TicketsMarch 17, 2011
By Shawn Sell
GoBEARCATS.com
Andrew Strenge just needed one more jolt of confidence. After enjoying a solid beginning to his freshman year, building confidence along the way, all it took was one fantastic start to transform him into one of the nation's top young hurlers.
The start to the 2010 season saw Strenge as one of the regular arms out of the UC bullpen. His first 10 collegiate appearances weren't bad; he posted a 3-1 record and a 4.24 ERA, all out of the pen. Things started to shift for Strenge on May 1st when he relieved starter Brian Sand and twirled 5.2 shutout innings against West Virginia (complete with six strikeouts) to earn win number four. With injuries mounting, head coach Brian Cleary turned to Strenge to start the finale at 20th ranked Connecticut the next weekend. The rest, as they say, is history.
"My first start against UConn," Strenge says was the turning point in his freshman season. "They are a good team and they hit pretty well the two games before. To get outs against them was big because it just built my confidence up again. And I said, `yeah, maybe I can do this.'"
On that day in Storrs, Strenge baffled UConn hitters, allowing just two unearned runs and striking out six in a complete game, 3-2 Bearcat victory. He was even better in his next start, mowing down Pittsburgh over eight innings, yielding just an unearned run and punching out a career-high nine. When the dust settled at the end of the year, Strenge was a Freshman All-American and had a big fan in his head coach.
"I think it's always hard to predict what a freshman is going to do" Cleary says. "Certainly, we thought he had a chance to be a good pitcher, but to put up the numbers he did and win as many as he did, he was impressive. To win seven games and be a Freshman All-American, I think that exceeds expectations."
With such a tough act to follow after a freshman campaign that saw him set a BIG EAST record for single-season ERA in league games (0.62) and not allow an earned run for 24.2 straight innings, Strenge's 2011 season didn't get off to such a strong start (0-1, 11.57 ERA through two appearances). He has turned it around in two March starts, not allowing an earned run in 13 innings, while striking out 11. To Strenge, it's just been a matter of getting comfortable again.
"The last two starts have been good," he says. "Just working on location has been the big thing (for me). I didn't pitch this summer and coming back in the fall, working on my location was a big part of things. I think I am getting that back now and getting a feel for all of my pitches."
While Strenge points to location as part of his early struggles, it goes a little bit deeper than that according to Cleary.
"I think the big thing for him is coming off the year he had last year is for him to not be complacent and just assume because he was good as a freshman, he will be again," UC's skipper says. "He obviously isn't going to sneak up on anybody and he is going to have to continue to refine his game. As guys face him more, they will have a better idea of how to attack him and so he has to make those adjustments. He has to be able to locate better, paint his fastball better; all that stuff. The big thing is, sometimes guys look back on their freshman year and go `I had a good year, this isn't so hard.' Baseball is not a game that you ever have figured out and the second that you think you do, it really bites you. He has been really good about that so far. I don't think he has pitched as well as he is capable but he has gotten a little better each outing. We are starting to see he is stronger physically and starting to see some of what made him so successful last year. I am really excited to see him the rest of the way."
Growing up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, located 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia near the New Jersey border, Strenge was a star at Holy Ghost Prep. A two-time all-conference selection and the league's MVP as a senior, Strenge held a 15-1 career record as a prep, striking out 152 and posting a 1.29 ERA. Out on the recruiting trails, Cincinnati seemed to get a leg up on the competition thanks to an ex-Bearcat who coached Strenge, helping UC get in the door. His signing is another example of the recruiting philosophy Cleary has utilized for so many years.
"Kevin Wilson had coached him and I think knowing that Kevin had played here made him at least interested in looking at us," Cleary says. "He is a really good example of what we are trying to do with recruiting. We always want to get the best players in Ohio, but the University has turned itself into a great place for people to go to school from around the country. Certainly, with our facilities and the commitment to baseball, I think it is becoming a great place for guys from around the country to play. We've begun to attract not only the best players in Ohio, but some elite players from other parts of the country like Andrew Strenge."
With the blessing of a former coach behind him, Strenge made a recruiting trip to Cincinnati. Once Strenge arrived on campus, he was hooked. "I came here on my visit and saw the stadium and it's just a wonderful place. I loved all of it the second I stepped on campus. It was just really good."
As BIG EAST play gets ready to open up next weekend, Strenge is firmly entrenched as the No. 2 starter on the Bearcats staff, behind senior Dan Jensen. And that position is just fine with him.
"Dan is a great pitcher and he is definitely our No. 1 guy," he says. "Number two is fine with me as long as we are winning games, it doesn't matter to me where I am at."
For Andrew Strenge, all it took was one more jolt of confidence to turn his freshman year around. If lighting strikes twice, Strenge could go down as one of the best hurlers ever to don a Cincinnati uniform.