He’d always steal second, and sometimes he’d swipe third, too. No one, it seemed, could stop him. Cavasinni stole 109 bases in his prep baseball career, to be exact, and it’s still the state record.

Now 24, Cavasinni, of the talented 2005 North Meck class, remains a man on the move, but these days it’s as a businessman and not as a 5-foot-6 lightning bolt on the base path. He is a traveling sales representative for EvoShield, a sports equipment company that specializes in body-conforming protective gear, and now he logs miles and sales instead of hits and stolen bases.

“It’s a grind, but it’s a fun grind,” says Cavasinni.

This week, his job took him to Omaha, the Mecca of college baseball and a place Cavasinni never minds going. In fact, the city has become an annual destination. He’s been to the College World Series for six straight years, including the first four in a University of North Carolina uniform, and traveling to Omaha still gives him goosebumps.

“It’s something you grow up wanting to do,” he says.

Aside from his business interests, Cavasinni has been keeping an eye on the field this week, too. His Tar Heels were making their fifth CWS appearance in six years.

Playing days

Five years ago, 90 feet separated Cavasinni and Carolina from a tied score in the ninth inning of the CWS final with Oregon State. Then a freshman, Cavasinni had three hits in Game 3 of the championship series, but was left stranded at third as the Beavers prevailed 3-2 to win the 2006 nationaltitle.

Carolina won Game 1 of the best-of-three series 4-3, but lost a 5-0 lead in an 11-7 Game 2 defeat, which forced the decisive game.

“We should have had it locked up (in Game 2),” says Cavasinni. “We just couldn’t get it done.”

Though the Tar Heels never got closer to a national title during his time in Chapel Hill, Cavasinni says he never could have imagined making four CWS appearances, and getting to play in three.

“It felt like such a tradition for us, like ‘We’re supposed to be in Omaha,’” he says.

An eye injury caused by impact from a baseball limited Cavasinni’s playing time during Carolina’s runner-up run in 2007 (Oregon State swept Carolina in the final series), and he was redshirted in 2008 after tearing his ACL in the preseason. He went to Omaha for the third time as an observer. But after back-to-back years with physical challenges, Cavasinni was back in the Tar Heels’ every day lineup as a junior in 2009, starting a career-high 62 games as Carolina made its fourth straight appearance at the CWS.

Last year was the only year that Cavasinni did not make the CWS as a player. But he found his way to Omaha, anyway. Immediately after the Tar Heels lost to Oklahoma in the NCAA Regional, he joined forces with Georgia-based EvoShield and went to Omaha to represent the company.

Career gear

Cavasinni has a ready-made sales pitch for those inquiring about Evo–Shield gear. He wore it and loved it.

Cavasinni began wearing EvoShield gear while rehabbing from his ACL tear, but not to protect his knee. Instead, he opted to wear an elbow guard, a wrist sleeve and a compression arm sleeve to protect him from other kinds of injuries. Having suffered two major setbacks, he didn’t want to take any chances.

“The stuff I wore kinda gave me the confidence to step back in the box,” says Cavasinni.

Cavasinni told EvoShield co-founder Justin Niefer he’d be interested in joining the company if there were ever any opportunities. He thought about pursuing a professional playing career in the minor leagues — and drew some interest — but he decided to hang it up and enter the business world.

His college career included a .287 batting average, 39 stolen bases and 174 starts. A leadoff hitter and center fielder, he hit a career-best .317 as a freshman and had a career-high five hits in one Super Regional win over Alabama that year. As a senior, he had two, 14-game hit streaks and did not commit an error in 118 chances.

Now he travels the country selling equipment for the game he still loves. Dots on the map are his bases, and like always, he’s on the go. But in Omaha on business this week, Cavasinni can’t help but think about his playing career that included tests, triumphs and trips to Nebraska.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” he says. “I had the best five years of my life at Carolina.”