Tedesco’s curveball rewarded

Josh Tedesco doesn’t throw the baseball very hard. In fact, the junior pitcher for the Thiel College baseball team from Ursuline High and Campbell throws a fastball that reaches only about 80 mph.

However, one pitch does not make a pitcher, and Tedesco has learned how to compensate for his lack of speed with a big-breaking curveball and effective changeup that both have reached maturity in his third college season.

“I have command of all my pitches,” said Tedesco. “I was able to get real good command of my curveball and I was able to throw it on all counts. That keeps [the batters] guessing.”

Behind the effectiveness of his three pitches, especially the wicked curveball, Tedesco led the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in wins (11-3 record), earned run average (2.92), opposing batting average (.214) and innings pitched (80).

He led Thiel to a winning season (29-15, 8-4 in the PAC under ninth-year coach Joe Schaly), and to runner-up honors in the PAC championship tournament after the Tomcats lost to Grove City in the final, 11-10.

The Tomcats shared second place in the PAC regular season with Westminster behind Thomas More (11-1).

Tedesco also ranked second in the PAC in strikeouts (63), behind Brian Sumner (78) of Geneva.

Tedesco is selected to All-PAC first team

Tedesco’s outstanding season earned him a first-team spot on the All-PAC squad.

He earned his 11th win in Thiel’s 12-10 first-round win over Westminster on May 9 in the PAC tournament. He worked eight innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts. However, Thiel lost the next day in the final to Grove City (Tedesco didn’t pitch).

Tedesco said the curveball is his main weapon.

“The curveball helps me to get a lot of strikeouts. It is my best pitch. It has helped me a lot. I think it is a big breaking curveball. It curves down and horizontally,” he said, adding that he is throwing more curveballs, and more comfortably.

“I probably throw just as many curves as fastballs. It gets easier the more you throw [them].”

But he said he has been helped the most by his teammates.

“I’d say I improved especially because my team played real well behind me,” he believes.

The son of Brian and Monica (Carano) Tedesco, Josh is majoring in criminal justice with about a 2.6 GPA and would like to become a member of the Pennsylvania State Police.

W&J’s Pasquine also is All-PAC first team

A player from Poland High, Jim Pasquine, a third baseman and relief pitcher for Washington & Jefferson, also was selected first-team All-PAC. Pasquine, Tedesco’s teammate on the Youngstown Metros in the Class AA League, led the PAC in saves (6), and led W&J in batting (.374), on-base percentage (.469), and walks (20). He also was second on the team in runs scored (34), third in hits (46) and fourth in RBIs (23) and slugging percentage (.480).

Dave Nypaver, a junior outfielder for Thiel from Howland High, made the All-PAC second team. Nypaver led Thiel in batting (.428 on 62-for-135) and on-base percentage (.531) and also had 42 RBIs and scored 42 runs.

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