At nearly six-foot-10 and 225 pounds, the Victoria Eagles鈥� right-handed pitcher鈥檚 upside is way up in another stratosphere. Standing on the pitching mound, the Grade 12 Lambrick Park student could likely hunt geese with a rake.
The amazing part is this is just Hegadoren鈥檚 second true year as a pitcher as he came into the sport later in life, and while he is learning via the school of hard knocks, he鈥檚 proving to be a quick study.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a blast working with him. I was normally one of the bigger people, back when I was playing, and now as a coach he鈥檚 one of the few people I have to look up to, or look at, when I have to come out and talk to somebody,鈥� said Eagles manager Anthony Pluta, who stands six-foot-three.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a big boy. He鈥檚 only played baseball a few years, just his second year pitching, but he鈥檚 come such a long way. He鈥檚 already had some scholarship offers.鈥�
In fact, Hegadoren has a deal with a junior college in Tacoma, but he鈥檚 hoping a Division I school will still come calling. UBC has also expressed interest and the behemoth righty also had a national junior coach check him out at the recent Best of the West tournament in Kamloops.
鈥淚t didn鈥檛 go as well as I wanted it to, so it didn鈥檛 play out,鈥� Hegadoren said of that opportunity. 鈥淚 just have to work harder and hopefully it鈥檒l turn out the way I want it to.鈥�
To date, he has made one start in the young sa国际传媒 Premier Baseball League season, a 4-1 win last Sunday in Parksville in which he went six innings, allowing three hits, collecting nine strikeouts with two walks. He鈥檒l likely pitch today for the 3-2 Eagles in a doubleheader against the Nanaimo Pirates at noon and 2:30 p.m. at Lambrick Park.
鈥淓ric Hegadoren is an example of what our program is all about, we鈥檙e about developing kids,鈥� said Martin Winstanley, the Eagles鈥� chairman of high performance committee. 鈥淲e saw the potential in Eric last year at this time.
鈥淎s a result, on our Junior Premier team, he pitched a lot. He struggled out there at times, but he was learning his craft. But we saw the potential, we persevered and he worked really hard.鈥�
The result is Hegadoren has gone from registering 75 mph on the radar gun to 88 mph.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge improvement in one year. Just amazing, and he鈥檚 going to get much, much better,鈥� said Winstanley.
That鈥檚 the upside that everyone eludes to.
鈥淗e鈥檚 only going to throw harder,鈥� said Pluta. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got great down-hill plane. Being that tall, he pitches downhill really well, so it鈥檚 difficult to hit when the ball is coming out from that high.
鈥淚t is hard to hit, especially when they throw from where he throws from. A guy like Randy Johnson was hard to hit, but his arm angle was a tad lower so it flattened the ball out a bit more,鈥� Pluta said of Johnson, the former six-foot-10 major leaguer.
As for Hegadoren himself, he鈥檚 delighted to be given the chance.
鈥淚t feels really good so far, it鈥檚 a big step up from last year, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� he said of being in the Premier League and throwing harder.
鈥淟ast year, when I wasn鈥檛 throwing quite as hard, I was working on off-speed stuff, but now that I have figured out the velocity and it鈥檚 coming up more, I鈥檝e been working in more and more fastballs. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to get me to the next step, is improving on my velocity and keep it going up.
鈥淚 want to hit 90 [mph] by the end of the summer. That鈥檚 a big number for any pitcher. I just have to keep working hard and gain consistency in my mechanics and pitching, and put it all together.鈥�
EXTRA INNINGS: The 2-0 Victoria Mariners are away to play four games this weekend against the 2-2 Okanagan Athletics.
