KSC reliever overpowers batters with speed and accuracy
Ryan Glavey
Equinox Staff
With a cannon for an arm and nerves of steel, Keene State College ace reliever Corey Vogt returns for his senior year.
Vogt looks to cap off his baseball career at KSC with another remarkable season as a pitcher for the Owls.
Vogt may be the best relief pitcher on the team, but that doesn’t mean coach Ken Howe uses him exclusively for the last inning.
“We bring him in when we feel we need to make a stop, could be the fifth, could be the sixth; doesn’t matter,” Howe said.
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Vogt seemed to find his niche as a relief pitcher last year after struggling during his freshman and sophomore years.
“Sophomore year I didn’t know how to pitch,” Vogt said. “Before I used to just go out there and throw.”
Howe said last year Vogt really found the strike zone, which greatly attributed to his success.
Assistant coach Martin Testo said Vogt just seems to have the mentality of a relief pitcher.
“He’s a fierce competitor,” Testo said. “[He] isn’t afraid of any situation.”
Testo said the team’s typical pitching strategy is to force contact early in at bats, and get outs that way.
However, he said Vogt seemed intent on pitching for strikes, which lends itself to a reliever’s role.
Vogt’s fastball can get up to around 93 to 94 mph when he’s all loosened up, but at this level a pitcher can’t expect to simply overpower every batter.
“Anyone can catch up to anything,” Howe said. “Now he has better command of the strike zone.”
Testo said Vogt really opened some eyes while playing summer ball in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, where he was named to the All-Star team.
Testo said Vogt was pitching in front of 30 Major league scouts, and there was at least one scout at every one of KSC’s games in Florida wanting to see him pitch over Spring Break.
“I was a bit nervous at first,” Vogt said. “But I had a good foundation from my team and that made it easier.”
It can be a difficult task to keep ones composure on the mound, but Vogt lives for the pressure.
“I don’t think on the mound, I just attack,” Vogt said. “I don’t look at the whole situation all at once; I take batters one pitch at a time.”
Testo said when he and coach Howe first saw Vogt they weren’t even scouting him.
He said they went to Suffield High School to scout then senior, Tyler DiPrato.
“I saw a kid at short stop throw the ball across the field with so much power, that he asked who he was,” Testo said.
The player in question was none other than Vogt.
At first Howe said he had a difficult time finding Vogt’s place on the team.
Vogt pitched and played shortstop in high school, and tried to do the same thing his freshman year at KSC.
His sophomore year he started as a pitcher, but continued to struggle.
The setbacks didn’t stop Vogt, however, as he continued to mature as a pitcher and develop his game.
“Now instead of just watching the game, I’ve become a student of the game,” Vogt said.
In his 17 appearances last season, Vogt recorded five saves and had a 1.05 ERA and racked up a streak of 11 consecutive outings without allowing a run, good numbers for a reliever.
After his previous success the expectations couldn’t be higher this year.
“I expect even more out of him this year,” Testo said. “I expect him to be dominant every time he’s out there.”
So far Vogt has recorded two wins and a save because he’s come into games with the score tied.
Howe said he’s thinking about making Vogt a starter now that he’s found his stride as a pitcher.
He said the only problem is finding someone to close out games.
“Baseball is a nine inning game,” Howe said. “We don’t expect our pitchers to go all nine.”
Howe said Vogt is easily capable of being a starter, but the best place for him is at the back end of the bullpen.
With scouts watching his every outing, a great performance this season could land him on the road to the big leagues. “I’m going to try to get to the highest level I can,” Vogt said.
Vogt said he wants to have a career in baseball, whether it’s playing or coaching.
The Owls are off to a fast 9-2 start this season. While not all of that success can be attributed to Vogt, it wouldn’t be smart to overlook his contributions either. Whether it’s as a starter or a closer, Vogt will continue having a large impact on the final scores of games. If how he’s handled pressure in the past is any indicator, the Owls should be relieved to have him pitching for them.
Ryan Glavey can be contacted at rglavey@keeneequinox.com
