From the infield to the mound: Tate Ostrowski鈥檚 path to success
GROVE CITY, Pa. (BVM) 鈥�When a player is put in a new position, there is almost always a learning curve. This is no exception when it comes to baseball. Adjusting from the infield to being the starting pitcher is not the easiest transition, especially amidst a pandemic.聽
Grove City College rising senior Tate Ostrowski has proven that going out of your comfort zone and tackling a new position can not only make you a more well-rounded player but help the team succeed.
Coming from Red Sox country in Essex, Massachusetts, Tate Ostrowski joined the Grove City College baseball team in Western Pennsylvania as a freshman in 2018. When the 2019 spring season entered full swing, Tate played as a middle infielder at both second base and shortstop positions for the Wolverines. Throughout his first season, Tate helped Grove City finish second in the NCAA Division III President鈥檚 Athletic Conference (PAC) with a 16-7 record.
But Ostrowski would not have time to get comfortable in the infield for long. He would transition to the mound heading into his sophomore year in the spring of 2020. He got his first taste of life on the mound early on in his second season in a non-conference matchup against Illinois College in Florida. It was a small sample size for his first game on the mound and quite underwhelming. Only facing two batters, Ostrowski threw one wild pitch and walked two.
But the first game jitters would soon be forgotten as Tate would find his groove against his home state鈥檚 Emerson College in non-conference action.
Ostrowski鈥檚 drastic improvement helped Grove City grab the victory. Through 6.1 innings pitched, Ostrowski looked considerably more comfortable throwing seven strikeouts. He only allowed four hits and two runs throughout his time on the mound facing 25 hitters.
But the 2020 season would be cut short and Ostrowski and the Wolverines would only play one more game before COVID-19 shutdown sports nationwide. Despite the shortened season, Ostrowski now had the opportunity to perfect his craft.
In a , head coach Matt Royer spoke on Grove City鈥檚 pitching ahead of the 2021 season.
It鈥檚 funny because both those players (sophomore pitcher Calvin Burns and Ostrowski) came in as position players and we converted them to pitchers and last year they were our top two pitchers.鈥�
Following the shortened season, Ostrowski picked up where he left off the previous season. Tate kicked off the season throwing seven innings and a season-high 12 strikeouts in his first game of the season.
Throughout the course of the 10 game season, Tate struck out 82 batters.聽
But perhaps Ostrowski鈥檚 finest hour was against conference rival Bethany, where he pitched a perfect game through seven innings and throwing ten strikeouts.聽
The final pitch!
— Grove City College Athletics (@GCC_Wolverines)
Grove City sweeps the doubleheader with scores of 8-0 and 5-2. Congratulations to Tate Ostrowski who threw the school's first ever perfect game in game 1.
— Grove City College Baseball (@GCC_bsb)
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 feel real鈥� it was unbelievable,鈥� Ostrowski said following the game in an .
Following this performance, Tate was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week. A weekly honor roll for the NCAA鈥檚 best Division III baseball players across the nation.
Although the Grove City College baseball team came up short in the postseason, it was a season of records and personal improvement for Ostrowski and the Wolverines. Grove City finished with an overall record of 28-10, 22-5 in the PAC.
Grove City looks forward to Tate returning to Wolverines baseball as a senior for what they hope can be another record season.聽
