberto Clemente play. But the former Puerto Rican Hall of Famer has been quite an inspiration to his fellow countryman.

Rosa was born in Puerto Rico six years before Clemente died in a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean in 1972. Clemente was aboard a plane taking supplies to Managua, Nicaragua after an earthquake killed thousands and left many more homeless.

&uot;I looked at tapes of Roberto Clemente all the time when I was growing up,&uot; Rosa said. &uot;I love the way he played. He always played hard no matter what the score was. And he was always helping people. I really admired him. I have his baseball card and a baseball he autographed.&uot;

Rosa has his own admiration society after being named as the 2000 Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

The Alcorn senior is the first Alcorn player to ever win the award.

Rosa, who was also named the conference’s Most Outstanding Hitter, finished his senior year batting .452, fifth highest in the nation. He had 39 RBIs, 14 doubles and a home run. He only struck out 10 times in 104 plate appeareances.

Rosa was named SWAC&160;Freshman of the Year in 1997 after batting .331. He batted .378 as a sophomore and junior, participating in all 160 games Alcorn has played during his career.

&uot;This year I’ve been more consistent than other years,&uot; Rosa said. &uot;In past years I would get hot, then I would slack off, then get hot. This year my confidence level has been real high. I came in as a senior looking at every game as if we couldn’t be beat. I was going to give 100 percent in every game and play hard.&uot;

Rosa credits his banner season with being more selective at the plate.

&uot;I’ve been a smarter hitter,&uot; Rosa said. &uot;I used to swing at almost any pitch. But now I wait for my pitch.&uot;

Needless to say, Rosa did not see a lot of good pitches this season.

&uot;They pitched around me a lot,&uot; he said. &uot;I never saw a pitch down the middle of the plate and I saw a lot of breaking balls. I just hit what I could.&uot;

Rosa said he was looking at going to Miami, Georgia, Penn State or East Carolina.

&uot;But they only offered me half-scholarships,&uot; he said. &uot;Tuition is $30,000 there, so it would have cost me $15,000. I couldn’t afford that.&160;Alcorn’s tuition is low, and they play Division I baseball so I decided to take a chance and come here.&uot;

Rosa, who carries a 3.0 grade point average and will graduate this month with a major in accounting, said the only drawback is that the competition has not been as tough as it would have been at a bigger school.

&uot;But it’s still baseball, and I was still getting the opportunity to play and show my talent,&uot; he said.

Alcorn finished with the best percentage of teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division, but their 13-5 record left them eight games short of the required 26 SWAC games. The Braves were uneligible to compete in the tournament, which was won by Jackson State.

&uot;I had been working four years to get a ring on my finger,&uot; Rosa said. &uot;This year we were going to win it, there was no chance of us losing. But we couldn’t win it on the field. That broke my heart. But I’ve put it behind me now.&uot;

The 6-foot, 200-pound Rosa said his father, Carlos Rosa, Sr., helped him become interested in baseball.

&uot;All of my life I’ve played baseball,&uot; he said. &uot;I was crazy about it. I started playing in a league at the age of nine and I’ve always been named to an all-star team. At the age of 15, I figured I was pretty good, so I started this dream of playing in the major leagues.&uot;

Rosa said he loves playing shortstop, but is probably better suited for third base.

&uot;I love shortstop because you are involved in almost every play and there is always something to do,&uot; he said. &uot;But my range is not that good and I’m more comfortable at third base.&uot;

Clemente was not the only baseball player Rosa looked up to growing up in Puerto Rico.

&uot;When I was young we didn’t have cable,&uot; he said. &uot;The only channels we got were ABC and TBS. I watched the Atlanta Braves all the time. I loved watching Dale Murphy play.&uot;

Rosa is hoping people in his homeland will be watching him one day. He is anxious for the Major League Baseball Draft, which takes place next month.

&uot;I got a call from a scout from the Baltimore Orioles who told me they would be drafting me, but he didn’t know which round,&uot; Rosa said.

Rosa said he needs to work on his foot speed and increase his speed.

&uot;I’ve never been timed, but I have average speed,&uot; he said. &uot;I got a little heavy this summer and have to get it back down.&uot;

Rosa is certainly determined to do what it takes to make it to the big leagues.

&uot;It’s been a long road,&uot; he said. &uot;I’ve played baseball all over, from the Domincan Republic, to Arabu, Mexico and the States. &uot;I’ve never really had a real vacation. We would just go places to play baseball. Now all I want is a shot to make it in the Major Leagues. Until then, I’ll never how far I can make it.&uot;