Dawgs fans will recognize the man getting the start for the home opener this Friday, despite some minor changes.
He’s a bit stronger, his velocity is higher and his golden-lion-like locks are even more prominent.
“I still got the long hair and it got longer,” said CJ Lewington with a chuckle. “I have a real good feeling about this year. There’s a lot of guys who have played here before and it is going to help a lot.”
One of those guys who has played plenty at the friendly confines of Seaman Stadium is Lewington, the Dawgs pitcher of the year in 2016. He is a Dawgs Academy graduate and this is his third-year with the college squad. The right-handed Lewington was 6-0 in 2016 with a 2.83 ERA and a WHIP of 1.09 and was a Western Major Baseball League’s first team all-star last season. But Dawgs fans will notice some differences in his pitching.
“I have a bit of a velocity jump, I’m in the high 80s, low 90s,” Lewington said. “I have better stuff this year, but I am still the same type of pitcher.”
Although he might have bulked up, he is no Samson. His pitching prowess stems from the brain matter under the hair, not just from any added muscle.
“I am still going to try and fill the zone, I have the same pitches and will pitch to contact — let my defence behind me do the work for me,” he said.
Any extra strength may do the affable Lewington well. He admits despite his regular season record in 2016, he wasn’t as effective in the later stages of the season.
“I definitely started out a lot better last year,” Lewington said. “It’s a long season and I just finished off at school before I came here.”
He led the team in innings pitched with 60.1 and had only one game in which he pitched less than six frames in his nine regular season starts. However, he wasn’t perfect. Lewington took the “L” in a 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Prospects in the first round of the playoffs (the Prospects stunned the WMBL by not only beating the regular-season champion Dawgs in the first round, but advancing to the league final before losing to Swift Current). He’s not concerned about the big opening day crowd, he’s seen it before — including while pitching for the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions.
“This is home for me and I am pretty exited,” Lewington said. “This is my third-year with the Collegiate Dawgs and also school prepared me a lot because we were playing against schools like Alabama and Ole Miss and I played in front of big crowds there too… I am just going to give us a chance to win the first game of the year.”
Although Lewington is getting the start, he’s not calling himself the ace.
“I don’t think there is really an ace,” Lewington said. “I am just going to give us our best chance to win. We have a great bunch of starters.”
He said the other starters include Liam Stroud, who was 2-2 last season, Chris Horvath who was 3-1 in 2015 and Nick Vickers, an Academy Dawg graduate. Vickers was 3-2 with the College squad last season.
They have help in the bully. Anthony Balderas, a first-team all-star relief pitcher last season, will return to the Dawgs after the Lewis and Clark Warriors make what seems like their annual run for an NAIA title.
The Dawgs’ home opener is 7 p.m. at Seaman Stadium against the Medicine Hat Mavericks.
