Bottom of the ninth. One out. The score tied at 1. It was the perfect set up for what would begin a magical run for Luis Pollorena and Mississippi State’s baseball team. Pollorena stood at third base, just 90 feet from victory. With the crack of the bat, Pollorena retreated to third. When the centerfielder made the catch, Pollorena tagged up and broke for home.
This is the moment the senior pitcher called his most memorable in an MSU uniform. Through illness, setbacks and transitions, Pollorena said this moment was made possible through faith.
Pollorena described his early childhood as average. He was active and energetic. That all changed at the age of four when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He took over 50 pills a day and went through intense treatments. Through the ordeal, he recalled another moment that changed his life forever.
“I remember seeing a white light, just blinking and seeing a white light, and talking to God,” Pollorena said. “And he said, ‘What are you doing here?’ As a four-year-old, I don’t know. How am I supposed to answer that? He said, ‘Why are you here?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ He said, ‘You shouldn’t be here, you should be with your family. I have a plan for you.'”
In this brief moment, Pollorena was medically dead on the table.
“As the flatline was going off, my mom said an old lady walked into the room and started rubbing my hands, my feet and my head. She said, ‘Don’t worry, keep faith, everything is going to be fine.’ That’s what she kept telling my mother,” Pollorena explained. “As soon as she walked out and when the door closed behind her, my eyes opened. Two weeks later, they said it was a miracle. I had beaten cancer and been cleared of it.”
The 5’9″ Laredo, Texas, native developed a love for the game of baseball and found himself at Marion Military Institute, a small junior college in Alabama. Pollorena said having to perform the military responsibilities at Marion created an escape on the diamond.
“At first I didn’t like it, waking up early and having to march. At the time I didn’t realize it, but it’s what made baseball fun. Not liking the military part and having to do all that, when you get to the baseball field, it’s what it’s supposed to be – it’s having fun,” he said.
Pollorena had a phenomenal first year at Marion and was tabbed conference player of the year. It was this accolade that helped him land a scholarship at MSU the following season.
He described the transition as difficult when he first stepped on to an SEC baseball field, but the confidence he developed in junior college returned as he became more comfortable to the scene. He now has evolved his role on the team as a utility player. He pitches, hits, runs and fields and will be the Bulldog starter on the mound Friday in the series opener against Florida.
“In little league I was the guy who always wanted the ball. That’s just the competitor in me. I want to win. I will do anything to win,” he said.
Pollorena’s spirit and effort has also caught the attention of his coaching staff. MSU head coach John Cohen said Pollorena always displayed the attitude of a team player. He is the first out of the dugout between innings, and he acquired a role as the cheerleader of the team.
“He’s somebody who brings a lot of energy. He’s someone who works extremely hard. He’s somebody who’s had incredible life experiences, and he’s somebody who is a tremendous athlete. He’s very special to our baseball program. I think everybody on our team relates to Pollo in one way or another,” Cohen said. “He’s very versatile, very much a student of the game. He’s somebody who I think has a professional future.”
He embraced the same attitude when called upon to pinch run in a game against Tennessee last season. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Pollorena tagged up, dashed down the third-base line, beat the throw from the centerfield and slid into home for the winning run.
“I just remember scoring the winning run, and me and Hunter (Renfroe) just locked eyes. We just smiled and said, ‘We have a chance to do something special.’ It really impacted my life. That was where I said, ‘We’re going to do something special,’ and God-willing, we did win the SEC championship,” he said.
Off the field, Pollorena volunteers his time assisting students with disabilities at the MSU ACCESS Program with teammate Kendall Graveman. He said seeing the smiles of these students brings him back to earth and even helps him through his worst games.
“Whenever we have a bad game and we see them, we have to remember how sweet this life is, how blessed we are, how grateful we should be for this life,” he said. “Those kids brighten up my day every time I see them. They each hold a special part of my heart.”
Brecken Rush, MSU ACCESS instructor, said Pollorena devotes about two hours a day with ACCESS students and takes them to lunch and to the Palmeiro Center to play ball, writes them letters and tutors one of the students in a coaching class.
“Luis has been an inspiration to the ACCESS Program students and to me. He is a Godly man with strong faith and has endured much in his short life,” Rush said. “Luis is truly a blessing to me and to all he comes in contact with.”
Along with the inspiration from the students he works with, Pollorena said faith and family have been a big influence on his life. He has relied on faith every step of the way and translates his beliefs to the game he loves.
“This game is a big part of my life, and I say it was a gift that God gave me; sometimes I think that’s what he meant when he said, ‘I have a plan for you,'”Pollorena said. “Sometimes whenever we face opponents that have 6’8″ or 6’9″ players and I’m pitching and I’m able to get them out somehow, I’ve always wondered why I’ve always been so small, and my mom would say it’s just God showing how powerful he is, by showing how he can work through something so small.”