Penn-Trafford grad Tyler Horvat bolsters lineup, rotation at W&J

As Tyler Horvat pauses to admire his handiwork (if he actually does), the sophomore baseball player at Washington & Jefferson immediately shifts his attention to the now.

“I think the season has gone well so far,” the pitcher and outfielder said. “I came into the year looking to improve on the little bit of time I had last year and trying to build consistency. I have been happy with the results so far, but there is still a lot of work to be done and goals to accomplish.”

Fair enough. But how about what he’s done so far? Impressive might be selling the Penn-Trafford grad short.

It’s all right to take a little peek.

Horvat is 6-0 with a 1.54 ERA in seven starts for the big-hitting Presidents (27-1), who are comfortably ahead in the Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference standings, at 20-1.

He also is batting .359 with 22 runs scored, three doubles, four triples, a home run and 16 RBIs.

“He’s really developed physically,” W&J coach Jeff Mountain said. “Being a two-way player takes its toll on your body, but he has been up to the challenge. He’s an extremely competitive hard worker.”

Horvat said he does not concern himself with statistics. He punches the clock, takes the mound or field and goes to work, then packs up and gets ready for his next appearance.

The all-business approach has led to a team-leading 46 2/3 innings, and 48 strikeouts against eight walks.

“We still have hopefully plenty more games to play where anything can happen,” he said. “Any individual accolades are second to the team. I just try to contribute any way I can. Hopefully, that ends in a conference championship and a World Series championship at the end of the year.”

Horvat only had five at-bats and was 1-0 in 11 mound appearances last season before the pandemic shut down PAC play.

“As disappointing as it was to have the season cut short last year as a freshman, Tyler did get a taste of what it was like to be a student-athlete and a college baseball player,” Mountain said. “That helped him heading into this year because he knew what to expect. He’s filled out, gotten stronger and become a more complete baseball player, both on the mound and as an outfielder and hitter.

“He’s got a real good presence to himself and believes in his abilities and preparation.”

W&J won 22 straight to open this season. The Presidents lead the conference in everything — runs (269), batting average (.342), hits (313), doubles (67), triples (15) and home runs (21) among the categories.

But on the other side of the stat sheet, they also stand above the rest in ERA (2.42) and strikeouts (190).

Horvat has a lot to do with that, too.

He struck out 10 in a nine-inning three-hitter against Chatham, struck out nine against Bethany and limited Waynesburg and Geneva to two hits in six- and seven-inning outings.

Horvat had a 3-for-4 game against Chatham, scoring four runs, a day after going 4 for 4. He had three-RBI games against Geneva and Franciscan, his homer coming in the latter game.

He said balancing academics and baseball has been his most demanding challenge, but his adjustment to the college game has been paramount in him taking his place among the PAC’s best dual players.

“The college game happens a lot faster so it takes some time to acclimate and slow everything down,” he said. “Approach-wise I needed to be more aggressive early in counts. College pitchers are too good to fall behind. You play right into their hands if you automatically take a pitch. Mechanically it was about getting my front foot down earlier to see the ball longer and being in a position to hit sooner. I shortened my stride slightly to be more balanced, as well.”

Horvat threw 81 miles per hour as a freshman, and now he’s consistently between 86-90.

“He’s got room to grow,” Mountain said. “He knows how to pitch, and he wants to learn and get better. He’s determined in everything he does.”

Another Penn-Trafford alum had a hand in Horvat’s fast progress. Josh Spiegel, a redshirt freshman catcher at Penn State who transferred from Oklahoma State, worked alongside Horvat last spring. The pair played together in the summer in the Johnstown AAABA league for team Paul Carpenter Capital Advisors.

“Talking with a guy who has hit at a high level against some of the best competition in D-1, I incorporated some of his mindset and made a little mechanical adjustment that has made a huge difference for me,” Horvat said. “A lot of credit also goes to our coaches. The different hitting drills and situations we do prepare us extremely well for games.”