MINERSVILLE — Logan Hutsko and Minersville’s pitchers have allowed just one run cross home plate in four games and the other three games were shutout wins for the Battlin’ Miners.
Hutsko has teamed up with Cam Rogers and Nolan Plesnarski to form a three-headed monster starting rotation in Minersville.
The senior hurler, Hutsko, will be taking his baseball talents to Elizabethtown College in the fall.
“I like how tight of a community it is there and the coach gave me a tour and it was awesome,” said Hutsko. “I love their facilities and meeting with the coaches. I plan on getting a good degree and a good college experience our of Elizabethtown and overall I get to play some really good baseball.”
The one run Minersville’s pitchers have allowed was to Nativity in a 4-1 win on Thursday, March 27. The Miners shutout Shamokin Area, Panther Valley and Mahanoy Area to start the season.
Minersville finished a game under .500 last season in Schuylkill League Division II with a 6-7 record, behind Schuylkill Haven, Tri-Valley and Nativity in Division II.
Hutsko delivered a gem against Mahanoy Area when he pitched five shutout innings with nine strikeouts while also driving in three runs at the plate.
“I love pitching and I love being in control of the game and being able to trust my defense behind me,” said Hutsko. “It’s great throwing strikes in a big game, get people out and do my job.”
Elizabethtown recruited Hutsko originally as an outfielder and pitcher and that’s where his skills play best.
Hutsko knows his strengths as an outfielder include his ability to read balls as they come off the bat, especially fly balls and line drives, as well as his length which helps cut off balls in the gaps.
Throwing strikes is a common theme heard around high school baseball coaches and that remains Hutsko’s goal every time he takes the mound.
An already reliable hitter at the plate, Hutsko has crafted his pitching over the last year. His ability to throw strikes was the biggest thing going into a new season. And almost every time Hutsko has taken the mound to pitch this spring, he’s done so with the lead.
“It’s a lot easier to pitch with the lead than not and we’re just trying to win every inning,” Hutsko said. “Our offense getting the lead early has helped the pitchers go out and throw strikes.”
Hutsko has been pitching since he started playing baseball at the age of five or six years old. He rarely strikes out offensively, most of the time putting the ball in play, which allows him to be more confident on the mound to throw strikes.
Schuylkill Haven is Minersville’s biggest rivalry and it has stayed like that with the Hurricanes at the top of the Schuylkill League Division II standings yet again.
“Schuylkill County baseball is at a very good point right now,” said Hutsko. “We’re capable of being one of the top teams in the Schuylkill League and we’re just trying to take it one game at a time.”
Some of Hutsko’s favorite memories at Minersville are starting on the mound freshman year for the District XI Championship as well as hitting his first home run.
Hutsko will join former Schuylkill Haven’s Conlan Buletza and former Tri-Valley’s Lucas Scheib at Elizabethtown in the fall.
