"It starts and ends with him in being fearless," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "He's not scared. He's out there, he's having fun playing. He likes to make things happen."

Fear is relative to Spiers, considering how he was developed into a player. His father, Michael Spiers, coaches a California-based club team ABD (Amateur Baseball Development), which plays in showcases around the country.

As a high school sophomore, Spiers played with — and against — players older than he was for his father's team. Among his teammates back then are his teammates now: sophomore pitcher Steven Wright, junior pitcher Justin Costi and senior outfielders Greg Kish and Nate Thurber. Some of the players he played against have surfaced as UH opponents, such as Alabama freshman shortstop Cale Iorg.

"When I was 14, I was playing with 16-, 17-year-olds," the 19-year-old Spiers said. "That helped me to get a lot more knowledge of the game."

Michael Spiers said it isn't unusual for sophomores to play with older players on his club team. He said when some of the juniors and seniors get invited to Team USA trials, sophomores fill the void.

"Joe was fortunate to play with those (caliber) guys," said Michael Spiers, who also is an area scout for the Seattle Mariners. "Some have moved on to Division I schools, some have been very high draft picks. He's been around some good players. It's an advantage to play against those type of players."

High hopes

Spiers' hot start does not totally surprise Trapasso.

"We really thought from a career standpoint, by the time Joe was finished here he was going to be a difference-maker, a real catalyst at the top of the order," Trapasso said. "And he's started out that way and we hope that continues."

Hitting-wise, Spiers uses the whole field. Of his 14 hits, the right-handed hitter has five to right, two to center, three to left, two to shortstop, one to second and a bunt single to first. He has two extra-base hits, a double to left and a triple to right.

His speed and savvy were evident in Saturday's game against Pacific. In the first inning, he swung and missed at a strike-three pitch in the dirt. His speed forced the catcher to hasten his throw, which went wide for an error. After taking second on a sacrifice, Isaac Omura drew a walk. On ball four, Spiers stole third on the catcher's return throw to the pitcher.

"I saw that the catcher was being lazy, just throwing the ball up in the air," Spiers explained. "It's just looking for things that people don't think about when you're stealing bases."

His defense has been steady, but took center stage in Sunday's 13-inning, 2-1 loss to the Tigers. Spiers dazzled the crowd with a number of plays. One came in the sixth when he made a catch of Matt Berezay's foul fly behind third base on the dead run. The other happened in the 12th when a shot off Jason Haar caromed off Wright's shoe to Spiers, who bare-handed the ball and threw out the runner.

Spiers has two errors in 44 total chances (.955).

"The thing that really impressed me is how he's played defensively," Trapasso said.

Father knows best

Spiers, of Moreno Valley, Calif., credits his father with teaching him the nuances of the game.

"When we talk about baseball, he likes to instill things in my head that I haven't really thought about before and it just stayed with me, I guess," Spiers said. "Or when we're watching a baseball game on TV, he'll point things out, stuff like that."

Baseball wasn't always in the forefront for Spiers. As a preteen, he was into basketball and roller hockey. But baseball was never far away.

"When I was young, I wanted to see what else I could do," Spiers said. "I realized I wanted to play baseball when I was 13. That's when I started going back to it. And I wasn't very far from the game. My dad always had the ties."