As appeared in the Hamilton Journal, by Jay Morrison
HAMILTON — Hamilton Joes pitcher Brent Suter has experienced a lot of success in his young life,
and there’s no reason to believe there isn’t a whole lot more ahead of him.
Suter is coming off his
freshman year at Harvard, where he started a team-high nine games and led the
Crimson in strikeouts (53) while posting a 3-4 record. And that impressive debut came on the
heels of a prep career at Moeller High School that included a trip to state in
baseball, a state championship in basketball and the designation of class
salutatorian with a No. 2 academic rank among his graduating class.
He also sings, writes and —
according to Joes coach Darrel Grissom — does great impersonations. “There’s not a lot he doesn’t do,”
Grissom said. “He’s got it all. He
was one of the first guys I asked when we formed this team.”
So far this summer, the
left-handed Suter is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three appearances for the Joes, who
are off to a 1-6 start. “Things
are going well, and I’m liking this team a lot,” said Suter, who is spending
the summer at home in Anderson Township with his parents, Mike and Shirley. “Everyone here is really cool. I like
the coaches a lot,” Suter continued. “It’d be nice to win more games, but that will come. We’re just coming together
as a first-year team.”
Majoring in environmental
science and public policy inside the famed Ivy League halls, Suter has a lot
more going for him than just a 91 mph fastball. He said his goal after graduation, barring a professional
career, is to follow his other passion and find work in the renewable energy
field. “There are so many
different paths you go with it, from pre-med to pre-law, the business side or
the government side, like a lobbyist,” Suter said. “I’m not sure which I want
to do yet.”
While Grissom said he’s been
impressed by Suter’s intelligence, he noted it sometimes works against the
young pitcher. “He is so smart
that he out-thinks himself sometimes,” Grissom said. “You can’t think too much
in this game. You just have to react. If you try to over-analyze everything,
you’ll wear yourself out.
“He struggled a little in
his first start, but I know he’s going to be fine,” Grissom added. “We expect
him to be one of our top starters.”
Contact this reporter at
(513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.