University of Massachusets Athletics
Torra Making His Pitch
May 18, 2005 | Baseball
May 18, 2005
AMHERST, Mass. -
by Howard Herman
Berkshire Eagle staff
Matt Torra may just be saving his best for last. The Pittsfield native, and University of Massachusetts ace, tossed a complete-game three-hitter yesterday, beating Rhode Island 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader at Earl Lorden Field. He walked one and struck out nine, and called it one of his best outings of the season.
"As far as control and having all three pitches working" it was, he said after the game. "They got a couple of hits off me [in the first inning]. Other than that, I started to take over."
The former Pittsfield High right-hander isn't one to toot his own horn. But pitching in front of nearly 50 scouts from numerous major-league clubs and enough radar guns to keep traffic crawling on the Massachusetts Turnpike, Torra made his case that he should play at the next level. Major League Baseball's annual amateur player draft is scheduled for June 7 and 8, and Torra figures to get drafted.
Some close to the draft have suggested he could go between the third and fifth rounds. The draft goes over two days and about 50 rounds.
"There were so many cross-checkers here. He made himself some serious money today because he shut down a good ball club," UMass coach Mike Stone said with a smile.
Torra had an 88-pitch game, and threw 60 for strikes. He didn't give up a hit after Joe Viscuso's single in the third inning, and only allowed two runners over the final four frames. He hit Scott Brown on an 0-1 pitch in the fourth and issued a two-out walk to Matt Sullivan in the sixth. Those last three runners were all thrown out trying to steal by UMass freshman catcher Bryan Garrity of Peabody, who will be Torra's teammate with the Pittsfield Dukes next month. Thanks to Garrity, Torra faced the minimum number of batters over the final six innings.
"A pitcher like that with pinpoint control, all you have to do is sit back there and catch the ball," said Garrity, who said he wears a sponge inside his mitt to cushion Torra's 90-plus mph fastball.
Torra is now 5-3. Going into yesterday's game, he had a 1.12 earned-run average in 12 games (11 starts). He had pitched 80 2/3 innings, giving up just 13 walks and striking out 88 hitters. Opposing batters were hitting just .175 against him.
Going into yesterday's game, he leads the Atlantic 10 in strikeouts, ERA and opposing batting average.
Nationally, according to NCAA statistics through May 8, Torra was third in the nation in ERA. Only Army starter Nick Hill (1.06) and Auburn reliever John Madden (1.09) had better earned-run averages.
"When he was a freshman, I said to him '[Pitching] is a thing you can do. Make sure you do it to the best of your ability, prepare yourself in the off-season and in between starts, do all you can do to get ready," said Stone. "He's really dedicated himself to that. He realizes what he's got. You see it out there. That's something special."
Torra admits that his summer season on Cape Cod helped drive him to what has certainly been a special season. Pitching mostly in relief for the Orleans Cardinals last summer, the righty was 3-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 11 games.
"I saw the best on the Cape and I knew I could compete with them," he explained. "It just made me work that much harder in the off-season to get in better shape, be more mentally tough and develop that third pitch and have it consistently."
That third pitch is a changeup that he throws along with what is called a power curve and a fastball that touches 95. And while Stone and pitching coach Mike Sweeney do most of the pitch calling, Garrity said it's really up to the pitcher.
"Matt decides what pitches he wants to go with," said the catcher. "He's doing a great job. He's throwing the batters off. He's working his changeup, the curveball, the fastball -- that's what makes him so effective. When you have a 95-mile-an-hour fastball and a great off-speed pitch, it really throws a hitter's balance off."
In yesterday's game, Rhode Island's Darryl Holcomb ripped a double inside the first-base bag to open the game. One out later, he scored on Brown's double to center. Torra came back and retired Ryan Cunningham and Mike Rainville on consecutive ground outs to Ryan Franczek at third base.
"They might have put up a couple of more runs in that first inning last year. I've realized you can't do anything with what's already happened," said Torra. "You can just go out and make sure you get the next out or next two outs -- whatever it takes to get out of the inning with minimum damage."
Early in the season, that one run might have been enough to beat UMass. But not now. Torra earned his fifth win of the year when the Minutemen tied the score in the third and went up for keeps with two runs on three hits in the sixth. Bryan Adamski hit an RBI double, went to third on the throw home that Curt Szado beat, and Adamski scored on Michael Weiner's base hit.
The Minutemen close their regular season this coming Friday and Saturday with three games at home against LaSalle. Torra might make his last career start on Friday against the Explorers.
Over the years, UMass has sent many players into the Major Leagues, including Mike Flanagan, Dalton's Jeff Reardon, Gary DiSarcina, former Pittsfield Met Dave Telgedher, Chad Paronto of Pittsfield and current Seattle Mariner Ron Villone.
"[Torra] throws many more strikes than some of the real good pitchers that we had in the past. He's got overpowering stuff," said Stone, when asked to compare, but not rank, his pitchers. "Villone was a kid drafted in the first round, 14th in the country, but he was a lefty and I think that's why he was drafted that high. When I look at the way he pitches and the way Villone pitches, he pitches better. He's better than Villone was in his junior year."
Squadrons of scouts have been regulars at UMass games all season, most of them watching Torra. After yesterday's game, the former PHS standout met with a Kansas City Royals scout. But back on May 1, as Torra tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout in a doubleheader with St. Bonaventure, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein watched.
"It was a lot of fun. The younger kids [on the team] were like 'Matt, Matt, Theo's in the stands.'," Torra recalled. "You can't worry about it. You go out, then afterwards when you win the game, then it can be like 'Theo was at the game.'"
Torra still has plenty to look forward to: the end of the UMass season, pitching in the June 8 opener for the Pittsfield Dukes at Wahconah Park, and getting drafted. As to getting drafted, Torra said it doesn't matter where he goes.
"The opportunity to play is the most important thing," he said. "I don't care where it is. I just want to play."
