Powers Catholic senior pitcher Ethan Wiskur knows where he’ll be playing college baseball next year. But right now, he’s focusing on having an excellent final high school season.
Wiskur has committed to playing baseball at Hillsdale College next year. He has been a first-team Big Nine player his first three years at Powers. Last year was a superb season, as he was an all-state pitcher and racked up a 9-0 record on the mound with a 1.37 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 62 innings. He also hit over .400 the past three seasons.
“I worked a lot in the off-season,” said Wiskur, who pointed to maturity and experience as keys behind his 2012 success. “I was throwing the ball harder. I probably threw around 88 and 89. I adjusted my speed a little bit.”
He started pitching when he was nine years old.
“I actually didn’t want to be a pitcher at all,” Wiskur said. “They kind of forced me to because I have a strong arm. I guess I started to like it a lot.”
It didn’t take long for Wiskur to realize he could be a good pitcher.
“I guess I was pretty confident in my arm strength,” he said, adding that he got consistent encouragement from his uncles who played professional baseball.
Wiskur is hoping his team can make some noise this season but realizes the makeup of the squad will present a challenge.
“We’re very young,” he said. “We have five seniors and lot of underclassmen and a couple of sophomores.”
Tom Dutkowski is the Powers Catholic coach and has watched Wiskur develop during his high school career.
“He came to us as a catcher and didn’t pitch much as a freshman,” Dutkowski said. “He pitched more as a junior. He’s gotten bigger and stronger.”
Dutkowski indicated that Wiskur has shown the potential for playing several positions.
“He’s a really good catcher,” Dutkowski said.
Wiskur has been hitting the ball above the .400 mark throughout his high school career.
“He still hits the ball real hard,” Dutkowski said.
But when people come to watch Wiskur play baseball, it’s usually to see his performance on the mound. His control is spectacular, considering he only gave up 11 walks total last season.
“Last year, his velocity went up so much. He’s up to 80 to 89,” Dutkowski said. “He has a good curveball.”
Next season, Wiskur will be pitching in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with Hillsdale.
“They gave me the best offer,” Wiskur said.