Despite a few setbacks, Junior Captain Tom Ryan has recently returned to right where he left off last year: at the top of Walpole’s pitching rotation. In his sophomore year, his first year on the Varsity baseball team, Tom Ryan posted an ERA under two and was heavily relied on to shut down opposing teams and pitch late into games. Recovering from an offseason injury this year, Ryan’s command of his pitches was limited early in the season, and combined with a lack of timely hitting, his record of 2-2 did not look impressive on paper. However, with more offensive support in the Brookline game on May 3, Ryan is beginning to look like the composed, ace pitcher that the Rebels need to get to the postseason.
In the offseason, Tom Ryan was slowed by shoulder tendonitis. Eight games into the season Tom Ryan still is not able to throw his fastball as hard as he was able to last year. Instead, Ryan depends on his location and superior off-speed pitches to get batters out. With each start though, Ryan has been more dominant then the previous start.
After three starts Junior Captain Tom Ryan had already recorded a tw0-hitter in six innings of work in a metal bat game against Mansfield. In a tough loss against Natick, Ryan threw 140 pitches in a complete game against offensive powerhouse. Ryan kept the Rebels in the game for nine innings until the Natick Red and Blue won the game in the bottom of the ninth when a walk-off homerun gave Natick a 7-5 win. When asked about his high pitch count Ryan said, “I do not take much stock in pitch count. It doesn’t matter how many pitches you throw as long as you still feel strong.” Despite this loss, his ability to go nine innings definitely suggests that Ryan is healthy again.
On Monday, May 3 at Parson’s field Tom Ryan had his most dominant performance of the season. Although he had only four strikeouts, his fastball had returned with a vengance, and he used it to control the game by forcing batters to swing at tough pitches, subsequently causing many ground balls and pop-ups. In eight innings of work Ryan held Brookline to just two runs while throwing 138 pitches. The 7-3 win was the Rebels second in a row and also their second win against a team with a winning record. Ryan complimented the team: “We had a lot of timely hits. The defense played very well and did not make many errors.”
Four games into the season, the Rebel’s ace Tom Ryan is looking as sharp as he has ever looked. If the team can continue with the improved offensive production and the error free defense, the Rebels should have no problem winning seven of the next twelve games in order to make the tournament.
