By Paul Suellentrop
Wichita State pitcher
Tommy LaPour as himself is plenty good enough. He doesn't need to be extra-strength
Tommy LaPour and doesn't need to throw harder than hard.
"He's understanding just to be
Tommy LaPour, not to try to be more than
Tommy LaPour," catcher
Alex Birge said after Sunday's 5-0 win over Utah Tech at Eck Stadium.
LaPour, a freshman from Blue Springs, Mo., wrapped up a strong weekend effort by the pitching staff with five shutout innings in which he allowed two hits, struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.
"We established the fastball early and that helps a lot," LaPour said. "A lot of it came back to being more poised on the mound. I was able to keep replicating. You make a good pitch and all you're trying to do is make another good pitch."
On Friday,
Caden Favors struck out 10 and held the Trailblazers to five hits in an 8-0 win. On Saturday, four pitchers combined on a one-hitter in a 4-1 win with starter
Daniel Zang holding Utah Tech hitless for 6 2/3 innings.
In all, the Shockers (7-3) held Utah Tech (1-11) to 11 hits and one run while striking out 36. Free passes would have been the quickest way to give an overmatched opponent life and the Shockers walked four, hit three batters and committed two errors.
"We executed the game plan really well," Shocker pitching coach
Anthony Claggett said. "Any time you have a Friday guy like Favors to go in and do that, and do it efficiently, it puts together the rest of the weekend."
That success, the pitchers say, starts with preparation with Claggett. Wichita State subscribes to a scouting service that provides video and data. From that information, pitchers can prepare for how teams will approach hitting due to a coaching philosophy and which pitches in which location work.
"We break down hitters and teams and what they can or can't hit and what we can do to keep them off-balance," Favors said. "Claggs and (coaches) dive deep into it and I've got to trust them and their work, and then I'll trust my work."
Some pitchers learn better with video. Some do better with heat maps, spray charts and statistics. Coaches want to give pitchers as much information as possible, without overwhelming them.
"Some guys like to see the visual, whether it be video or heat maps and colors," Claggett said. "Some guys like the verbiage. Favors is starting to become much more knowledgeable about what he can use and what he can retain."
LaPour is in the early stages of learning the intricacies of college baseball. His talent is more than adequate to thrive.
Perfect Game ranked him the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in Missouri at Blue Springs South High School. DIBaseball ranked him the No. 2 freshman in the American Athletic Conference. He hit 99 mph in a fall scrimmage at Dallas Baptist and consistently reaches the mid 90s this spring.
In his first two outings against Little Rock and Auburn, he gave up 10 earned runs and walked five with three strikeouts over four innings.
"College is definitely a different animal," LaPour said. "You feel a lot of pressure from a lot of things and then it's taking a deep breath and stepping back - 'Man, it's just baseball. You've been doing this your whole life. Go out there and execute. You've got the stuff.'"
With help from coaches and advice from Favors and Zang, LaPour throttled back a bit on Sunday and let his natural velocity and movement roll. He kept his arm in the right place to throw off-speed pitches and repeated that delivery throughout the game.
"He was totally committed to being under control," coach
Brian Green said. "With that, being a little more mechanically sound. When he went to the slider and went to the changeup, he wasn't lowering his (arm) slot. If you look at the video from this weekend to the previous two outings, anything off-speed the slot was low and he was just trying way too hard."
While the competition improves significantly over the next month, the Shockers are off to a good start replacing their weekend rotation and much of the bullpen from 2023. WSU's earned run average is 3.92 and the staff owns 92 strikeouts and 44 walks, numbers marred by a 16-walk effort in a 19-8 loss to Auburn.
Green likes his bullpen depth and his ability to play matchups with right- and left-handers. Junior lefty
Hunter Holmes has six strikeouts and two walks in five appearances. In six appearances, sophomore
Caleb Anderson owns 11 strikeouts and two walks.
"We're starting to look like we have an identity that we can mix-and-match on the mound," Green said. "We're getting quality starts for the most part. Friday and Saturday starts have been really good and then Tommy gave us one (Sunday)."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
