Manistee junior Donavyn Kirchinger winds up to throw a pitch against Frankfort on Tuesday, April 12 at Lockhart Field.

After Thursday's 18-0 route over Muskegon Orchard View, Manistee baseball is 10-11 entering Saturday's 350 Tournament. While team is filled with colorful characters, first baseman/pitcher Donavyn Kirchinger is a baseball guy through and through.

Manistee News Advocate sports reporter Mitch Vosburg had the chance to chat with the junior and talk about more than the game of baseball.

MNA: Okay, first question out of the gate is a fastball. Some would say controversial. Does pineapple belong on pizza?

DK: No. It just doesn't taste right with the marinara sauce, the pizza sauce. It doesn't taste right.

MNA: Fair enough. How's the season going so far?

DK: It's going pretty good. Should have had a few more wins, but that's the team's fault. A lot of pitching errors and stuff like that.

MNA: Who's your all-time favorite baseball player?

DK: Mike Trout. He just really good hitter, really good fielder and comes back from injuries pretty strong.

MNA: If you could come up with a dream concert of five bands or artists of your choice, your own personal concert, who are you picking?

DK: Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Lil Baby, Polo G and ... Ice Cube.

MNA: What's your favorite spot to play on the field?

DK: First Base. It's kind of like the most underrated position in the infield because when a ground ball is hit, you have to make the play. If there's a bad throw you gotta be able to scoop it or get it out somewhere.

MNA: Who's the biggest slob on the team?

DK: Caine Weed. He's just messy. His trucks messy, he never really cleans it. He forget to clean it.

MNA: What's your favorite TV show?

MNA: Favorite character on the show?

DK: Ricky, because he's stupid funny. Stupid funny is what I think is the funniest in movies and TV shows.

MNA: What's one hot take you have that people might disagree with?

DK: That baseball isn't a hard sport to play. People always say baseball is really easy and that it takes and really no skill to play. In my opinion it's not about the skill, it's about your mental aspect of the game. You have to have good IQ to play this game. 

MNA: What's your dream vacation spot?

DK: Dominican Republic. they have a lot of baseball down there, so it'd be kind of cool to watch some of them play.

MNA: Maybe a bit of a hot subject, but who do you think's your best friend on the team?

DK: Carter Fredericks. I've known him since like fourth grade. We spend every single school year together. I hang out with them all the time.

MNA: What's your go-to pump up song?

DK: Stfu by 42 Dugg. It's just loud. It puts me in an angry mood. Kind of makes me want to, I don't know, just go play.

MNA: You get to choose one dinner guest. Living or dead, family or celebrity. Who do you choose?

DK: Adam Sandler. He's just really funny. He'd be really funny to talk to. I have the same birthday as him, too.When I saw that I thought it'd be interesting to talk to him.

DK: I really I usually don't eat before games because I get sick from the nervous. I get butterflies in my stomach. But if I was to eat anything, it'd be like trail mix because of the nuts and stuff. Not too heavy.

MNA: Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

DK: My mom, because she's always there mostly every home game. She takes me to every tournament in the summer. She's always there cheering me on and stuff.