NOTES: Sidearm closer makes Crusaders strong late
Faith Lutheran’s Kyle Poser occupies a rare position in high school baseball as his team’s closer.
But it’s Poser’s unique delivery that truly sets him apart.
Poser, a senior right-hander, is tied for the area lead in saves thanks largely to his sidearm delivery and has given the Crusaders a go-to guy out of the bullpen at the end of games.
“I think at first it’s a little shocking, where the arm angle is, where the ball’s coming out,” Poser said. “And then, just the difference in speeds. … It’s just sort of different because they’ve never seen it before, so it makes them off balance.”
Poser began experimenting with the sidearm motion as a sophomore, and by the time his junior season rolled around, he was dropping down on every pitch. He struck out 30 in 30 1/3 innings last season to go with a 2.77 ERA.
Before allowing four runs and suffering the loss in Monday’s 9-5 setback at Arbor View, Poser had four saves with a 0.66 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings for the Crusaders (16-3).
He induced a game-ending double play with the bases loaded Saturday to preserve Faith Lutheran’s 5-3 win over Liberty.
“People throw sidearm. The difference for Kyle is his arms are so long, that when you’re standing in as a (right-handed) batter, it’s coming from behind you,” Faith Lutheran coach David Anderson said. “We have four very different starting pitchers, and you throw him right after them, it makes it really difficult no matter who the starter is.”
Poser added a pitch to his arsenal for this season, something he calls a “frisbee slider” that floats away from right-handed batters.
“We know that we can be up in the sixth and feel really comfortable bringing him in late,” Anderson said. “He just pitches through it all, and it just really shortens the game. That’s the benefit.”
■ MARTELL WAVERING? — The recruitment of Bishop Gorman rising senior-to-be quarterback Tate Martell isn’t done after all.
Martell, who made an oral commitment to Texas A&M in August, released a statement Monday on Twitter announcing his intention to take his five official visits this fall. He did not indicate the schools he plans to visit.
“At this time, I do believe that Texas A&M is the best school for me,” Martell wrote, “but I’m going to give every school that recruits me a fair chance to prove me wrong.”
Martell is rated the nation’s No. 1 dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com and Scout.com and is the state’s top recruit in the class of 2017.
■ RECENT COMMITMENTS — Bonanza senior Davian Jordan to Umpqua Community College (Oregon) and Shadow Ridge seniors Kyle Brown and Brandon Martin to Green River College (Washington) for men’s basketball. … Liberty seniors Nancy Caballero to Manhattanville College (New York) and Gabby Doxtator to Black Hills State (South Dakota), Centennial senior Alex Dockery to Texas-Permian Basin, and Canyon Springs senior Alexia Thrower to Grays Harbor College (Washington) for women’s basketball.
Arbor View senior Alfredo Carrera and Cimarron-Memorial senior Miguel Rodriguez to Spokane Community College (Washington) for men’s soccer. … Eldorado senior Michael Davis to Bethany College (Kansas) and Needles senior Trenton Poe-Evans to Kansas Wesleyan for football. … Arbor View senior Hannah Goddard to Adams State (Colorado) for women’s volleyball.
Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ