Mang excelled in Erie

John Mang’s decision to be more substance than form as a senior pitcher for Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., this year turned around his career, and made him one of the top pitchers in the nation in NCAA Division II.

After going 3-6 as a junior and then losing his first start of this season, Mang regrouped to win 10 straight games. He achieved the best record (10-1) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and tied for No. 11 in the nation for most wins in NCAA Div. II.

His 10 wins set a school record, surpassing Ralph Aldecoa (1996) and Bob Balazentis (1997) who had nine wins each. Mang’s .909 winning percentage ranks No. 9 in school history.

“I was trying to be too finesse,” said Mang, an Austintown Fitch High graduate who helped Mercyhurst to a 38-17 record. “But after [my first loss], I just started going after people with my fastball and cutter [a fastball that cuts back at the end] and let the chips fall where they may, and got ahead of batters.

“I was able to overcome obstacles with a different style of pitching and a lot of it was mental approach.”

The Lakers also won the PSAC West Division (18-6) regular-season title in their first year as a full-time member of the league. And they were runners-up in the PSAC Tournament, losing the final to West Chester, 16-2. They still qualified for the NCAA Atlantic Regional where they posted a best-ever 3-2 record.

Mang pitched the Lakers into the PSAC final with a 9-2 win over Kutztown in a semifinal.

Mang’s closest pitching rival record-wise in the PSAC was Bret Moyer of West Chester University who had a 10-2 record.

And Mang ranked only two wins behind NCAA Div. II leader Hayden Simpson of Southern Arkansas who went 12-1.

Mang said that getting ahead of batters in the ball-strike count was a big factor in his comeback after losing his opener on Feb. 26 to then-No. 1-ranked Lynn University, 11-2, in Boca Raton, Fla. He pitched the first four innings before leaving trailing, 5-2.

“Then you can throw what you want and make [batters] go for a bad pitch, and you can maintain control,” said Mang, who made 13 game appearances with 12 starts and pitched 66.1 innings. He had a 3.93 earned run average with 53 strikeouts and 29 walks.

Lynn went on to win the NCAA Div. II national championship last Saturday, 2-1, over Emporia State.

Mang, who finished his career with 18 (18-11 record) wins that rank No. 4 in school history, said that this was his final year of organized baseball, but that he is looking forward to further education and a medical degree and career.

“This will be the first summer that I will not be playing baseball in my whole life since I was about 6,” said Mang, who recently graduated with a 3.1 grade-point average as a pre-medicine major, and now is applying to medical schools.

Mang’s other high career rankings are No. 4 in innings pitched (195.1) and No. 4 in strikeouts (143).

While at Fitch, Mang won four letters as a pitcher under coach Wally Ford, helping the Falcons advance to the regional tournament twice.

“My first year I went to Mercyhust as a position player and pitched a little bit here and there. I made second-team All-GLIAC,” said Mang, noting that he had a 5-1 record as a rookie. “A lot was expected from me after my freshman year. I was on the national watch list in NCAA Division II.”

However, he failed to win a game as a sophomore (0-3) and improved to 3-6 as a junior before striking it rich as a senior.

The son of John and áindy Mang, John has two sisters, Katie and Stacie, who played volleyball for Fitch. Katie went on to play for Kent State and recently got her master’s degree in counseling. Stacie played volleyball for Youngstown State and is now Mooney volleyball coach.

XJohn Kovach writes about college athletics for The Vindicator. E-mail him at kovach@vindy.com.