Anderson enjoys winning moment
BUTLER TWP — Butler graduate and Butler Township pitcher Colby Anderson is one who likes to keep his opponents guessing.
“I like mixing it up,” Anderson said. “But today I had to throw my fastball a lot because I couldn't find my off-speed, but I usually like to mix it up. Today my fastball was the only thing working.”
Anderson took home the win Tuesday evening, striking out five batters and walking two through four innings pitched during Butler Township's 10-1 Butler County Area Baseball league championship victory over Kiski Tuesday night.
“It was a good game,” Anderson said. “Pitched well, hit well, did just about everything well, I'd say.”
Kiski came into the championship game fresh off the continuation of its semifinal win over Freeport.
“(Kiski) is a good team, they just didn't hit the ball well tonight,” Anderson said. “Our pitching did a fantastic job keeping them off balance.”
The left-hander was also a force at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two singles and a RBI to help extend Butler's lead to eight in the bottom of the fourth.
In the first two innings, Anderson's father could be heard from the press box yelling “slow it down” to remind his son to pace his pitches and not get too far ahead of himself.
“I don't really hear him,” Anderson said with a laugh. “I just go out there and do what I do.”
“Its all pacing to me especially when it comes to pitching,” Butler coach Tyler Friel said. “Find that pace that you're comfortable with and make sure you stay with it. Consistency to me is the No. 1 key to pitching and Colby for the most part is able to do that quite often.”
Anderson has found himself in high pressure situations before, as he was a key piece to the Golden Tornado's 5-3 upset over Peters Township in round one of WPIAL 6A playoffs in May.
He was able to strikeout six batters with three walks through 5.2 innings, collecting the win in the process.
“Just take deep breaths, don't let the moment get too big,” Anderson said. “Just enjoy your time — enjoy the moment.”
“He (Anderson) is a gutsy player,” Friel said. “Knows his craft, how to locate, mix pitches and works well with Nate Stutz, our catcher. But he's confident, really knows his stuff, just checks all the boxes.”
Earlier in the tournament against Center Township, Anderson pitched a perfect game of sorts, allowing the first three batters of the game on base, before retiring the side and the next 18 batters.
Anderson has one more year of eligibility for Butler Township, and will return with most of this year's championship roster.
“We've got a big group coming back,” Anderson said. “So I'm confident we can win it again next year.”
