North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Surkamp Gets Under Control On Mound
4/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH NC State sophomore pitcher Eric Surkamp did what most adults do when they head to the beach for the summer: he took along a couple of books to help pass the time.
The difference is that Surkamp wasn’t going on vacation he was headed to Cape Cod to play in the famed summer baseball league, with the hopes of finding a solution to the control problems that plagued his freshman season with the Wolfpack.The left-handed pitcher with the sweeping curveball had a team-high 32 walks in 60 innings pitched last season, was frequently behind in the count to the batters he faced and often threw more than 100 pitches in less than six innings.
Heading to the Cape, where he played for the Orleans (Mass.) Cardinals, Surkamp knew he would be facing more talented hitters than he saw in the ACC his freshman year. But he also knew that he could improve his game just by getting control of the mental aspects of his sport. That’s why he found these two books, “Mind Gym: An Athletes’ Guide to Inner Excellence” by Gary Mack and David Casstevens and “The Mental ABCs of Pitching: A Handbook for Performance Enhancement” by H.A. Dorfman, so enlightening.“Pitching is mostly mental,” Surkamp said. “Those books were both very good in helping me understand how I could improve.”
The results this year have been remarkable. In 65 2/3 innings this year, Surkamp has walked only 20 hitters, while striking out 60. He has been particularly effective in getting ahead in the count most of the time.He has suffered through some tough-luck outings, with six no-decisions in his last eight starts. Three times in those games he left with a lead, twice he left with the scored tied and once he left with his team trailing. But he hopes to see his fortunes change on Friday at 7 p.m. when the Wolfpack (28-14 overall, 11-10 ACC) face North Carolina (35-9, 14-7) in the first of a three-game series at sold-out Doak Field at Dail Park.
But he has also put the Wolfpack in position to win in almost every outing this season, something Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent appreciates.“There is an all-encompassing difference in the way he has pitched this year,” Avent said. “Last year ... he got behind every hitter, so by the sixth inning, he was already up to 100 pitches. Now, he gets ahead of hitters.
“The other thing he's done is that if anything ever does go wrong, it doesn't bother him. He isn’t fazed by anything. He has complete confidence.”Surkamp never really doubted his confidence. He grew up in Cincinnati, always chasing the statistics set by Andrew Brackman, who is one year older. The two first met while participating in a middle school weight-lifting program, and have been friendly competitors ever since. They led Moeller High School to the 2004 Ohio state championship with a 28-3 record. Surkamp was 8-0 with a 0.44 earned run average and 81 strikeouts. Brackman was 7-0 with a 0.58 ERA and 83 strikeouts. In their careers as starters, Surkamp and Brackman were 39-2.
“It’s good to have someone to work your way after and try to do just as well as they have and try to prove to everybody that you are just as good or better,” said Surkamp, who narrowed his final college choices to NC State, Georgia Tech and Tennessee. “We would always joke around about who had the better ERA and stuff like that.“When I came to NC State, it was a comfort thing to get here and have somebody I already knew.”
Surkamp, who was 2-3 as a freshman last year, has been a consistent contributor to the weekend rotation in both his seasons. He replaced Brackman as the Wolfpack’s Friday night starter, when Avent moved freshman lefthander Jimmy Gillheeny into Sunday starter position. That allowed Avent to have Brackman as a power pitcher sandwiched between two lefties in his weekend rotation.“I was very happy to be moved into that spot,” Surkamp said. “Being in that spot, you kind of have to go set the tone for the weekend, just show the other team that your pitching is going to be there all weekend. You have to go out there and shut the team down that first night.
“If you win the first game, it’s a lot easier to win the series.”And that’s what Surkamp will be looking to do against the Tar Heels, who are ranked as high as No. 4 in the weekly college baseball polls. He would love to be a part of a celebration similar to the one he was part of earlier this year, when the baseball team was recognized at halftime of the Wolfpack’s upset of No. 2 North Carolina in basketball at the RBC Center. After that game, Surkamp and Brackman were two of the first students to rush the court for the postgame celebration.
“That was probably one of my most memorable experiences since I have been at State,” Surkamp said.But it could easily be supplanted by another strong outing and victory over the Tar Heels Friday night.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
