Every baseball player puts their own personal touch to the game with the song that is played when they walk-up to home plate for an at-bat at every home game.
At UNLV, it’s no different, as each of the players of the Hustlin’ Rebels has one or two walk-up songs that they hand-picked at the beginning of the season.
While some spent time choosing the right one, some procrastinated until the night they were due. Here are all the walk-up songs of the infielders and the story behind why they were chosen:
Edarian Williams: “Been Down” by Nipsey Hussle & “No Friends in the Industry” by Drake
For the junior second baseman, it didn’t take much time to pick out two walk-up songs for the 2022 baseball season. Edarian Williams said, “I didn’t think much into it.”
“[Both songs] get me going, get me pumped up,” Williams said. “… it’s just a song I like, an artist I like, and something I thought would sound good.”
Diego Alarcon: “Backyard Boogie” by Mack 10 & “Soy Peor” by Bad Bunny
Diego Alarcon, a senior third baseman, previously played at a Junior College so already had songs in mind when it came time to choose.
“My first one, “Backyard Boogie,” Alarcon said. “I’m from Inglewood, Cali. and not a lot of people play division one from there so I wanted to represent well for them.”
“The second one, I have a Spanish song. I tried to give a little culture into the guys, I’m probably one of the few guys that speak Spanish so I got a little Spanish song for the boys but I haven’t pulled it out yet.”
Gianni Horvat: “Find a way” by A Tribe Called Quest & “Shook Ones, Pt. ll” by Mobb Deep
For Gianni Horvat, the freshman shortstop already had two songs in mind when entering his first year of college ball.
“I just liked it [“Find a Way” by A Tribe Called Quest],” Horvat said. “My mom and dad are into old-school rap, so it’s just something I’m passionate about and listen to.”
“I like the rhythm of the song [“Shook Ones, Pt ll”], that’s like one of my favorite songs, it’s just catchy. It gets me going for the inning.”
Jordan Andrade: “Mafia” by Travis Scott & “Me or Sum” by Nardo Wick
For the sophomore infielder, it only took half a day for Jordan Andrade to have two songs selected.
“Once the email got sent out,” Andrade said. “It took me about a half a day to pick which two I really liked, “Mafia” was for sure my number one.”
“It fires me up and Travis Scott is one of my favorite rappers as well. A lot of hip-pop but it’s what I like.”
Henry “Hank” Zeisler: “Chillin” by Lady Gaga and Wale
“Whenever we play on the road and hear someone’s walk-up song, it’s like ‘oh that’s cool’ and you remember it,” Zeisler said. “So I guess that’s my motivation.”
Zeisler, a senior first baseman, was first shown the song from a friend back home and loved it right away since it’s not a popular song.
As far as when he turned in his song, Zeisler said, “The night before it was due. You think about the songs you want, it’s like homework, you cram it, listen to some songs and that’s the one I picked.”
Braden Murphy: “On Top” by D’One & “Over” by Drake
For the freshman shortstop, the songs have more meaning behind why they were chosen and he knew right away which ones. Braden Murphy said, “for my first walk-up song, I just wanted something that would boost my confidence and lock me in when I’m at-bat.”
“The second one, throughout my life I’ve been through a lot of obstacles and adversity, it’s kind of a nod to the people that have been there since the jump and give them a little credit.”
Austin Pfeifer: “Notorious Thugs” by The Notorious B.I.G & “Put on” by Jeezy
Austin Pfeifer, a junior first baseman, thought about what the fans would like when it came time for him to choose his walk-up song.
“Me and my dad used to listen to them in the backyard,” Pfeifer said. “It was always like an old school type of thing, I decided to pick that one so fans could sing along and have a good time. A lot of this new rap, people don’t understand so I picked the old school so people would understand what’s going on and what they listen to.”
