Sensley brings big bat north from Louisiana to power Anchorage Bucs

Louisiana-Lafayette slugger Steven Sensley has spent most of his baseball years playing within a 45-mile radius in southern Louisiana.

This summer, his big bat is boosting the Anchorage Bucs nearly 3,400 miles away in the Alaska Baseball League.

"The weather up here is perfect compared to where I'm from," Sensley said. "Right now in Baton Rouge, I know it's over 100 heat index, so this weather is perfect."

Through Thursday's games, Sensley ranks third in the ABL in batting average (.318), second in RBIs (19), fourth in runs scored (16) and is tied for second in home runs (3).

In his second game in Alaska, Sensley smacked a seventh-inning grand slam that put the Bucs ahead in an 11-8 win over the Mat-Su Miners.

"I feel like I started doing well toward the end of the season at school and I guess that just kind of carried over," Sensley said. "(I'm) just playing loose, not pressing and having fun, and letting my abilities do the rest."

Sensley's power at the plate caught the eye of MLB scouts early in his career.

The lefty from Baton Rouge was drafted out of University High in 2013 in the 33rd round by Minnesota, but he chose not to sign.

He was drafted again in 2015 in the 38th round by Tampa Bay after a year of junior college play at Louisiana State-Eunice, and again he declined the offer. The money wasn't what he wanted.

"I felt like I was a better player than what they were offering and I wanted to come to college to prove that I was a better player than what they were offering," Sensley said. "I have next year to go out and prove myself once again, so we'll see how that goes."

In 2015, Sensley earned All-America honors and helped lead Louisiana State-Eunice to the junior college Division II national championship.

He recorded a .374 batting average and set a school record with 21 home runs that season.

"That was the best season of my life as far as numbers go, as far as having fun goes," Sensley said. "We finished it off with a national championship. I couldn't have asked for a better season."

Sensley said the pressure of expanding on his great season got to him heading into his first year of NCAA Division I baseball at Louisiana-Lafayette. He didn't know what more he had to do to impress the major league scouts.

"I look back at what I did at my junior college and (MLB organizations) didn't really budge then in the 2015 draft," Sensley said. "It kind of put the question in my mind, what more do I need to do?"

The next season, Sensley's numbers at Louisiana-Lafayette were down — he hit .252 with only six home runs — but he said he was better in the latter half of the season and brought his hot streak with him to Anchorage.

He also brought two teammates. Ragin Cajuns infielder Hunter Kasuls and pitcher Logan Stoelke also play for the Bucs this summer.

Kasuls bats second in the lineup — one spot ahead of Sensley.

"It's nice," Kasuls said. "If I get on, he's most likely gonna drive me in."

Off the diamond, Sensley and Kasuls are roommates. Kasuls said Sensley has a quiet personality in the dugout, but he will open up once he gets to know someone.

"He's not much of a goofball, but when you get to know him, he kind of opens up and he's a little bit of a goofball," Kasuls said. "Me and Steve were both first year at ULL, so I got to know him pretty well."

Heading into the weekend, Sensley and the Bucs are 14-14 in ABL play — good for fourth place and 2.5 games behind the league leader, Mat-Su Miners.

Last year, the Bucs won the ABL Top of the World Series.

Hometown hurting

"Stay strong, Baton Rouge," a fan yelled as Sensley made his way to the plate in a game this week against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Sensley's hometown has been part of a national discussion regarding racism following the death of Alton Sterling — a black man who died at the hands of police.

In the days following Sterling's July 5 death, another black man, Philando Castile, was killed by police in Minnesota, and five police officers were killed in a shooting in Dallas.

"It was hard for me to look at that video and it being in my hometown," Sensley said of the shooting of Sterling. "I see it happen in other places, but it never really registered on what was happening and what was going on in America until it happened to somebody from where I'm from.

"It's hard to talk about, but the nonviolent protesting, that's our way to go. That's a start. Violence is never the answer. So, what they're doing now — having protests, trying to get their voice heard — I think that's a good start to try to end what's been going on."