SLIPPERY ROCK — Ian Balquist has one mission this summer.

Develop his secondary pitches.

That includes the painstaking process of finding just the right grip for a changeup.

“It's definitely getting better,” the left-handed pitcher for the Slippery Rock High baseball team said. “I'm still trying to figure out what kind of changeup I want to throw. Sometimes you get a grip and you work on it and it just doesn't feel right.”

Balquist did just fine with his fastball this season for the Rockets, going 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA to earn District 10 Region 6 Pitcher of the Year honors.

His fastball has natural movement, tailing in on a right-handed hitter and away from a left-handed batter.

Balquist was one of the toughest pitchers to square up this season, striking out 57 in just 43 innings.

“You hear coaches talk about players and how they have 'it,'” said Slippery Rock baseball coach Fred Pryor. “Well, he has 'it.' He wants the ball every day. He wants to compete. He's got that fortitude to be a great pitcher.”

Balquist put up those numbers in a tough region and district which was loaded with potent lineups.

“We faced some really good lineups,” Pryor said. “We faced the 1A champion (West Middlesex) and Franklin, which made it into the state playoffs.”

For Balquist, it was just the challenge he needed to get better.

“It was really satisfying,” Balquist said.

Especially since Balquist had very little experience on the hill until his junior season this spring.

As a sophomore, he worked in relief, making 11 appearances with a 5.25 ERA.

But things began to click for him in a relief appearance against Hickory late in the year when he threw three scoreless innings for a save in a 2-0 win.

He said that's when he knew he could be a good pitcher at the varsity level.

“I came in and shut them out for three innings,” Balquist said. “That was fun.”

Balquist said before this season he was eager to show what he could do as a starter and the ace of the staff.

“I was just ready for that next step,” Balquist said. “I was pumped.”

Balquist is playing this summer for the Northeast Twins, a travel team located in Olean, N.Y.

The team plays weekend tournaments all around the region.

“We play some of the best team out there,” Balquist said. “In high school ball, there'll be a few good hitters in the lineup, but with this team everyone in the lineup, one-through-nine, is a good hitter.”

Slippery Rock pitching coach Mark White said Balquist is really just scratching the surface on the kind of pitcher he can be.

“We weren't surprised,” White said. “People with (the Northeast Twins) will work with him this summer. He's trying to get a changeup, slider, cutter — something to work off his fastball — and he'll be more consistent and even harder to hit.”

Balquist was also a solid hitter for the Rockets, batting .357 out of the leadoff spot.

Balquist is also a soccer player at the school and has speed, which he was able to utilize this season.

“When I told him I wanted him to bat leadoff, his eyes just lit up,” Pryor said. “He's the most coachable kid. Anything we ask him to do, he does it. We're looking forward to having him for his senior season.”