ERIE — If Tyler Garbee would have drawn up how his junior season would go, it would’ve looked a lot like how it played out.
Once a pitcher for Pitt, Garbee decided to transfer after two seasons, with the intention of finding a place where he would get more playing time.
In choosing Mercyhurst, the former Quaker Valley star hoped to revive his career and be a key contributor for a high-level team. He got that and more.
Garbee became one of the top pitchers on Mercyhurst’s staff, accumulating a 6-1 record and a 2.52 ERA over 71.1 innings. Mercyhurst finished 36-15, winning its second NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship before losing two games and being eliminated in the College World Series.
“I expected myself to perform at a level that could help this team, and this team has supported me in every way possible. It’s exactly what I expected,” Garbee said.
“I came into this school knowing how good they’ve been in the past. All the past guys that have done their job and created a program that is expected to win. So coming in, my job was to just continue doing that and try to teach the young guys what it takes to win.”
Garbee’s fit with his new team came naturally from day one. Having played summer baseball with new teammates Drew Delsignore and Matthew Schneider, the two urged him to transfer there, raving to Garbee about their experiences. Once Garbee chose Mercyhurst and arrived on campus, the two eased his transition to his new home.
“They just kept telling me, ‘Come to Mercyhurst. This place is real good. We like to win and have fun, and it’ll be a good place for you,’” Garbee said. “Once I got here, they threw me right in the fire. Knowing them, they introduced me to older guys, and they were really helpful in showing me how we do things here. It was very easy to move into this program.”
No matter the ease of the fit, Garbee’s most important and direct task was finding himself again as pitcher. Previously, Garbee’s college career was less than a complete success, from his 5.34 ERA over 30.1 innings as a freshman at Pitt, to his appearances being reduced to just three innings as a sophomore.
With his confidence shaken, Garbee had to find a new way to be successful. Having learned that he could not rely anymore on overpowering hitters, Garbee has focused more on throwing strikes and being strategically sound. It’s an approach that, rather resoundingly, has worked.
“I’m getting ahead of guys. I’m throwing a lot of strikes and then being able to pitch to contact and get people to get themselves out, that’s my biggest thing,” Garbee said.
“I’ve never really been a strikeout pitcher in college. I’ve never had the stuff because everyone can hit a fastball, no matter how hard it is. So it’s more of a finesse game and putting the ball where you want it and getting ahead of guys and keeping hitters off balance with changes of speed.”
What’s been important, too, has been the addition of a changeup to Garbee’s arsenal. Having learned the pitch the summer after his freshman year at Pitt, Garbee has progressively worked on the pitch up until this season, when he’s finally found the comfort to throw it regularly.
“It has been essential to how I pitch. I throw that to both righties and lefties now, and it’s got to be one of my favorite pitches,” Garbee said. “It’s finally gotten to a point where I feel comfortable throwing it in any count. The movement of it is very similar to my fastball, and the velocity on it, I try to go nine to 11 miles per hour difference, and it’s right around there.”
For Garbee, the turnaround has been a gratifying one, one he knew he had in him, but something he still had to prove to himself. Perhaps Mercyhurst isn’t the place he imagined he’d be when he first started his college career, but it’s where he wants to be now. Now, he’s the highly successful pitcher he thought he’d be as an upperclassman, the type that others at Mercyhurst can learn from.
“My biggest plan was to use my experiences, rather than my skills, to help people,” Garbee said. “If I can help a new pitcher with a new pitch or the mindset of the game, that’s more important than going out there and striking out 10 guys because they’re the future. If I can make them better people and players and baseball minds, that’s all I can ask for.”
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
• Gettysburg beat Middlebury to win its second consecutive NCAA Division III championship. Maggie McClain (Sewickley Academy), a senior attacker, had an assist in the game. McClain and her fellow six seniors will leave campus with 76 wins, more wins as a group than any previous graduating class at Gettysburg.
TRACK & FIELD
• Geneva’s Nicole Bartoletta (Central Valley) and Jessica Kelosky (Riverside) finished their college careers at the NCAA Division III National Championships. Bartoletta finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.17 seconds, .09 seconds behind the winner. Kelosky ran the 100-meter dash, running the preliminary race in 12.59 seconds, which was .07 seconds short of qualifying for the finals.