USD pitching tandem set for another knockout season

By Tom Shanahan - For the North County Times | Wednesday, February 20, 2008 2:49 AM PST ∞

Photo by Robert Benson/For the North County Times/After pitching 8 innings, San Diego Toreros head coach Rich Hill takes pitcher Brian Matusz out of the game against the Minnesota Gophers at Tony Gwynn Stadium Saturday afternoon. Looking on is catcher Jordan Abruzzo.

SAN DIEGO ---- This June's Major League Baseball amateur draft will finally break up the University of San Diego's devastating 1-2 punch of All-American left-handed pitchers following a third and final college baseball season together.

Brian Matusz and Josh Romanski, roommates as freshmen as well as this summer on the USA National Team which won a silver medal in the Pan Am Games in Brazil, both turned down signing after coming out of high school.

Matusz, a 6-foot-5, 200-pounder, was a fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels. But after a sophomore season when he was 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA, he's projected as possibly the first pick overall in the draft.

Romanski, a 6-foot, 185-pounder, was 15th-round pick by the Padres. But after a sophomore season when he was 9-1 with a 3.05 ERA as well as batting .335 as a center-fielder when he wasn't pitching, he's also projected as a possible first-round pick as a pitcher.

"People can look at these two guys as a model of why you should go to college when you have the opportunity," USD head coach Rich Hill said. "Brian is 20 pounds heavier than when he came here. Josh has added 10 pounds of muscle to his frame just since last year."  

Matusz and Romanski resume their 1-2 punch for the defending champions of the West Coast Conference this weekend when USD and San Diego State both begin their seasons with a four-game series over three days.

The opener is at 6 p.m. Friday at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium. In Saturday's doubleheader, the 1 p.m. game is at USD's Cunningham Stadium and the 7 p.m. game back at SDSU. The Sunday game at 1 p.m. returns to USD's campus.

Matusz and Romanski earned All-American honors as sophomores and are preseason All-Americans as juniors. The Toreros are ranked No. 5 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 7 by Collegiate Baseball.

Hill hasn't announced his starters, but last year Matusz was the Friday starter and Romanski the Saturday starter.

As high school seniors, Matusuz, from St. Mary's High in Cave Creek, Ariz., and Romanski, from Norco High in Corona, followed each other from a distance, hoping they would be a tandem at USD. Both players had let pro scouts know they preferred a college experience, which knocked them down in the draft from their true ranking.

"We motivate each other," Matusz said. "We've been a good 1-2 punch, but we're different pitchers. I also admire him so much as a two-way guy to go out and play center field and then come in and throw on Saturday."  

Added Romanski, "There is a sense of a friendly competition, which I think is good. We want each other to succeed to our fullest, so it's not a bitter rivalry. We push each other."  

Matusz can touch the mid-90s with his fastball and has developed a changeup.

Romanski hits 90, but his exceptional location with changeups and cut fastballs separates him from other pitchers.

Hill expects his pitchers to build on their sophomore seasons.

"When we use the word expectation, it's all in regard to maximum effort in three areas: character, academics and baseball," Hill said. "Those two guys have really stepped up their training and preparation. From the time they came in as freshmen, they've made their biggest jump in maturity."