BASEBALL: OSU signee Young develops into Chaps' ace
Luke Young says he is a more confident pitcher in his second year on the Midland College baseball team.
By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - Luke Young says he is a more confident pitcher in his second year on the Midland College baseball team.
The 6-foot-3 right-hander from Wall and an Oklahoma State University signee has gone from being the game four starter last year to the Chaparrals' ace this season.
So far, Young has lived up to the preseason expectations as he's 4-0 with a 2.00 earned run average and he has struck out a team-high 41 batters compared to just eight walks in 27 innings of work.
Young will take the mound the Chaparrals (13-6 overall) in the opening game of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference series against New Mexico Junior College (17-7) at noon Saturday at Christensen Stadium.
"I have definitely grown up a lot and you can see that in the stats," Young said. "Confidence has been a huge thing with that. (It's been about) just getting up on the mound and knowing what I can do and how to do it."
Young showed the potential last year when he was entrusted by head coach Hector Rodriguez to start the WJCAC series finale as a true freshman. He finished with a 6-1 record and a 7.80 ERA.
As for what he learned in his first year in the league, Young said: "I learned that the ball flies in the WJCAC, that's for sure. Home runs can be given up if you leave a ball up in the zone."
Young has done a better job of keeping the ball down this season as he's only given up one home run compared to the 13 he gave up last year.
"He's thrown the ball really well and he's given us quality starts in game one, which is really all you can ask for," Rodriguez said. "He hasn't made the moment any bigger than what it is. That's the thing that I like to see. Over the years, you think about the quality arms that we've had in our league or on our team, sometimes those guys try to do too much and make it a little bigger than what it is. I haven't seen Luke do that. He's improved a lot as far as command. As a freshman, he was a kid who we watched grow up right in front of our eyes."
Rodriguez added that Young and catcher Ryan Blackwell, an Oral Roberts University signee, have such chemistry that many times this season they have called pitches on their own without the help of the head coach, a former college pitcher himself.
"He's been huge," said Young of Blackwell. "Me being the game four starter last year, Ryan almost caught every game four last year. We've kind of had two years of it. I feel that has a lot to do with how good we work and how he knows what my pitches will do and the correct time to call them."
Young said that he not only worked on his command in the offseason but worked to increase the velocity in his slider. He also got to play with the Mankato Moondogs of the Northwoods League in Minnesota over the summer.
"That was an amazing experience and I enjoyed every second of it," said Young of playing in the Northwoods League. "It helped me a ton. There was a lot of good competition up there and you got to see what you're really made of."
The Chaps will get to see what they're made up in this four-game series with the Thunderbirds. The Chaps have been a little up and down but MC has also shown the potential to be a good team.
"We've really got to come together as one," said Young about WJCAC play. "We've kind of been struggling as a whole, but we're going to for sure flip it around. I know Coach Rod is going to work with a lot of us and fix a lot of things. We've had a lot going on with the pitching staff but we're going to turn that around."
Young added that they key for the pitching staff will be to trust one another.
"You've got to go out there and trust your stuff and if it's just not your day on the mound, there's going to be a guy right behind you that has his stuff," he said. "It's about trusting the guy behind us."
While Rodriguez said there's a possibility that Young will get looks from pro scouts for the Major League Baseball draft, Young said his focus remains on helping MC succeed this season.
"My goal is to win it all. I think that's all of our personal goals right now," he said.
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