|
   TIM
FRESHOUR- shippensburg raiders
PING!BASEBALL DIVISION II SPOTLIGHT
After losing two of three for an early outer
at the PSAC Baseball Championship last season, the Shippensburg
Red Raiders didn’t appear to be on the road to Sauget
and the DII College World Series. Yet like a bad overheated
science project, the Raiders caught fire in the North Atlantic
Region Championships and were able to win the region and advance
to the final eight.  A
big reason for their postseason flare was pitcher Tim Freshour,
who pitched two gutty postseason performances to help SU advance
- all this despite that he had entered the season with more
career appearances in the outfield (31) than innings pitched
(20).
Freshour ended up winning 10 games for Shippensburg
in 2008 and complied a 3.08 ERA in a school-record 99.1 innings.
Ten of his sixteen starts were complete games and three of
those outings were shutouts.
A senior in 2009, Freshour is again leading
SU on the mound and hopes of another postseason win parade.
He is leading the Raiders in wins (6) and complete games (3),
and also pitched the first no-hitter for the Red Raider baseball
program in 13 years when he locked down Lock Haven on March
21st.
While the Raiders haven’t quite been
able to live up to preseason expectations (20-25, 9-7 PSAC
East), they are far from being counted out and have eight
critical contests against conference leaders Kutztown and
West Chester on the horizon. If SU can’t make up ground
on the leaders, Freshour and company could get themselves
back onto the road to the DII CWS. Meanwhile however, Freshour
has a far less daunting task – answering some questions
from Ping!Baseball:
PING!BASEBALL:
Despite high expectations following a Regional Championship
last season and a national ranking coming into 2009, the Raiders
haven't quite played up to hopes this season. There is
still plenty of baseball to be played, including series with
top PSAC West Chester and Kutztown. I assume that it would
be too hasty to count out another post season run by the Raiders,
no?
FRESHOUR: Definitely...
from the years I have been here I’ve realized that you
can never count a Raider team out... the past two years we've
played our best ball at the end of the year and I expect nothing
less this year.
PING!BASEBALL: How far into your no hitter against Bloomsburg were
you before you came to the realization you could go the distance
with allowing any hits?
FRESHOUR:
It wasn't till about the sixth inning that I really realized
that I had a chance at throwing a no-hitter.
PING!BASEBALL: What was more nerve-racking: taking to the mound the
final inning of the no hitter, or the first inning of game
one of the 2008 DII World Series?
FRESHOUR:
The first inning of the DII World Series was definitely more
nerve-racking. There was so much more on the line both for
our team and the university, and it was a bigger stage than
I’ve ever thrown in before.
PING!BASEBALL: After you tossed the no-no, did you alter your next
start to repeat what you did on that day? Eat the same breakfast,
wear the same undershirt, not showerŠ
FRESHOUR:
I’m a really superstitious person in general, so I always
try to do the exact same things prior to a start if it worked
before, so I didn't really change anything at all.
PING!BASEBALL: If you were charged with selling someone on going
to Shippensburg, what aspect other than the baseball
program would you use as your pinnacle point of persuasion?
FRESHOUR:
Shippensburg has a great campus and environment. Although
it’s in a small town, you’re only ten minutes
from Chambersburg and 40 minutes from Hagerstown, Maryland
so there are plenty of things to do. Everyone on campus, from
the faculty to the workers, are great people.
PING!BASEBALL: One of the members of Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera's
Jackass and Viva
La Bam crew, Raab Himself is listed as a former Shippensburg
student. What's
the craziest (or dumbest) stunt you've ever done?
FRESHOUR:
The craziest thing I've ever done is probably jumping off
a 60-foot cliff.
PING!BASEBALL: In just two seasons at SU, your head coach, Matt Jones
has guided the club
to 67 wins, a conference title, a division title, a regional
title, the Division II World Series appearance and the Raiders
first first-ever win in the DII World Series. How has Coach
Jones kept the strong tradition of winning baseball thriving
in Shippensburg?
FRESHOUR:
Ever since taking over, Coach Jones has been a great influence
on the team. He introduced his system of baseball and everyone
jumped on board. He knows the game and how it should be played.
He keeps a loose practice and game environment which makes
it a lot easier for the players to relax and just play the
game. He also makes a great effort to be there for the players,
whether it has to do with baseball or not.
PING!BASEBALL: What was the last book you read voluntarily (not required
for school)?
Ever read anything by former Shippensburg alum Dean Koontz?
FRESHOUR:
The last book that I read was The Yankee Years. I haven't
read anything by Dean Koontz but I hear he is an unbelievable
writer.
PING!BASEBALL: It's a Saturday night and the Red Raiders just
swept a doubleheader from a
conference rival. What song will get you out on the dance
floor to celebrate like none other?
FRESHOUR:
"We Are the Champions" by Queen
PREVIOUS DII SPOTLIGHTS
2008 Archive
|
