Wasting little time
GREENSBURG — You won't have any trouble getting Seton Hill University baseball coach Marc Marizzaldi to talk about his pitching staff.
Mars graduate D.J. Cannon and Butler graduate Brian Warheit, both freshman right-handers, already have had a positive impact on the Griffins' fortunes.
Entering Monday's doubleheader against Walsh University, Cannon was 3-3 with a 1.71 earned run average while Warheit carries a 2-2 record and a 3.21 ERA, including one save.
"Both of them have had fantastic years so far, especially when you consider that they're both freshmen," Marizzaldi said. "Pitching and defense are the strengths of our team."
The Griffins, who carry a solid team-ERA of 4.18, are 22-23 overall and 8-8 in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. This marks the first season that Seton Hill is an official member of the Division II conference.
Cannon has pitched four complete games in his six starts, including a 1-0 win over Davis and Elkins March 29 in which he faced the minimum of 21 batters and struck out seven in the three-hit shutout.
He's allowed eight earned runs in 42 innings pitched, striking out 34 and walking 11.
"We looked for him to help the staff, but he has exceeded all the hopes that we had for him," Marizzaldi said.
"I'm a bit surprised that I was able to come in and have as much success as I have, but I guess it comes with all the hard work we put in during the offseason," Cannon said. "One of our goals is to throw a certain percentage of first-pitch strikes. It's something they really stress, not putting yourself in a hole against hitters."
Cannon has four pitches in his arsenal: fastball, curveball, changeup and slider.
Marizzaldi has put Cannon on the mound to get an inning of relief here and there between starts.
"Repetition helps me work on things before my next start," Cannon said. "I just want to stay consistent."
Warheit is coming off surgery on his pitching arm last fall, but has bounced back well. He has struck out 25 batters and walked eight, giving up 10 earned runs in 28 innings."I had a loose piece of bone in my right elbow and they had to go in and remove it," Warheit said."We didn't know what to expect out of Brian this season, with him coming off a surgery," Marizzaldi said. "But he's gotten better and stronger each time out."Warheit began the season as a reliever before working his way into the rotation during weekday or nonconference games."My goal next season is to become a starter in conference games," he saidSeton Hill's pitching staff also includes North Allegheny product Rich Raraigh (4-3, 2.93 ERA).Matt McCune, a Butler graduate, is a senior outfielder for the Griffins.
