Centralia pitcher Tyson Schmitt signs letter of intent to play ball at UW

Tyson Schmitt stands at a towering 6'7" and delivers a fast ball that has been clocked in the mid 90s. Schmitt is a walk-on to the Centralia College baseball team this season and has quickly drawn much attention to himself.

He hasn't always gotten so much attention but says that he has been around the game since he was old enough to pick up a baseball.

It is evident, from the fact that Schmitt's father played college ball at Linfield College, and that his cousin Lindsay plays shortstop for the Lady Blazers softball team, that baseball has been huge for the Schmitt family.

"It has been a family sport since we were young and has never quit," his cousin Lindsay Schmitt said. "I admire him so much, he is an amazing athlete and all around great person. He is so smart and talented. I am so proud of him and love that we both get to share the experience of playing ball together at Centralia."

Tyson who is headed to the University of Washington next year on a baseball scholarship has always been on the mound; however when he was younger also played other positions.

"I've always pitched, but I used to play shortstop and center field more because I was an even better hitter than pitcher," Schmitt said.

Schmitt attended W.F. West High School and graduated in 2008. He was on both the golf team as well as the track team where he threw javelin, shot put and discus.

He played baseball also but only his sophomore and junior years.

"I just decided to do track and throw javelin instead of baseball because I wasn't enjoying the game," Schmitt said.

However Schmitt has not been on a two year hiatus, he has been playing on summer teams every year.

Hearing about Centralia's new coaching staff led Schmitt to consider trying out for the team.

"I heard of the new coaching staff coming in and thought there actually might be some promise this year," he said.

He attended "open cage" during summer where anybody can throw and coaches will watch.

"So I threw this summer just for fun and was throwing something like 88-90 miles per hour. The coach was ecstatic," Schmitt said. "Both Rick Skinner and Ty Howington saw me that first day I pitched. They were shocked because I just showed up out of nowhere."

Centralia teammate Joe Wooster had seen Schmitt play and was excited for the chance he might join the team.

"I actually played against him in the summer but he didn't pitch," Wooster said. "I had heard great things about him before the season. Off the field he is a good guy, on the field he is a great competitor who cares about his teammates."

After making the team, Schmitt made a couple goals for himself, the biggest of which involved beating league rival Lower Columbia College.

"Beating LCC was a huge goal, which I did on Sunday in a complete game," Schmitt said of one of his goals.

April 11 he took the mound in Longview to pitch against the Red Devils hoping to meet the goal he set for himself. Nine innings and 135 pitches later he had accomplished the goal of beating LCC giving up no earned runs in a 3-2 Blazer win.

"That was the most epic game I've ever been a part of," he said.

Lower Columbia is also in Schmitt's biggest goal that he wishes to accomplish here at Centralia.

"Another goal of mine is to get into the NWAACC tournament and beat LCC in the championship," Schmitt said.

In six starts so far this season, Schmitt has pitched 39 innings which is the fifth most innings of any pitcher in the NWAACC. His .54 earned run average is good enough for third and is also tied for third in wins with three. He has only allowed three earned runs which is third best among all pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings. He has fanned 34 batters this season and that is good enough for the sixth most strikeouts.

After seeing his numbers it is not too hard to see why Schmitt might be getting some attention from scouts.

"I was expecting maybe a scout here and there, and the occasional college, but nothing like this," he said. "They just started following me this fall when I started pitching against other NWAACC teams. Skinner relayed how I was doing to some scouts that are friends of his too. So word of me pitching was spreading like wildfire."

Several Division I colleges have taken interest in Schmitt including: Gonzaga, Morehead State, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Texas Tech, Washington State University and of course the University of Washington.

Despite the impressive list of colleges, interested the list of professional teams who have sent scouts to visit Schmitt is just as if not more impressive.

Schmitt listed all of the teams he has heard from, "scouts from the Red Sox, Angels, Phillies, White Sox, Marlins, Padres, Cardinals, Pirates, Tigers, Twins, Royals, Cubs, Orioles, Mariners, Yankees, Braves, Indians, A's, Reds, Astros, Rangers and the Giants have all contacted and met with me"

It is that 6'7" frame that is the big interest to the scouts.

"They are most interested in my height," Schmitt said. "Someone who throws equally hard but is 5'8 won't get nearly as many scouts as I do. I never expected to throw this hard, I've hit 96 mph, for strikes while constantly developing off-speed pitches to add to my repertoire."

If you think that Schmitt is going to bolt off to the pros and forget about finishing school however you do not know him.

Schmitt considers himself a decent student and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. In his last quarter at Centralia he currently boasts a 3.90 grade point average, "even while taking the hardest math classes offered," he joked.