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Back to his old self
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer HUDSON -- The dominating numbers from Hudson junior right-hander Bryan Strawser -- a 4-0 record and 0.31 ERA -- seem to have come out of nowhere, but his father has seen this before. "What you're seeing right now, it's just really starting to come back to being Bryan on the mound," said Ed Strawser, recalling when his son, still in middle school, would strike out 17-year-olds in Hudson Little League ball. "He was really smoking then, and he lost a little of that when he got to high school. Now, you see the same old confidence." Strawser has held opponents to one run -- earned, unearned, period -- in four starts. He's struck out 26, walked five, given up five hits and led Hudson to a surprising 8-3 start. He credits his ability to strand runners on the bases to his ability to forget they're out there in the first place. "I don't even think about them being there. If they're there, they're there," Strawser said. "I've always worked good under pressure." "I had a feeling I was going to do a little better this year, but I'm surprised how well I'm actually doing," said Strawser, who also plays rightfield and ranks fourth in the county with six stolen bases. Strawser's emergence couldn't have come at a better time for Hudson coach Jack Ledbetter. Senior Rob Petrucci was sidelined by a sprained ankle two weeks ago, and Strawser and freshman Shannon Eva (4-1) have picked up the slack. Strawser's success begins with his mental approach. "His strongest asset is his ability to concentrate from the first pitch to the last," Ledbetter said. "He has very good command of his pitches. He rarely walks a batter without having a purpose. He's smart enough to know if you're facing a tough hitter in an open-base situation, it's a good walk sometimes." Strawser's name is already well known at Hudson -- older sister Melissa was a three-sport standout in volleyball, basketball and softball, and younger sister Jennifer is showing promise in the same three sports as a freshman. Bryan has tried golf in the but is concentrating on baseball, a focus that has Hudson among the county's elite teams. Petrucci took the first step back Tuesday, pitching a scoreless seventh in Hudson's 5-3 win against Zephyrhills. When he returns healthy, the Cobras will field three solid starters, and the team is already better for the way they handled Petrucci's absence. "When he went down, nobody fell," Strawser said. "Everyone stepped up a notch to fill in his hole, and it was a big hole. Shannon was a big step up, for a freshman to be doing what he's doing, and it's good to have a good lefty on the staff." Strawser, who has command of a fastball, curve and changeup, had a 2.42 ERA as a reliever last season but lacked confidence on the mound since making the jump to high school competition. He spent the summer in American Legion ball and played in the fall in a league at Pasco-Hernando Community College, but the biggest help came from sessions with former Yankees minor-league pitching coach Mark Shiflett at the Tampa Baseball Academy. "That did nothing but build some confidence in himself, and he's been able to transfer a lot of that to the mound," his father said. "He's really putting his heart into it, and the way he's pitching, he's got me amazed."
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