Growing up with a baseball coach for a father and an uncle who is the head athletic trainer for the St. Louis Cardinals, twins Mike and EJ Folli of the baseball team have been on the path to competitive sports their entire lives.
"When you play for your father it's not easy," said the twins' father Ed Folli. "I told them at a very young age that they couldn't just be average ball players. If they were average, I probably would have to sit them on the bench. They had to be so much better than the other guys at their positions to not leave any doubt."
Mike agrees that at times it wasn't easy being the son of the coach.
"We had to be above average so we didn't get that, 'he's only playing because his dad's the coach'," Mike said. "He always demanded more out of us, not to play better, but to work harder and just represent our name."
When EJ decided to join Mike at UB, he was aware that he would need to accept his place on the team as a role player, while Mike was named to the Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Freshman All American Team, hitting over .400 in Mid-American Conference play.
"I came here, and especially as a freshman, knew I wasn't going to play," EJ said. "I didn't want to get red-shirted just for the fact that I knew I could bring something to the team. I'm not that guy who's going to go into the coach's office and say, 'hey, why aren't I playing?'"
EJ recognized the importance of supporting the team, regardless of one's part in it.
"I'm going to do what I can for my team on the bench, whatever I can do to help us win," he said. "Watching (Mike) play, that's just a benefit for me. I can sit there and say 'hey that's Mike, that's my brother'."
Although Mike got off to a great start as a freshman, he credits his teammates for making him feel comfortable and allowing him to get off to a fast start.
"Coming in as a freshman you don't really know what to expect, but the teammates who I share the field with every day, that's the best part," Mike said. "Beyond baseball we're going to be friends for the rest of our lives, and that's what's great."
Mike thinks that EJ's presence in the dugout has not only helped his transition to college baseball, but also helps the team's morale.
"I think having him here helps in every way," Mike said. "He keeps me loose, keeps all of the guys loose. Even when there's something going bad in the dugout or during the game, there's something he's going to say that will make you laugh or get the team pumped up and focused."
EJ said that even his mother asks him whether he's upset about not joining his team on the field more, but he always refutes the notion.
"I tell her every single time, absolutely not," he said. "I like it here, I like my coaches, and I accept my role on the team. I'm the first guy that coach Breen looks to off the bench to hit or play D, and that's fine with me, that's what I like to do and if that's what I can do to help us win then fine."
Though Mike and EJ are twins, according to their teammates their personalities do not reflect their closeness. Mike likes to lead by example, while EJ is more extroverted when it comes to leadership.
"EJ is a very energetic, gung-ho person," said teammate and starting first baseman James Kingsley. "He's always running around like a crazy man having fun. He's a real good kid, fun to be around, he always talks about baseball, he really enjoys the game a lot. Mike's a little more laid back. But they're both competitive."
"They'll have the occasional wrestling match or a dispute back and forth over who can take who in different kinds of sports," Kingsley added. "I saw Mike pin EJ up a couple of times. But EJ doesn't back down."
Ed Folli tried to teach his sons at an early age about the fun and competitiveness of sports while still instilling in them the importance of working hard.
"My house has always been a competitive place," Ed Folli said "Our basement was a basement in the truest sense. It didn't have carpeting or furniture. It's a concrete floor, which turned into a baseball field or a hockey arena. My kids have been in the basement competing with each other probably from the time they could walk."
Although EJ admits to a healthy sibling rivalry off the field, he does not carry it into the game.
"On the field it's harder to be competitive due to the different roles that we have," he said, "but off the field, we're competitive in everything."
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
