Cory Mazzoni
Seneca Valley High School
Pittsburgh, PA
Cory Mazzoni is contributing to global warming. He's bringing the heat. A junior at Seneca Valley High School, Mazzoni has developed a fastball that has been clocked as high as 92.
"Cory has always thrown hard," said Raiders coach Eric Semega. "He got stronger last summer, when he topped the 90 mark."
His ability to deliver serious cheese has made Mazzoni a big cheese among WPIAL baseball pitchers. Through Wednesday, this right-hander had a 4-0 record, an incredible 40 strikeouts in 26 innings, and a 0.27 ERA.
Also an accomplished cleanup hitter and third baseman, Mazzoni has been the focal point of a quality team mostly because of his efficiency from the mound. Through Tuesday, Seneca Valley was 9-1 overall, 6-0 in Section 1-AAAA.
That's pretty impressive stuff from a kid who is not impressive physically: 6 feet, 160 pounds.
"Cory needs to get stronger in general," Semega said. "He needs to put muscle on his frame. He has so much torque on his pitches, he's able to throw hard."
Compared with last spring, Mazzoni is a veritable muscleman. He went 6-0, 150 then, but added 10 pounds via weight training, focusing mostly on leg work.
Allowing one earned run in the first 26 innings of a season would be a feat for even Johan Santana. Yet, while Mazzoni has been phenomenal this spring, his personal breakout wasn't unexpected.
He has been with the varsity since he was a freshman, when he had 21 strikeouts in 241/3 innings. He became the Raiders' ace last year, going 4-2 with a 3.06 ERA, and 44 strikeouts in 48 innings.
Then last summer, Mazzoni enhanced his reputation while competing in the Western Pennsylvania Elite Baseball League, which includes some of the top scholastic players in the distrist. Playing for Seneca Valley, he was ultimately named the WPEBL Pitcher of the Year.
Though the fastball makes him an ace, Mazzoni is striving for three of a kind: three pitches that are equally effective. He has a quality curveball and his changeup is a work in progress.
"It's not that he didn't have a changeup last year," Semega said. "He's worked on it and he seems to have a lot of confidence in it. Cory is having a lot of success with it."
Mazzoni, an Evans City resident, agreed that he had to expand his repertoire: "It's good to have three pitches. I've been working on the change to go with my fastball and curve."
Pitching isn't all physical, of course. The brain is integral to mound mastery, and Semega said Mazzoni uses it well.
"He spots the ball well," the Raiders' coach said. "He has a great understanding of what he has to do to get people out."
A right-handed swinger, Mazzoni is almost as good at hitting pitches as he is delivering them. He bats fourth in the Raiders' order and, through Tuesday, had smote four home runs.
"I haven't really been a power hitter, although I hit some homers last fall," Mazzoni said. "I'd have to say it's the legs again."
His glove is none too shabby, either. Mazzoni is considered to have top-notch defensive skills. Usually when he isn't pitching, he's at third base, although he does play some shortstop.
"Cory is just a very, very good baseball player," Semega said. "But, obviously, his ticket to the next level is pitching. He's very coachable, a very good listener."
That next level could be at a major college or in the minor leagues. Mazzoni is starting to get interest from college scouts, but if he continues to develop, he could go in the 2008 Major League Baseball draft.
"It would be nice to be drafted, but it wouldn't bother me if I weren't," said Mazzoni, who would like to ultimately weigh 175-180. "I'd like to get into a good college and, hopefully, play professionally someday."
For now, he'll keep the heat on Seneca Valley opponents. Reprinted from Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
