Baseball | 3/10/2023 7:37:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Loren Hibbs trusts
Clark Candiotti's preparation, arm and feel for pitching, even at this early stage of the season.
That called for a bit of an adjustment when calling pitches during Friday's 8-4 win over Stetson at Eck Stadium. Follow Candiotti's lead.
"He's got such a good idea how he wants to attack hitters; we've just got to let him attack hitters the way he wants," said Hibbs, Wichita State's interim coach. "We just need to let Candy be who he is."
For Candiotti, that means plenty of sliders, in addition to expertly locating his fastball on both sides of the plate. He used the slider as a finishing pitch on his way to eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. He didn't allow an earned run and limited the Hatters to three hits and two walks.
"He had command of both sides of the plates today," catcher
Mauricio Millan said. "His slider was really good."
A week ago, Candiotti gave up four earned runs in four innings in a 12-7 loss to Oakland. He and Millan diagnosed pitches sailing high in the strike zone as the problem. Candiotti focused on keeping his shoulder in tight and finishing his pitches to keep the ball low in the strike zone.
"It's just staying through the zone and trusting my fastball," Candiotti said. "It's been a problem, leaving some mistakes up in the zone. It's my release point, staying behind the ball completely through it the whole way."
The Hatters (9-6) scored two unearned runs in the third after Candiotti issued a leadoff walk. Stetson benefited from an error on shortstop
David Herring and two stolen bases. The messy inning didn't bother Candiotti, who retired the Hatters in order the next two innings.
"Credit to Candy for preparing the right way," Hibbs said. "He feels comfortable throwing that (slider) at any point in time in the count."
That gave the Wichita State (7-6) hitters time to get going. The Shockers scored five runs in the fourth with
Chuck Ingram chopping a one-out double over the third baseman to drive in three runs. Millan went 2 for 3 and drove in two runs.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
