Matthew D’Ambrosia ‘20 is a big dude.

A pitcher for the Muhlenberg baseball team, his 6’3” frame can be intimidating and, considering he appears ten inches taller while standing on the pitcher’s mound, it is easy to see why the right-hander has earned the nickname “Big Cat.”    

D’Ambrosia is part of a pitching staff who has been absolutely stellar during Centennial Conference play through the team’s first six games. Although the team sits in the middle of the pack — currently with a 3-3 conference record — the staff has recorded a 1.76 ERA (lowest in the conference), allowed only 10 ER, given up 45 hits (second lowest in conference), struck out 50 (third best) and surrendered just 19 walks (second lowest).

D’Ambrosia, along with Timmy Pilrun ’18, RJ Hennessey ’19 and Paul Poppert ’21, have started Centennial Conference matchups and the team has also received valuable relief appearances from Truman Devitt ’21, Sam Kasten ’18, oh… and also D’Ambrosia, who leads the team in saves (2).

D’Ambrosia has also developed an essential aspect of every successful pitcher’s arsenal: a true out pitch. For D’Ambrosia, it happens to be a slider.

This past week, Big Cat was awarded the Centennial Conference co-pitcher of the week for his outing against Dickinson College. The rare night game was played under the lights at a turf facility, Maplezone Sports Institute, due to unplayable conditions at both colleges’ fields. D’Ambrosia’s final line was a complete game three-hitter, with one walk and 15 strikeouts, facing just four batters over the minimum.

“Going into my outings, my mindset has been to trust my stuff and throw strikes. Attack every hitter and make them hit me,” says D’Ambrosia. “I have a ton of confidence in all of my pitches, so I go into even game knowing that I am going to just pitch my game and go right at every batter.”

That confidence has lead Todd Gross, head coach, to also have confidence in D’Ambrosia in other roles; however, regardless of the role, D’Ambrosia has an approach.

“Starting and relieving are definitely different because I have to pace myself more in a start. I need to throw more innings in my starts and go deep into games,” D’Ambrosia explained. “When I come in relief, I can let it loose a little bit more and can go max effort on every pitch because I am only going for an inning or two at a time.”

D’Ambrosia’s 2018 success can largely be attributed to how hard the righty worked in the offseason to condition and “get in shape,” as he said himself. The payoff has been especially noticeable later in games, where D’Ambrosia says he can continue to throw high-quality pitches longer than before.

Getting in better shape has helped me go deeper in games and have my best stuff in the late innings to finish games,” he said. “Last season my longest outing was 6 innings and so far this season I have thrown games where I have gone 8 innings and 9 innings.”

D’Ambrosia has also developed an essential aspect of every successful pitcher’s arsenal: a true out pitch. For D’Ambrosia, it happens to be a slider.

I’m not afraid to go at any hitter and challenge them. I have confidence in my abilities and am wiling to pitch my game no matter who I’m pitching against.

“My slider which has become my go to strikeout pitch and has helped me put away hitters this year,” he said. That slider certainly gave the Dickinson hitters a tough time in the pitcher’s award winning performance.

Overall, D’Ambrosia has an effective mentality and method to carry his success throughout the rest of the Mules’ Conference season.

“What makes me an effective pitcher is having a consistent mix of all 4 of my pitches throughout games and throwing strikes,” he said. “Mixing up my pitches keeps batters off balance and gives me the advantage. I’m not afraid to go at any hitter and challenge them. I have confidence in my abilities and am willing to pitch my game no matter who I’m pitching against.”

*All stats through Monday, April 9

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