Heartbreaker

Wichita State lost two dramatic games to Arkansas (the first one ridiculously dramatic), eliminating them from NCAA tournament play. It was a great season for WSU, and I’m obviously sad to see it end. A bunch of good position players will be gone — Drew Moffitt, Logan Sorensen, Nick Blasi, Brandon Green, Shawn Smarsh — but only one outstanding pitcher, super-reliever Tommy Hottovy.

Those of you who read THT Live often know that I’m a big Tommy Hottovy fan. The lefty finished the year with a 9-3 record, a 2.25 ERA, and a 92-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 76 innings. Pressed into the rotation toward the end of the season, Hottovy proved to be as good as a starter as he was out of the pen, which only increases his value as a pro.

Next year, the Shockers will retain pretty much all of their pitching staff (excepting Hottovy), including potential #1 pick Mike Pelfrey (about whom you can expect to hear a lot more in the next year at THT Live). I’ll update here on how the Shockers fare in the upcoming amateur draft. It’s been a fun season, and I’m looking forward to 2005.