Friday, May 19, 2000
Elder pitcher tries to keep perfect mark
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Dan Bachman
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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When Dan Bachman pitches for Elder, the Panthers haven't lost. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior is 10-0 in two varsity years at Elder with a 0.73 ERA.
In five appearances during the regular season and one in the sectional tournament this year, Bachman has pitched 472Ž3 innings, allowing five earned runs.
''Dan has a live arm and gets good movement on all the pitches,'' Elder coach Mark Thompson said. ''His fastball is the hardest to hit as long as he sets it up with a good off-speed pitch.''
Bachman's fastball has been clocked in the mid-80s, but Thompson said the key to his pitching is placement.
''I've never had a pitcher that opposing batters swing through so many pitches,'' Thompson said. ''Dan's tough to hit because all of his pitches move. The key in high school is spotting the pitch.''
Bachman will be on the mound for the Panthers Saturday in the Division I district championship game against Fairfield at Midland Field.
''Fairfield beat us 3-1 early in the season, but Dan didn't pitch,'' Thompson said. ''Mason hit him pretty good, but I blame that on the long (eight days) layoff.''
Injured most of the 1999 season, Bachman returned to the pitching rotation during the tournament and was the winning pitcher in the Division I state semifinal and championship games.
''I hurt my knee and had surgery a week into the ('99) season,'' Bachman said. ''My arm was strong at the state tournament because of the layoff.''
Though Bachman is Elder's only returning veteran pitcher, he has been used sparingly by Thompson because Matt McCloy, Rick Wood, Tom Spille, Ryan Vanderpool and Kyle Robbins improved this year.
''Our other pitchers are pretty darn good,'' Thompson said. ''Since I took over (1991), we've never had a pitcher throw more than 45 innings (regular season). That's by design, because I never want to have a situation where a player's arm breaks down.''
All of Bachman's starting assignments were against the toughest opponents, including Moeller, Hamilton, St. Xavier, Mason and Hamilton Badin.
''When you're the No. 1 pitcher, you have to be the hammer,'' Thompson said. ''This is tough for some pitchers to handle.''
Bachman welcomes the challenge.
''I was the only pitcher back with tournament experience,'' he said. ''I've been pitching all my life and I like the pressure.''
Besides the fastball, Bachman also has developed a curve and change-up.
''My job is much easier because of the fielding behind me,'' Bachman said. ''We have more talent this season and we'd like to win another state championship.''
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