Procner returns as Ironbird

By Joe Scalzo

new york-penn league

The Girard Baseball Association is planning to honor him on Thursday.

NILES — Stephen Procner has spent plenty of games in the Eastwood Field stands and he’s been on the field for a few more, first with Girard High and then as a pitcher with Cleveland State.

So, when his Aberdeen teammates found out he was returning home, they did what any kind, supportive, nurturing professional baseball players would do: they teased him.

“Oh, they’ve been getting on him about it for three days,” said Ironbirds manager Gary Kendall.

You can bet it will only get worse. With his teammates warming up behind him on Tuesday afternoon, Procner was pulled aside to do a TV interview — one of several interviews this week.

The left-handed Procner is scheduled to get a spot start in tonight’s second game and you can be sure he’ll hear more than a few comments about the necessity of not screwing up in front of all his friends and family.

“It’s all in fun,” he said, smiling. “It’s great to be back. I’ve got a lot of family and friends coming out. I’m just going to do my best and hopefully we can get a win.”

Procner, a 28th round pick out of CSU in June of 2007, has appeared in six games this season, going 0-0 with a 4.24 ERA. He has surrendered 18 hits, struck out 10 and walked two over 17 innings. He’s made one other spot start, giving up three runs in four innings on July 14 against Batavia.

“He’s been doing a good job,” said Kendall. “He’s kind of like our sixth starter. If we get rain or something happens, he’s able to stretch it out for us.

“He’s not overpowering but he knows how to pitch. He’s just been real steady.”

Procner, who throws a fastball, curveball and changeup, was a four-year letterman for the Vikings, going 4-9 with a 4.31 ERA his senior year en route to being selected to the Horizon League all-tournament team.

He finished that season leading the league in innings pitched (100 1‚Ñ3) and strikeouts (75). Also, as a pitcher for the Cleveland Mosquitos in 2006, Procner earned MVP honors by leading the team to the NABF World Series championship.

Procner started 13 games last season for the Bluefield Orioles (a rookie league team on the Virginia/West Virginia border), going 3-3 with a 4.07 ERA. He left for extended spring training in Sarasota, Fla., in March — he made a point to note that it was snowing back home at the time — and hadn’t been back home until Tuesday.

“Being here brings back a ton of memories,” said Procner. “It’s always been my dream to play here.”

The Girard Baseball Association is planning to honor him on Thursday. He’ll get a plaque before the game, his nephew will throw out the first pitch and more than 100 friends and family have already bought tickets in Section 210.

“If we can, we always try to get a guy in the game if his parents are in town or if he’s back home,” said Kendall. “We can’t always do it, but most of the time we can.”

Procner said he’ll spend most of the next few days with the team, but said he’ll get back to Girard for some meals and some time with his family. The 23-year-old likes Aberdeen — he compares it to Niles — and seemed satisfied with his career so far.

“It’s going great,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier. The guys on the team are a lot of fun and we’re just trying to have as much success as possible.

“I just come out and play the game I love every day.”

scalzo@vindy.com