Scibetta Mowing Down Opposition

Apr 13, 2006

In the movie 'Bull Durham', catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) tells pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) during a mound visit, "Relax, alright? Don't try to strike everyone out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're facist. Throw some groundballs – it's more democratic."

If that advice rings true, then Allegheny College senior Drew Scibetta (Glenshaw/Shaler Area) would be the most boring pitcher in college baseball. Scibetta, who is 3-4 on the season, has struck out 66 batters in 39.2 innings of work, an average of 15.2 strikeouts per nine innings. That 15.2 average is .4 higher than the next closest pitcher in the NCAA, among all three of its divisions.

“That is definitely pretty cool,” said Scibetta. “I’m not really a strikeout pitcher by any means, but it has been coming out this year.”

The Allegheny and NCAC record is 12.15, set by Ken Baker in 1997 and Tim Bruzdewicz in 1987, both of whom went on to play minor league baseball after their careers with the Gators. The NCAA Division III record is 19.1, set by Billy Wagner of Ferrum, who is currently the closer for the New York Mets. If Scibetta were to keep up his 15.2 strikeout ratio, he would end the season tied for the eighth highest total in Division III history, and would be in the top 20 among all of the NCAA’s divisions.

“I think it means a lot to him, because he has had a rough couple of years battling through injuries,” said head Allegheny College baseball coach Mike Ferris. “This being his senior year, I know it was very important for him to go out and have a great season, and he’s going out and doing that. He has aspirations of possibly moving on, getting a chance to move on after college and I don’t know if there is anything more he can do to help those chances. It is great for him, because he is truly pitching to his potential.”

Injuries held Scibetta to just four starts last season, as he went 1-2 in just under 30 innings with 14 strikeouts during that span. As a sophomore, he was 6-0 from the mound with 41 strikeouts in 53.2 innings, earning First Team All-NCAC honors. His freshman season he was 3-1 with 28 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. His strikeouts this year, which are already a career best for a season, and are nearing his three-year total in just nine games of work.

“Honestly, things are just going right,” said Scibetta. “When I get two strikes on people, I’m just able to finish them off. I’m really not doing anything different than I have done for my entire career. I think when I get two strikes on someone, I finish them off a lot better this year.”

“You always knew it was there,” said Ferris when asked if this was expected of Scibetta. “Over the last few years he had run into arm problems sometime throughout the year, which set him back and he hasn’t really had a chance to settle in and get in a groove like he has been in the last couple of weeks.”

“What we really worked on him doing wasn’t a major thing mechanically,” said pitching coach Daryl Evans. “It was just one little thing that we worked on in January and early February, which helps his movement on all of his pitches. We didn’t do anything major, just one little tweak. He just has the mindset where he is locked in and he is just shoving the ball. He is not afraid to throw in, not afraid to throw away – he can throw any of his pitches in any count. He has confidence in all three of his pitches.”

Confidence in his pitches is likely what has allowed him to strike out 10 or more batters in three of his five starts, including back-to-back efforts against second ranked Wooster, where he struck out 15 batters in eight innings, and against Oberlin, striking out 13 in seven innings of work. He also struck out 10 against Middlebury in their Phoenix trip, and just missed double figures with nine strikeouts in seven innings against Gustavus Adolphus and eight strikeouts in five innings against Central.

“Spring training is hard on a pitcher, this year especially,” said Ferris. “We don’t have a deep staff, so they were asked to pitch a lot of innings on short rest, which is a burden on them. He has really shown that his arm is healthy, which is the most important thing, and we are able to see what he can do when he is healthy and at full strength.”

Scibetta's confidence and tenacity has rubbed off on the rest of the pitchers on the staff, as the Gators are 5-3 in their NCAC games, with a 2.55 earned run average. Sophomore Craig Misiewicz (Bethel Park) leads the team with a 2.70 earned run average on the season, and is 2-2 overall, while striking out 33 batters in 33.1 innings of work. The other two starters on the staff, Colt Viehdorfer (Morrisdale/West Branch) and Jon Schmitt (Bolivar, N.Y.) have also been steady as of late, each winning a game in conference play, Viehdorfer with a 2.45 ERA and Schmitt 3.46 in NCAC action. Like in poker, four aces is the hand you would want to have.

“That is how we are approaching it,” said Ferris when asked about his four pitchers, and their impact on this weekend’s games. “We feel that this is the most important weekend. If we do well this weekend, we will control our own destiny. If we don’t do well, then we are going to be counting on others to help us out. If those four guys pitch to their potential like they have shown, we know that we’re going to have a great chance at doing well.”

The upcoming four-game series against Kenyon pits the Gators against the team they are battling with for the second and final playoff spot from the NCAC East. Kenyon is currently two games behind Allegheny in the standings, but a sweep by either team would nearly secure the playoff picture.

First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. in Gambier, Ohio on Friday, as the teams have a noon first pitch for Saturday.

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