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Western Reserve faces its toughest arm yet
New Riegel pitchers will challenge Devils
The Western Reserve baseball team has faced its share of aces on the mound over the past two seasons.
Blue Devils coach Ed Anthony expects today’s challenge in a Division IV regional semifinal to be his team’s toughest yet.
New Riegel sophomore pitcher Michael Kirian stands a towering 6-foot-5 and has already given the University of Louisville a verbal commitment. The lefty can crank up his fastball to the upper 80s and then catch hitters out in front with a nasty curveball or changeup.
Simply put, Kirian is a beast.
“Pitching-wise, he’s probably as good as we’ve faced the last two years,” Anthony said, including last season’s run that ended in the state semifinals.
“He’s a big boy who throws hard and has at least two no-hitters on the year.”
If New Riegel (19-7) decides not to throw Kirian for whatever reason, fellow sophomore Alex Theis isn’t much of a drop-off, according to Anthony. He, too, is a left-hander with a three-pitch repertoire.
“Kirian is the No. 5 prospect in the state and Theis is No. 9,” Anthony said. “So we expect a tough opponent, no matter which guy we face.”
To help prepare his team for what they will definitely face, Anthony brought in some left-handed pitchers to throw batting practice to his players.
“They’re good,” Anthony said of New Riegel’s pitchers. “They’re noting like we’ve faced and we’ve faced some very quality opponents.
“We kind of sped up our practices a little bit to simulate what we’ll face, but at the same time our team is still trying to get healthy, so we don’t want anything getting in the way of that.”
The Blue Devils (20-5) will likely counter with either John Clegg or Wyatt Larimer. Anthony feels Clegg is pitching better of late and has the ability to turn up the velocity a little bit more than Larimer. But Larimer has been consistent all year and features an ERA slightly over 1.00.
“We have either option,” Anthony said. “When we scouted them, it was hard to get a take on if they’re a fastball or off-speed hitting team.
“One thing I do know is they like to play small ball which is usually good, winning ball.”
Western Reserve and New Riegel will meet in the second game today at Pipe Yard Stadium in Lorain. The first regional semifinal puts Cuyahoga Heights (14-8) against Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas (24-6) at 4 p.m.
The Blue Devils and Blue Jackets will follow at 6:30 p.m.
The regional final is scheduled at 5 p.m. on Friday.