Hunter Schryver An Ace On The Mound For Villanova
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Villanova senior left-hander Hunter Schryver is wrapping up his college career in style.
The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native has been one of the toughest pitchers to hit in the region all season long. Last time out, he pitched eight shutout innings in a 4-0 win against Big East rival Georgetown, striking out ten. The performance earned him Big 5 Pitcher of the Week honors and improved his record to 4-5. That record, though, doesn't provide an accurate picture of how good he has been. He has an ERA of 2.17 and opponents are hitting a paltry .208 against him. In 54 innings this season, he has allowed just 40 hits, 13 earned runs and 27 walks, while striking out 74.
Schryver talks about what is allowing him to have this success.
"It's really just the approach going into games," he says. "Having a lot of confidence in all my pitches. Just really attacking hitters. A great hitter is going to (hit) .300, so they're going to get themselves out about seven out of ten times. So if you just throw strikes and place your pitches, mix it up pretty well, you're going to have success."
Listen to the entire interview with Villanova's Hunter Schryver:
Schryver says he throws both a two-seem and four-seem fastball, a change-up and a knuckle-curve, which has been a key for him.
"It's pretty tough on left-handers," he says. "Over the summer actually, I played against somebody from St. John's, left-handed hitter, and the first thing he said was, 'I hate that curveball.'"
Schryver has moved into second place on Villanova's all-time strikeout list and he is seventh in program history in career inning pitched. His success has garnered the attention of pro scouts.
"There's starting to be some interest," Schryver says. "I never would've thought that it would be a possibility. Last year, my junior season, there was a little bit. I was honestly still in denial that there was ever even going to be a chance that I could possibly play professional baseball. But now it's starting to look a little bit more real to me and I couldn't be more excited about it."
Villanova battles Big 5 rival La Salle on Wednesday.
