The Bakersfield College baseball team is off to a 15-3 start in the 2013 season and part of it has to do with right-handed sophomore pitcher, Ryan Stapp.
Stapp, a Bakersfield High School graduate, is in his second year at Bakersfield College and has posted a 4-0 record with five starts. In those five starts, Stapp has a 3.38 ERA to go along with 22 strikeouts.
Stapp mentioned that he plans on being a professional baseball player and is undecided on his major at the moment.
Stapp has been playing baseball since he was 4 and mentioned that he concentrated only on pitching as a sophomore in high school.
“My dad kind of got me into it,” Stapp said when asked what made him start playing baseball. Stapp said his dad was a basketball player when he was younger. His dad wanted him to be involved in sports, and Ryan played basketball, football and baseball in high school. Stapp played receiver in football and forward in basketball.
“My senior year, I was going to play basketball and then a guy from CSUB asked if I wanted to work out with them,” Stapp said when asked what made him choose baseball over football and basketball.
He said he had to quit basketball conditioning at Bakersfield High in order to train at Cal State Bakersfield, and at that point he decided to play baseball only.
The ace pitcher for the Renegades allowed only two hits and one run in BC’s season home opener this year. The Renegades won that game 10-1 against Porterville College. Stapp allowed no earned runs and struck out four batters.
“I just try to relax,” Stapp said when asked how he prepares for a game. “I look at another team’s chart because we chart before the game. We track every pitch that every hitter sees. I look at those and see what their tendencies are. I like to focus on each individual hitter.”
Stapp earned his second win of the season against Hartnell College on Feb. 8, with a 6-5 win. Stapp struck out seven batters in the game but allowed four earned runs in his six innings on the mound.
“He’s a major impact,” said coach Tim Painton when asked what Stapp meant to the team. “It has transitioned into a starting role, and it has made an impact on our ball club this year, certainly in a positive way.”
Stapp mentioned that he has improved a lot since his first year at BC. He added that lots of the credit for his success should go to Painton, who has been a big part in terms of helping him prepare for the next level.
“I came here not really knowing a lot,” Stapp said. “Coach P. helped me with a lot of stuff when I first came here. It’s matured me, too, because I was really immature coming out of high school.”
Stapp said Painton has also done a good job of helping the team with life lessons. He said the things he has learned in baseball can also be used to help him in life off the baseball field.
“I think he’s grown as a person and as a player,” Painton said, when asked how being at BC has helped Stapp. “Part of that just happens naturally, but I think it’s due to the fact that we’re on the field every day. He’s really grown as a baseball player. His velocity has jumped up. He’s got better velocity now than he had coming in, and he has just continued to mature as a person and as a player.”
Stapp said he’s gotten calls from University of Kentucky and Penn State but hasn’t been offered anything at the moment.
When asked about the team’s goals for this year, Stapp said he really wants to win a conference title, get into the playoffs, and see where they can go from there. “Hopefully, we can win state,” he said.
Stapp added that the Los Angeles Dodgers is the favorite team of his family, when asked if he had a favorite Major League Baseball team. He said he enjoys watching the Cincinnati Reds play, but he just enjoys the game and really doesn’t have a favorite team.
In his fifth start of the season, Stapp received a no decision in a 10-5 BC win in a Feb. 28, game against Citrus College. Stapp allowed three earned runs on eight hits in six innings before being taken out.