SLIPPERY ROCK — No matter how many different baseball uniforms Billy Messer wears, one thing remains the same: Jack Critchfield Park.

Perhaps the Slippery Rock University baseball field known as "The Jack" should be renamed "The Billy."

"It's kind of weird," Messer said. "It seems every team I play on plays at this field."

Messer has called the park home as a member of three different teams. The latest will be the Slippery Rock Sliders, a team in the Prospect League that begins play in June.

Messer starred at Slippery Rock High, which played several games a year at Critchfield Park.

He then joined the SRU baseball team, coached by his father, Jeff Messer.

Now, he will showcase his skills as a member of the Sliders.

In all three stops, he will play second base.

"I'm very excited," Messer said. "I'll get a chance to see how well I match up with some of the best Division II as well as Division I players."

Messer is no stranger to solid summer baseball leagues. Last year, he played in the Coastal Plain League in North Carolina.

He was mulling his playing options for this summer, including the possibility of returning to the Coastal Plain League, when the opportunity came to play in the Prospect League.

It was a no-brainer for Messer. After all, Critchfield Park is his second home.

"Playing here is really going to motivate me," Messer said. "I'm going to be playing in front of my family and friends and I really want to do well."

Messer said knowing how the field plays will give him an advantage once the season starts.

"It pretty much plays the same from year to year," Messer said. "It does help me knowing how the infield plays, what the ball will do if it hits the grass or the lip of the dirt, if the ball will come up or stay down. It's a benefit."

Messer enjoyed a solid season with The Rock this spring, batting .348 with four home runs, 37 RBI and a .511 slugging percentage.

A move to the No. 5 spot in the order keyed his solid season, Messer said.

In seasons past, he was shuttled around the order, hitting anywhere from No. 3 or No. 4 in the order to No. 8 or No. 9.

It certainly helped having Matt Adams and his .497 average hitting in front of him.

"I thought I did pretty well," Messer said. "But I think I could have done better."

That's what the Prospect League is for: to hone skills against some of the best college players in the country.

Messer is already guarding against letting his expectations get the better of him.

"You're not going to hit .400 here like you can in college," Messer said. "And you are using wooden bats. So, if you start in an 0-for-10 slump, you can't get down on yourself. A blooper here and there, and you are right back on track.

"Everyone in this league is a good player. It's going to be exciting."