Max Scherzer, Missouri’s sophomore ace, will get the start against Arizona.
Few things in baseball can intimidate hitters like a 98-mph fastball.
That is what Max Scherzer will bring to Missouri’s opening regional match against Arizona at 6 p.m. today in Fullerton, Calif.
Scherzer (9-3), a sophomore, broke the school record for most strikeouts in a season this year with 128, and hopes that making a few more batters miss in the tournament will help the Tigers win.
“All I want to do on Friday night is give our team a chance to win,” Scherzer said. “I’ll do anything I can to get that win.”
The third-seeded Tigers (39-21), however, face an uphill battle. In addition to No. 2 seed Arizona (37-19), the regional also includes the defending national champion, No. 1 seed Cal State-Fullerton (41-15). Scherzer said he still feels Missouri has a good chance to win the regional.
“We have a lot of respect for these teams that we play, but at the same time, we don’t fear them,” Scherzer said. “We can play with them, and at times we can beat them.”
Coach Tim Jamieson said he chose to start Scherzer against Arizona because of the significance of the opening game. The regional is pool play, and a team is sent home after its second loss.
“Max has been our No. 1 pitcher all year, and he’s one of the best pitchers in the country,” Jamieson said. “When you go into the regional format, winning the first game is crucial.”
Jamieson isn’t alone in thinking Scherzer is one of the nation’s top young pitchers. Scherzer was recently named one of 10 semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award, an honor reserved for the top pitcher in college baseball. Scherzer was also invited to participate in the 2005 National Team Trials with the USA Baseball National Team later this month.
The St. Louis Cardinals thought highly enough of Scherzer to draft him his senior year of high school at Parkway Central. Scherzer, however, decided the better choice was to go to college, earn his degree, and fine-tune his game.
“I wanted to get going on my college degree which is very important to me, and I thought I could go to college and polish up before even thinking about the minor leagues,” said Scherzer, who was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team with a 3.25 GPA.
Other teams have taken notice of Scherzer’s skills and have tried various tactics to throw him off. In a game at Nebraska on May 7, the Cornhuskers tried to keep Scherzer out of his groove. Every time he checked a runner, the Nebraska batter would call a time out, hoping to frustrate Scherzer. In instances like this, catcher Jacob Priday said Scherzer uses his reputation to his advantage.
“Coming in, everybody is already intimidated by him,” Priday said. “He’s a guy that throws 98, so people are going to be intimidated.
When he starts throwing strikes and pumping it in there, they realize they’re in some trouble when they’re facing his fastball. Then he can come back with his off-speed. He’s got a
great curveball and can throw the change-up for a strike, too.”
When teams try to upset Scherzer’s concentration, he said he does his best to not pay attention.
“I really can’t worry about what the other team is doing,” Scherzer said. “All I can worry about is what I can do on the mound.”
This season, Scherzer has taken control of games. One of his many highlights this year came against Texas Tech on April 1. Scherzer struck out 14 Red Raiders and allowed no hits in seven innings as the Tigers routed Texas Tech 25-0.
Jamieson said Scherzer has exceeded expectations this year. Scherzer was limited to mostly bullpen duty his freshman year, and entered his second season without a defined role. Early this season, however, Jamieson said Scherzer solidified his spot in the rotation.
“I’ve been surprised with how quickly he’s gotten to where he is,” Jamieson said. “And he has a lot of upside to him, too, as far as learning more about the game and how to get hitters out.”
Scherzer said that even though he believed he could be successful, he didn’t expect this kind of success.
“I knew I could do good things,” Scherzer said, “but I hadn’t proved it yet. I was just looking to put together a year that was respectable and at least give our team a chance to win.”
Scherzer said one difference between the two seasons is his increased control.
“I’m throwing a lot more strikes,” Scherzer said. “I wasn’t being wild with my fastball, but I was losing my feel of it and would take myself out of certain counts.”
Scherzer also said his confidence has grown throughout the season, allowing him to pitch with more authority.
“I had confidence last year, but it wasn’t the same as it’s been this year,” Scherzer said. “When I started stringing stuff along, I got more confidence in what I could do, and started challenging hitters more.”
“This game is pretty mental. When you’re thinking right, you’re probably doing right,” he said.
Priday said Scherzer brings a lot of energy to the team.
“Max is a character,” Priday said. “He’s always real excited and pumped up, and it’s no different when he pitches. He brings a lot of intensity to the mound.”
Despite what he has achieved this season, Scherzer is still quick to point out many areas where he can improve.
“I feel I have a couple mechanical flaws,” Scherzer said. “There’s time where I feel lose too much velocity. My slider isn’t always consistent. My change-up isn’t always consistent. I don’t work inside well enough like I should, and sometimes I leave the ball up when I shouldn’t.”
Statements like that are why Priday describes the Tigers’ top pitcher as competitive and a perfectionist, something Scherzer doesn’t disagree with.
“If I was at my absolute best, I’d be in the major leagues,” Scherzer said. “But I’m not. I’m not there yet, so I still have things I can improve on.”