Wildcats' ace is 'unbreakable'

After high school, he'llplay baseball for theUniversity of Akron.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Pat Watt knows how to take advantage of an opportunity.
When his father, Don, painted orange squares on a barn at their 10-acre residence outside of Struthers, Watt, then a little leaguer, fired baseballs at the corner stars.
When Don's friend wanted to teach Watt to throw a curveball, the two went outside to a restaurant parking lot -- the friend still wearing his business suit -- and held their own clinic.
When Watt needed guidance about sports and life, he never had to look far. Someone was there to teach, and Watt was willing to listen.
Well-rounded: Now, 18 years of opportunity and learning have made Watt, a Struthers High senior, a good student and athlete. In fact, he just committed last week to the University of Akron, where he will play for the Division I Zips.
"I try to keep everyone happy, go around making sure you say 'hi' to everyone, be nice, be respectful," Watt said.
"For my parents, the big thing growing up was being respectful," he said. "My big thing growing up was to try to make sure everyone liked me. When you put the respect together with the kindness, a lot of people end up liking you."
What's not to like about Watt? College recruiters looked at his assets as a pitcher (6-foot-3, left-handed, has the desire to be the best) or as a student (3.94 grade-point average).
"He's not a bookworm, but he is a very organized person," said Pat's mother, Marilyn. "That's why he's a good student."
But he's also a good baseball player.
"When he's on the mound," Struthers coach Bill Cammack said of Watt, "our kids know we have a chance to win every game."
In his first game as a senior, March 28 against Mooney, Watt threw a no-hitter and followed that with a three-hitter six days later against Salem.
"I've been throwing all winter," said Watt, who is 2-1 with a 1.30 earned-run average this season. "I felt like I had improved. I went out and threw the ball right. I was getting hitters to miss, and when they hit it the team was making plays."
Burning desire: A four-year letterwinner for the Wildcats (7-1, 2-1 Metro Athletic Conference), Watt gained insight to his baseball career as a sophomore. That's when he began to realize the amount of work it takes to succeed.
"I had a cousin that played at Ohio State [Michael Repasky] and I had a cousin that played at YSU [Monte Morris]," Watt said. "That was about the time I got to meet certain coaches from colleges and really realize I was going to have a chance to play after high school."
Watt, whose grandpa played in the minor leagues, relies on a fastball, changeup and knuckle-curve, which he learned from watching the College World Series.
"I'm not a power pitcher," he said. "I'm starting to throw harder, but I'm never going to be that Randy Johnson-type pitcher. I'm a pitcher that tries to screw up the balance of the hitter."
Don said, "The strongest part of Pat's game is his intelligence. He understands what the change of speeds and locations can do."
Watt also focuses on maintaining his poise.
"I've worked on looking almost unbreakable," Watt said. "You sit there and you can't tell if I struck out five guys or five guys just hit a home run off of me."
Certainly, much of that poise had to be attained after years of being around the game.
Early identity: Watt started out as a batboy for Tony Gorvet's teams in Class B. During his four-year tenure there, Watt developed the nickname "Leroy" -- because "Pat" had been a common name at the time.
"He had a huge impact on my career," Watt said of Gorvet, now the Class B president. "He taught me how you play the game, how you go about your business."
Ironically, one of Watt's first games as a player in Class B came against a team managed by Gorvet. Watt boosted his team with a key late-inning double, which had Gorvet shaking his head.
"I was standing behind the fence watching the game," Don recalled. "Tony just smiled and said, 'Leroy got us.' "
Watt will play for Astro Falcons in Class B this summer before beginning his new career at Akron, where he will take the lessons he's learned to the classroom and the mound.
"With work I think I can be a very effective pitcher at that level," Watt said of Division I. "I've seen my cousins do it.
"I always tell them that if they can do it, I might as well do it better."