SF’s Krewson and Pitzer, PT’s Natili to play in Cape Cod All-Star game
When Tyler Pitzer saw the roster for the Cape Cod League All-Star game, he immediately texted his friend and former South Fayette teammate Chase Krewson to congratulate him on making the team.
Then he saw former Peters Township standout Jack Natili’s name on the list as well.
It’s not lost on each one of them how unique it is to have three guys from the South Hills of Pittsburgh make the All-Star game in the most prestigious college summer wood-bat baseball league in the country.
“We played Peters and Jack in our section our senior year in high school and now two years into our college careers we’re in the Cape All-Star game,” Pitzer said. “Having Natili and Chase there with me is kind of a full circle moment. It’s pretty cool.”
To put in perspective of how strong the Cape Cod League is, 17 of the first 40 picks in last week’s MLB draft played at least one season in it.
Natili and Krewson are on the West team and Pitzer is on the East team. The Cape Cod League All-Star game is Saturday at Yarmouth-Dennis.
Pitzer plays for Yarmouth-Dennis, so he’ll be at his home field. Natili plays for Cotuit and Krewson plays for Wareham. Natili was named a starter.
Being on opposite sides gives Pitzer, a right-handed pitcher, and Krewson the potential to face each other for the first time in their careers.
Krewson faced Pitzer in intrasquad scrimmages at South Fayette, but if it happens Saturday, then it’ll be special and come with bragging rights.
Krewson thinks he has a good idea of how Pitzer will attack him.
“I’m sure facing me, he’ll probably want to go away from throwing me fastballs,” Krewson said. “I’d expect more off-speed. At the same time, I won’t be surprised if he tries to throw a fastball by me, but I’ll be ready for it. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Pitzer was a little more tight-lipped about the potential matchup.
“We’ll see what he gets,” Pitzer said with a laugh.
Natili has some experience facing Pitzer and the first matchup went pretty well when the two were still in high school.
“I hit a home run off him my first at-bat,” Natili said.
He had one at-bat against Pitzer in the Cape Cod League this year and even though he hit a popup he still managed to get on base.
“He popped up, but it ended up dropping, so he ended up getting to second base on an error, which was unfortunate,” Pitzer said. “It’d be cool to face him again in the all-star game.”
All three have had different paths since high school.
Natili had a strong season at the plate at Cincinnati this spring hitting .338 with 14 doubles, nine homers and 53 RBI.
He’s carried that over to Cotuit where he’s hit .267 with five homers and 19 RBI. Natili is fifth in the Cape Cod League in OPS at .924. He was named the Cape Cod Player of the week for July 5-11.
A big adjustment is that he’s in charge of calling pitches, opposed to at Cincinnati where the pitches are relayed from the dugout.
He had to learn a new staff quickly and has appreciated the opportunity to grow as a catcher.
“It’s been a fun challenge managing a completely new staff in a couple days compared to having all fall at school,” Natili said. “It adds another interesting aspect to the catching position. You have to get a feel for the lineup you are facing, read swings and ultimately give the pitcher the best chance to succeed. It’s been a good learning experience.”
Krewson hit .279 in 45 games in his first season at Central Florida after transferring from Duke. After the season he said he worked on his swing with his hitting coach and used a torpedo bat for the first part of the summer before breaking it. He’s now back to a traditional wood bat and so far has hit .300 with four doubles with Wareham.
“We found a comfortable spot that allowed me to be more athletic and adjustable,” Krewson said. “Coming up here to the Cape, I’ve felt comfortable and confident in the box and the results have shown that.”
Pitzer is in a bit of transition. He’s moving on from South Carolina and will play at Mississippi State next year. He’ll be reunited with former Gamecocks pitching coach Justin Parker, who’s now Mississippi State’s pitching coach.
Pitzer has shaken off what he called a tough spring season by thriving this summer as a reliever for Yarmouth-Dennis. He leads the Cape with a 0.57 ERA and has 21 strikeouts to seven walks over 15 2/3 innings.
“My main thing coming up here was to clear my mind from the (spring) season and kind of find a way back to having fun in the game and pitching to the ability that I know I can,” Pitzer said. “I think I’ve been able to do that well. Just having fun and not worrying about anything else.”
Whether or not Natili and Krewson get to face Pitzer Saturday, all three will have a chance to catch up on Saturday.
Three ball players from the South Hills of Pittsburgh all sharing a big stage in summer baseball.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Krewson said. “Growing up with those guys we all had the same want to be a professional baseball player. We all competed with and against each other and now look at where we are.”