Minnehaha's John Pryor Has But 1 ER All Season
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnehaha Academy's John Pryor is a pitcher's pitcher.
He attacks the strike zone, he's careful with the meat of the order, and he goes after the bottom of it.
His numbers speak to his success. He's 6-0 with 83 strikeouts.
And he's given up just one earned run all season.
The senior has developed his mechanics the old-fashioned way.
"My brother and I would always play driveway baseball with a tennis ball and Wiffle Ball bat," he said. "We would play every summer."
His coach calls him poised.
"He's a great pitcher," coach Scott Glenn said. "He's tall, athletic, and can throw hard. He can throw a change up and curve ball for strikes."
That's his game -- figure out who you're pitching against, and figure out how to pitch them.
He has a role model in left-hander Cliff Lee who serves as an example of efficiency.
"I watch a lot of Cliff Lee YouTube videos and I modeled my mechanics after his," Pryor said.
Next year, he'll pitch for Division-I Lipscomb University in Tennessee.
"They contacted me last summer, and I went down for a visit and loved the campus and the school and it worked out in the end," Pryor said.
But for now it's one more high school goal -- to go where he has not been before.
"We've come close to going to state and hopefully we can make it this year," he said.
Minnehaha beat St. Paul Academy 2-1 on Thursday to advance in section play.
