Vincent Armeni is that rare baseball player, a position player advancing past high school.

This baseball-rich area usually is dominated by pitchers. Not in Armeni’s case.

“Vince is the rare hitting prospect,” Ursuline baseball coach Matt Weymer said. “There’s a lot of hitting talent there. He’s got great hands, great athleticism. For the position he plays, he’s a real plus hitter for that position.

“He brings a lot of pop to a position that normally doesn’t have a lot of pop. I think his offensive ability is what makes him stand out from that aspect.”

Fairmont State (W. Va.) University noticed and Armeni recently signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Falcons.

Armeni, the Fighting Irish’s shortstop, batted .318 last season with a home run and 11 RBIs with 27 runs.

He is a pull hitter.

“All pitches middle in, no matter if it is a fastball or off speed, I like the ball closest to me,” said Armeni, who will major in business at Fairmont State.

He has played Youngstown Class B baseball for the Astro Falcons the past couple of years, playing either second base or shortstop. That play has helped hone his skills.

“The most important thing is getting reps,” Armeni said. “The more you play, the better you get.”

He played football through his freshman season and still plays basketball for the Irish. Weymer appreciates multi-sport athletes. He tells his players to do as much as they can because high school only comes around once in their lives.

“The more sports you play, the more well-rounded you are — your movements, your fine motor skills, your strength,” Weymer said. “I think every sport builds on different concepts, and they can only help. Specialization is nice down the road, but for most athletes playing everything that you can is going to help you in the long run.”

It helps with more than just the physical aspect.

“You learn how to manage your time in school and sports,” Armeni said. “Every coach motivates you in different ways. It is good to get philosophies of different coaches.”

Ursuline plays an aggressive schedule. Armeni sees many good pitchers in Class B. The two have prepared him well for Fairmont State.

“This is a kid who is going to college with a ton of quality at-bats against a lot of quality arms,” Weymer said. “He’s not coming from a place where he hasn’t seen 80 miles an hour. We see that almost every time out. He’s just a really seasoned offensive player coming out of high school. I don’t think anything at the next level offensively is going to surprise him.”

For now, Armeni is concentrating on his upcoming senior season.

“Now that the commitment is out of the way, I’ll focus on having fun with my friends and winning the district,” he said.