Hampton grad Jake Seymour earns All-American honors after emotional ‘21 season with LaRoche baseball

Jake Seymour’s tributes to his departed teammate came naturally.

The 2016 Hampton graduate wrote Tre Cunningham’s name on his cleats and on his baseball cap. He ensured Cunningham’s No. 22 La Roche jersey was at every game, a testimonial to the memory of his close friend.

“That was kind of my goal this season, to live it how he would have wanted me to,” Seymour said. “I wanted to do the best I could for him.”

Seymour was at his best honoring Cunningham, a La Roche pitcher and former Jeannette multisport standout who died at age 20 in a motorcycle accident July 26, 2020.

Seymour, a right-handed senior, put together one of the top seasons in La Roche history, going 8-0 with a school-record 0.81 ERA and earning NCAA Division III All-American honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (second team) and D3baseball.com (third team).

“Jake did an absolutely phenomenal job,” LaRoche coach Chase Rowe said. “The inspiration behind that and what he wanted to do for Tre was truly awesome for all of us to watch.”

The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Seymour became only the eighth player — and just third starting pitcher — to earn All-American honors at the 1,500-student McCandless school.

He struck out 62 and walked 14 in 55 innings and was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first in AMCC history to post a sub-1.00 ERA with at least 50 innings pitched.

Seymour dotted the NCAA leaderboard, ranking tied for second in complete games (seven), sixth in ERA and 16th in WHIP (0.80) among all divisions.

La Roche finished 20-3 (15-1), losing to Penn State Behrend in the best-of-three AMCC finals May 19-20. Seymour won Game 1, allowing two earned runs in a 9-4 complete-game victory, but the Redhawks dropped the final two games without their ace.

Seymour wasn’t even sure he would return to the baseball team after the covid pandemic wiped out most of his 2020 senior season. He was only a handful of credits away from graduating, and, while he was granted an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus, he was prepared to enter the workforce.

“At first I really wanted to come back, but it was all depending on my job situation,” he said. “There were a couple jobs that I was focusing on, and if I was able to get those jobs, I probably wouldn’t have come back.”

Seymour did his work on the mound, allowing only five earned runs all season. Opposing batters hit .157 against him, baffled by an improving mid-80s fastball and an array of offspeed pitches.

Rowe said Seymour’s demeanor on the mound is what separates him from most.

“He is so strong mentally and so focused and calm,” Rowe said. “He doesn’t let emotions of any moment bother him. … It’s all about mental poise. I think he has maybe the strongest of anybody I’ve coached in 15 years.”

This was Seymour’s first full season as a starter. He was named a first-team All-AMCC reliever as a junior in 2019, going 3-2 with one save and a 3.32 ERA.

He moved into the starting rotation for 2020 but struggled with a 7.71 ERA in two appearances before the pandemic struck.

“Last year was definitely difficult,” he said.

But things improved. Seymour enjoyed a record-setting final season and even auditioned for a spot in Amazon’s “A League of Their Own” TV series, which will begin filming in Pittsburgh next month.

“I would be an extra,” he said. “I would be a factory worker and on one of the baseball teams.”

While Seymour was still waiting to find out if he landed a role, he will never forget when he learned about his All-American selection. He and his family were gathered together, looking up the teams online right after they were announced. There it was: “Jake Seymour, Sr., La Roche.”

“Honestly, I was a little surprised,” he said. “I knew that I had the stat line to get there. But actually seeing my name I was surprised, and it felt amazing.”