Pitching Aces Trumping Opponents

"He's just an average high school pitcher. He just moves the ball around. He's not fast, he's not slow, he's just average. He just moves the ball up-down, in-out."

Wawasee head coach John Blunk had these words to say about his ace pitcher Rod Holterman, but they could have just as easily been said by Valley coach Pat O'Connell about Orville Haney or Triton head coach Jim Shively about Justin Grubbs.

After talking to the head coaches about their top pitchers, you would have thought that these guys were marginal players at best. But take another look.

Holterman is 8-3 with a 1.27 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 77 innings. Haney is 7-1 with a 4.00 ERA. Grubbs is 6-0 with a 2.87 ERA.

So, why the apprehension from the coaches? For one, these guys have gone fairly unnoticed despite the records. The less opponents know about them heading into sectional the better. But these three pitchers give a pretty good indication of what it takes to be a successful high school pitcher.

"I think the ace should be the person that the team can rely on each time he goes out," Holterman said. "He'll throw strikes, and he'll give you the best effort for keeping the team in the game, the whole game."

Holterman, the only senior among the three, knows what it takes to win.

"Since the end of the season last year, he played in Fort Wayne in the Connie Mack League," Blunk said. "He played for us during the summer, he played fall ball, he took private pitching lessons all winter. In the fall, that's all he did, work on his pitching. That's why he's having a good year. He worked at it. If you don't work at it, you don't do it."

Holterman worked on pitching mechanics, and the results were exceptional. He has struck out almost 1 1/2 batters per inning, while walking one batter every seven innings. Like the other pitchers, his success doesn't come from an overpowering fastball or some dominating pitch that fools batters every time he throws it. Holterman throws a slightly above-average 82 mile per hour fastball, a curve ball and a changeup. Nothing that hitters haven't seen before. What most hitters haven't seen, however, is his ability to throw the ball in the exact location he wants to. Just ask Goshen.

He threw the first no-hitter of his career on May 2 against Goshen. In that game, Holterman struck out 12 batters.

"That game was probably the best game I've pitched my whole career," Holterman said. "I had everything going that game. I had defense behind me, and our bats were going well. It was a great feeling getting the first no-hitter of my career. It's an awesome feeling."

Holterman also threw a one-hitter on Tuesday against Central Noble. In that game he struck out 11 batters without a single walk to improve his strikeout-to-walk ration to better than 10-to-1.

Although Orville Haney's ERA is the highest of the three pitchers, it is a bit misleading. Haney was injured at the beginning of the year and struggled in his first few starts.

"He was getting stronger and stronger," O'Connell said. "We were using him in short relief stints and he just seemed to go out and get the job done. He got out of a couple of jams and I gave him a start one night, and he didn't even make it out of the first inning. He was not quite healed up yet. He did some work on his curve ball and he got that more effective, and his pitching became more effective."

His best outing was against Rochester. He threw a three-hitter in the 3-0 win on May 14. He threw just 72 pitches over seven innings and was helped by an amazing five double plays.

Once again, Haney does not overpower anyone; he just hits his spots. He tops out at about 78 miles per hour with the standard fastball, changeup and curve ball. But, like Holterman, he provides leadership on the field.

"He's a hard-nosed kid, probably one of the hardest working kids on my team," O'Connell said. "He'll lead them and tell them, 'Hey, let's pick it up a notch.' For a junior to do that, it makes it real nice for next year. He's spunky. I know he'll give me 120 percent."

Haney may be spunky, but he's also a bit quirky.

"I have some lucky long underwear that I've worn every time I pitch that I haven't washed yet."

Haney is also a big fan of Icy-Hot.

Outside of his superstitions, Haney is trying to help the team realize that they can compete with any team they face. After winning just five games last year, a winning attitude was a big obstacle for Valley.

"I try to let them know that we're capable of beating anybody we go against as long as we play solid," Haney said. "I try to change my speeds as a pitcher. I don't feel like it's my job to strike everyone out. I try to put it where they can't hit me hard. I owe a lot of it to my defense and I owe a lot to my catcher, Cameron Vanlaningham."

Grubbs is the only pitcher of the three that is not considered the ace among the three. However, he still gains a lot of praise from his coach.

"To be honest, he's not our best pitcher as far as best stuff," Shively said. "But he can consistently give us the best chance to win over the course of the year. He is very smart and he works very hard. He worked hard in the off-season. He came in and looked good. He kept the ball down, he hit his spots and he mixed up his pitches well."

Despite looking good during practices, Grubbs was not automatically thrown into a starting role.

"He was consistent so I gave him a couple of starts," Shively said. "I was kind of apprehensive. I put him in kind of a big game for us and he did the job. Then I did it again and he did the job and he just kept winning. He keeps the ball down, he hits his spots, he gets a lot of ground balls and he gives our defense a chance to play."

His best outing was against LaVille. In the 7-2 win on May 12, Grubbs allowed just two earned runs in seven innings. He struck out three batters and walked nobody. Obviously, that game was nothing outrageously exceptional. But that is Grubbs. He just goes out and does his job.

"I just want to throw strikes and give our defense a chance to field the ball," Grubbs said.

Like Haney, Grubbs has a bit of a superstition.

"I have a secret baseball. I take it to the games and I don't let anyone else touch it. It's kind of spread to the other pitchers too."

The three pitchers have combined to win at an 84 percent clip. Take those pitchers away from the three teams and they are a mediocre 26-24. All three teams have improved their record over last season. Triton, Wawasee and Valley won a combined 29 games last year. This year they have won 46.

Holterman, the elder member of the pitchers, pulls it all together the best and focuses on the most important aspect about the staff aces. After a 9-16 season last year, Wawasee is 14-11 with one game remaining before sectionals.

"So far, it's been all that I've dreamed. It's a lot of fun winning the way we have this year."

None of the three teams are the favorites in their respective sectional, but any baseball player can tell you what can happen with a great pitcher on the mound. It is often said that offense puts fans in the seats, but pitching wins championships.