CAK's Spencer Strider living up to the hype

The Kingston High School dugout celebrated as the ball bounced over second base and into centerfield.

It was an excitement usually reserved for wins, but this two-out single in the third inning against CAK on Monday warranted the enthusiasm simply because it does not happen against Spencer Strider all that often.

“Locally, there is a little bit of hype coming into games (I pitch),” Strider said. “They know I’m probably the best pitcher they’re going to see, so I’m sure that’s an edge that I have.”

Strider knows that all eyes are on him when he takes the mound — it is what happens when a player is regarded as one of the best in the country.

Coming into the season, he was ranked 51st in MaxPreps’ Top 100 list of high school seniors. He is also less than two months away from the Major League Baseball draft, which will likely force him to decide between going pro and pitching at Clemson, where he signed to play in November.

All of that could be overwhelming for some, but Strider has embraced it.

“I don’t pay attention to all of the social media floating around,” Strider said. “If you can handle the attention, it plays to your advantage because they get freaked out and they hype it up more than it is. I’m just a guy playing baseball and it’s just a game, so I’m just trying to do the same thing I normally do.”

As much as Strider’s lore affects opponents, it can also have an adverse effect on the Warriors. In the third inning against Kingston on Monday, CAK loaded the bases with no outs, only to come away with one run. An impassioned speech from coach Tommy Pharr followed, leading to 11 runs over the next three innings en route to a 12-2 victory.

“The thing I worry about is we relax and think that because Strider is on the mound we’re going to be OK,” Pharr said. “Offensively, we have to make sure we stay dialed in (when he is out there).”

In most instances, though, one run is plenty.

Strider possesses a mid-90s fastball that tops out at 97 miles per hour and mixes that with a slider and changeup to create the dominance he has thrown with this season. In eight appearances — seven starts — he is 7-0 with a 0.795 ERA, allowing just 14 hits, 11 walks and five earned runs over 44 innings while striking out 93 batters.

With everybody watching, Strider has lived up to the hype - maybe even exceeded it. And it is possible that his best has yet to come.

“I don’t know (how good he can be), but I know that he has jumped every year,” Pharr said. “His velocity has jumped and he’s gotten better every year for the four years he’s been here, so I have no reason to doubt that he can get a little bit better.”