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Bergjans The Strikeout King At Haverford

By Matt Leon

HAVERFORD, Pa. (CBS) - Junior pitcher Tommy Bergjans has had success at Division III Haverford College pretty much since arriving on campus.

After going 6-4 as a freshman  in 2012, Bergjans dominated as a sophomore, going 7-1 with a skinny 1.80 ERA. Hard to believe he could improve on that, but he has done just that here as a junior. In six starts, Bergjans is 5-1 with a 1.23 ERA.  He also has 48 strikeouts this season in 36 2/3 innings of work. In his last start, a 3-0 win over Centennial rival Dickinson, Bergjans pitched 8 innings of two-hit, shutout ball with 12 strikeouts. That upped his career K total to 215, and that is a new Haverford record.

"It was a huge honor to be able to set that record and also to get a win for our team, a conference win, for our team," Bergjans tells KYW Newsradio.

Tommy Bergjans #2
Haverford College Junior pitcher Tommy Bergjans (Credit: David Sinclair)

A 6'1" right-hander from California, Bergjans talks about what allows him to have this kind of success.

"Just continue to try and fill it up, throw strikes early in counts ," Bergjans says. "And I've been lucky enough to have a ridiculously good defense behind me, so I have a lot of confidence to be able to just throw strikes early in counts and let them do the work behind me, which is huge."

Tommy Bergjans

While he has had success throughout his career with the Fords, Bergjans says he has also evolved as a pitcher during his time on campus.

"I've kept the same three pitches, my fastball, change-up and curveball," Bergjans says. "But over time I've really developed my change-up a lot more. I have a lot more confidence to throw it in any count, and to be able to throw it over the plate, too. Before it was a little inconsistent, so that was huge. And then my curveball, I've been working with that, sort of spotting it up, throwing it early in counts for strikes, not nibbling as much like I did early in my career."

Bergjans will look to continue his success Friday afternoon as he throws against Centennial Conference rival Ursinus.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.

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