Ex-Cards are pair of aces

AKRON — There is a rare and interesting family combination on the University of Akron baseball team with a Youngstown-area connection.

Not only does the Zips’ pitching staff have two brothers from Canfield High — Frank and Drew Turocy — but the siblings also have developed into two of the team’s top three pitchers — Frank is No. 1 and Drew No. 3 in the starting rotation.

Frank, a junior, and Drew, a freshman, have combined for seven of Akron’s 14 wins entering today’s opener of a three-game series against Ohio University at Lee Jackson Field.

Akron (14-14, 1-5 MAC) will also play host to the Bobcats Saturday and Sunday.

Frank Turocy (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), a right-hander who is also a team captain, leads Akron in wins (4), ERA (2.72) and strikeouts (31) in eight appearances and 46 1/3 innings.

Drew Turocy (6-3, 175) is 3-2 with a 5.21 ERA with eight appearances and six starts in 38 innings, with 19 strikeouts and 12 walks.

Drew is among top hitters on team

In addition, Drew also starts in center field when not pitching, and through 27 games was batting .337 (third-best on the team) with 19 runs, eight doubles, two homers and 15 RBIs.

The brothers are the sons of Frank and Marcia Turocy, and among five siblings. They have an older sister, Megan, and two younger brothers, Jared, a junior pitching standout for Canfield, and Derek.

Sophomore infielder Kevin Haas (St. Ignatius) leads the team with .368 (42 for 114) ahead of sophomore catcher John Turk (Kirtland) with .342 (27-for-79).

Coach Pat Bangston, in his third year at Akron after spending 13 years as an assistant pitching coach at Ohio State, said having two pitching brothers on the staff is new to him, and great for the team.

“No, not during all of my time at Ohio State did we have a set of brothers on the team at same time, let alone have them pitching at the same time,” said Bangston, who served as a volunteer assistant coach at Ohio State in 1993, and then continued with the Buckeyes as pitching coach until 2005 before shifting to Akron.

“They have been both outstanding. Frank is No. 1. He earned it last year during the last few games pitching No. 1.”

And, “Drew has been starting in center field when not pitching. He is the No. 3 starter in the rotation. No. 2 is Zach Yike, a sophomore southpaw from Kettering Fairmont.

Bangston said Drew got off to a strong start at the plate.

“He came out of the box in the first two, three weeks of season and batted over .400. He has cooled off a little,” said Bangston. “He is very mature for his age and not your typical freshman.”

Frank emerges as team leader

Bangston said Frank is a mature leader and takes care of the team and his brother.

“Frank acts like a big brother. He is captain as well. He takes care of the other guys but he also takes care of Drew,” said Bangston, noting that Frank has greatly improved as a pitcher and has developed an effective three-pitch repertoire.

“Frank has improved from a maturity standpoint. His fastball is from 89-90 mph and he has a solid slider and a good changeup as well.”

And Bangston emphasized, “Frank hasn’t had a real bad game. And he has been facing other team’s No. 1 pitchers.”

The coach said Drew continues to grow as a pitcher.

“Drew’s fastball is from 87-89 mph. He has good movement on it. His offspeed pitches aren’t as good as Frank’s but that’s normal for a young kid.”

Bangston plans to start Frank on the mound today against Ohio, followed by Yike Saturday and Drew Sunday.

Frank, who is majoring in corporate financial management, also is one of three team representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Drew is majoring in business administration.

XJohn Kovach covers colleges for The Vindicator. Write to him at kovach@vindy.com.