Opposing teams can expect to see a lot of Tyler Priest and Julian Duty on the mound this season for Old Town baseball.
The sophomore pitchers combined to lead the Coyotes to a 2-0 start this season. The versatile hurlers split time on the mound in each of those first two games — with Duty starting the season opener against Ellswroth and Priest getting the win in relief, and then Priest starting game two against Hermon and Duty finishing it out in the extra innings victory.
“That’s the blueprint for the next three years. They’re sophomores,” Old Town coach Justin Crisafulli said about Priest and Duty after the 4-1 win over Hermon on Tuesday. “They came aboard last year as freshmen, and they got a little taste of everything.”
Duty pitched 3 ⅓ scoreless innings in relief at Hermon and struck out five.
“I was just trying to hit the strike zone there, make them hit ground balls, pop flies to my teammates, get the outs,” Duty said.
In the opener against Ellsworth, he struck out seven batters in less than four innings on the mound and gave up two hits and two walks. The three runs scored against him were all unearned.
Priest went 4 ⅔ on Tuesday while striking out four and giving up one run.
“I felt really good, mixed a lot of my pitches,” Priest said. “Mixed in some sliders, curveballs. Didn’t attack every time, just played my advantages.”
He also struck out six in just over three innings pitched against Ellsworth, meaning he and Duty combined for a whopping 13 strikeouts in seven innings on opening day. The one run he gave up against the Eagles was also unearned.
Both are feeling good starting the season as primary — and young — options for the Coyotes.
“I’m just excited that I have more years to do it,” Duty said.
Having two pitchers who can command the zone and share the workload makes a big difference, according to Priest.
“We can split games, and we can be available for whatever game we have next,” Priest said.
That is likely going to come in handy amid a balanced North region with plenty of other strong pitchers.
And when they’re not on the mound, Duty and Priest are happy to contribute in whatever way needed for the Coyotes, as evidenced by Priest hustling to try to track down a foul ball after he moved to the infield late in Tuesday’s game against Hermon.
“I think we get the attitude from the coaches that we hustle every play,” Priest said.
Both he and Duty stressed that they are not the only pitching options for Old Town. Senior Alex McCannell will be the starting pitcher for Thursday’s game against Hampden. McCannell played second base on Tuesday night and scored what eventually proved to be the winning run in the eighth inning.
“We do have other guys that really do pitch well,” Priest said. “But when you can save pitchers, it’s great, too.”