Our first #15 starter is a model of perseverance. Harrisonburg’s Luke Scherzer, from Virginia Tech, first pitched in the Valley League in 2014, and was a top reliever (#8) that year for the Turks. So why the large gap between VBL seasons? Well, Luke had two separate Tommy John surgeries; one in March, 2016, and the second was the following February, in 2017.
It was delightful to see Luke healthy again and back in the league, pitching as many innings as he did. Let’s take a look:
| ERA | W | L | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | BAVG | WHIP | BB/9 | K/9 | |
| 2014 | 2.17 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 20.7 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 0.211 | 1.159 | 3.5 | 9.1 |
| Play | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.500 | 4.5 | 9.0 |
| 2018 | 3.82 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 37.7 | 40 | 20 | 16 | 5 | 32 | 0.267 | 1.194 | 1.2 | 7.6 |
It’s funny; often control is the last thing to come back from a pitcher who has had TJ surgery, but Luke’s 1.2 BB/9 was the second best of the pitchers surveyed for this list. He also finished 5th in innings pitched.
His best two starts were on July 28th, against Charlottesville, when he allowed 1 run, 3 hits, and 1 walk while striking out 8 in 6 innings, and June 18 against Staunton, when he allowing no earned runs or walks while striking out 6 in 5 innings. He was named pitcher of the day for the start against Staunton.
In 2015, Luke pitched for Harwich in the Cape Cod League, where he went 0-0, 4.38, with 7 saves, a 1.626 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, and 11.7 K/9 in 12 1/3 innings.
Here is what the Midlothian, Virginia native has done for Tech thus far:
| VT | ERA | W | L | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | WHIP | BB/9 | K/9 |
| 2014 | 4.05 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 40.0 | 39 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 25 | 1.375 | 3.6 | 5.6 |
| 2015 | 4.73 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 45.7 | 56 | 32 | 24 | 28 | 56 | 1.838 | 5.5 | 11.0 |
| 2018 | 5.76 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 25.0 | 31 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 19 | 1.560 | 2.9 | 6.8 |
He saved 5 games in 2014 and 4 games in 2015.
Here’s to Luke’s senior year approaching; may he have health and success!
