Peluso paces Point Park on mound
PITTSBURGH — When it comes to assessing his team's prospects, Point Park University baseball coach Loren Torres pulls no punches.
“We'll go as far as our pitching takes us,” the third-year coach said. “That's the strength of our team.”
Pitching took the Pioneers pretty far last spring, including a 38-13 record that marked a 25-win improvement over 2010 and the American Mideast Conference regular season championship.
Three pitchers who started at least 10 games, won seven and had earned run averages below 4.00 last season return. They include Seneca Valley graduate and Point Park senior Derek Peluso.
Peluso was 7-1 with a 3.41 ERA last year and is considered the ace of the Pioneers' rotation this spring. He is already 1-0 and the team is off to a 6-1 start as it plays in Florida this week.
“When I say I'm counting on pitching and Derek is the ace of that staff, it shows how much I'm counting on him,” Torres said.
A team captain, Peluso has no problem with that kind of responsibility being placed on his shoulders.
“My goal is to not lose a game this year and be more consistent all the way around,” Peluso said.
The Pioneers had a team batting average of .331 last season, but graduated six starting position players who all hit above .315.
“It's no secret I benefited from an offense that scored a ton of runs,” Peluso said. “It's easy pitching for a team like that.
“I like being the No. 1 guy. I want to set the tone for our staff and be a shut-down guy.”
Peluso has been primarily a pitcher since his sophomore year. He did some spot pitching and played some outfield during his freshman campaign at Point Park.
Peluso pitched for the Butler BlueSox in the summer following his sophomore year and handled some mound work for Mars in the Eagle County League after last season.Torres sees a big difference between Peluso, the sophomore pitcher, and Peluso, the senior hurler.“He was a little shy about attacking the strike zone as a sophomore,” Torres said. “We pitch to contact here, get ahead in the count, and he wasn't doing that.“Now Derek has experience. He's matured. There's a big difference in his confidence and that's why he's beginning to excel.”Peluso's fastball has been clocked in the upper 80s and he's hit the low 90s. His out pitch is a slider and he's working on improving his changeup.“He throws very hard for this level,” Torres said.“The more I work on my changeup, the better pitcher I'll be,” Peluso said. “I can throw my slider at any point in the count. I'm very confident in it.”Carrying a 3.7 grade point average, Peluso will graduate in May with a degree in economics/finance. He is not ruling out a shot at professional baseball.At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, he has the frame to pursue a career on the hill.“If the opportunity presents itself, I'll go after it,” Peluso said. “Otherwise, I'll look to get into the work force. I'm prepared for either direction.“We've set some high goals as a team. We want to get into the (NAIA) national playoffs, hopefully get a World Series bid.”That's a far cry from a team that was just 13-26 in 2010 and had a composite record of 82-167 from 2005-10.Torres previously coached in Florida and has brought some players up from that area. He's infused some talented transfers to replace the lost position players.“To compete nationally, you have to recruit nationally,” Torres said. “We've assembled a diverse group of players here.“We want to get Point Park back to the level of baseball that was here in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was a national power and a number of players out of here joined the pro ranks. There's a deep tradition here.“I wouldn't discard Derek's chances of going pro at all. Pro scouts will be coming around to watch us. A lot will depend on how Derek performs when they're here,” Torres added.
