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Tripp Davis, GHS 2009 Graduate
Local pitcher
doing well at the college level
By George Starks
GREENVILLE - When Tripp Davis graduated from Greenville, he, like so
many others, wasn’t exactly sure what to expect at the next level.
After high school, Davis was off to the New Jersey Institute of
Technology to pitch for the Highlanders baseball team.
A member of the Great West Conference, Davis has shined in his first
three years in a Highlanders uniform.
A lefty to boot, Davis is a rare commodity that the pros look for.
The stats on Davis speaks for themselves:
2012: Davis, a top starting pitcher since he arrived at NJIT, was 4-1
with a 1.94 earned run average in seven 2012 conference starts, as he
earned repeat first-team all-Great West honors. Davis finishes the year
5-2 overall, with a team-best 3.29 ERA in a team-leading 98.1 innings.
Summer 2011: Played for the Sanford Mainers in the New England
Collegiate Baseball League... posted a 4-2 record (3.52 ERA) with 42
strikeouts in 46 innings pitched... Registered one shutout (7-0 @ North
Shore; Aug. 5) and fanned a season-high 10 batters at Mystic on July 7.
2011: NJIT’s most reliable pitcher since the start of the year...
first-team all-Great West honoree... NJCBA All-State Division I second
team... team-leading earned run average (3.69)... sixth complete game
vs. Chicago State (5/25) is a new NJIT Division I record, while his
107.1 innings pitched in 2011 is a new all-time school record... Davis'
six wins (6-6) matched the school Division I record for a season, as he
joined PJ Saporito, who was 6-5 for the Highlanders in 2007, their
first year of Division I competition... career-high 13 strikeouts vs.
defending Great West Conference champion Utah Valley on April 10 was a
school DI record later broken by classmate Mark Leiter, Jr..... named
to the GWC all-Tournament team for his performance against Chicago
State, a 5-2 victory, in the first elimination game on Wednesday, May
25.
2010: Shared team leadership in wins with teammate Mark Leiter, Jr.
(3). ...second on the team in innings pitched 79.1... Davis and Leiter
shared the team lead with 14 games started...
Prior to NJIT: Voted 2nd-team all-area by the Miami (OH) Valley
Baseball Coaches Association (2009); honorable mention all-area (2008)
at Greenville High for head coach Ryan Fiely... tied the school-record
for career wins and wins in a season (2008)... Two-time team best
pitcher award (2008, 2009)... played in the Buckeye Scout Showcase…
three-year letter winner in basketball and played one year of football.
“I love being in the Great west Conference,” Davis said. “We go all
over the country. We play teams like Chicago State, Houston Baptist and
Pan American. So we do get around.”
The last two summers, Davis has played in a summer league. While some
scouts may have looked at him, Davis said he has not talked to anyone
yet from a professional baseball team.
I know the summer league I play in is a well-respected league,” Davis
said. “I’m sure there have been some scouts there but no one has talked
to me yet.”
After high school, Davis wasn’t sure what to expect at the next level
but it didn’t take long for him to realize some adjustments had to be
made.
“There’s a lot of work involved if you want to excel at this level,”
Davis admitted. “When you are not scheduled to pitch, you are in the
weight room working out or throwing on the side. In high school this
was not always the case.
“In high school I had a fastball and a pretty decent curve ball,”
continued Davis. “Now, I have a good change-up and I’m working on some
other pitches so it’s not the same as high school. There’s more
expected of you at this level.”
As a pitcher, Davis is not expected to handle a bat saying he’s only
went to the plate a total of three times with one hit to his name.
“There are two way players in college but if you pitch, that’s pretty
much all you do,” said Davis. “If I could go back to high school, I
would work harder on my game and make myself better.”
Davis is starting his senior year and will graduate in the spring. He
is the son of Mark and Gretchen Davis and will graduate with a degree
in accounting.
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