FR senior is finally a Flash

Nick Thwaits has traveled the country throwing a baseball.

His summer league teams have opened doors for the right-handed flamethrower.

And every place he went, he kept hearing scouts praise the quality of the pitching coach of the Golden Flashes.

Thwaits, a Fort Recovery High School senior, followed their advice and signed a national letter of intent Thursday to play for Kent State University.

“It feels really good to finally officially be a member of the Kent State family,” said Thwaits.

“A lot of hard work has gone into it. A lot of late nights, a lot of opportunities I’ve missed to hang out with my friends.

“It’s really satisfying to say I’m officially a part of it.”

He entertained offers from colleges in Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan, but settled on staying in his home state because he liked KSU pitching coach Mike Birkbeck, who pitched in 54 Major League games over the course of six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets.

“For me it just came down to … Kent State, you may not say it’s a sexy choice (but) it’s the school that fit me the best and I really connected with the pitching coach there.”

In each of the last two seasons, Kent State has had the Mid-American Conference pitcher of the year. The Golden Flashes, who won the 2017 MAC regular season championship, also had three pitchers selected in the Major League Baseball draft in June.

Jeff Duncan, Kent State’s head coach who pitched for two seasons at the Major League level with the New York Mets, was named conference coach of the year each of the last two seasons.

A fitting place for the player of the year in the other MAC — the Midwest Athletic Conference.

“I really wanted to go there not only to develop as a pitcher but develop as a person,” he said. “I felt like that coaching staff fit me the best.”

Thwaits spent his freshman season at Marion Local as the Flyers lost to Fort Recovery in the sectional final.

The next year, Thwaits transferred to Fort Recovery, but had to sit out 13 games as a result.

When he returned, the dominating pitcher was a solid complement to the Tribe’s ace, Jackson Hobbs. Together they helped lead the Indians to the state tournament for the second time in as many years.

He made six starts, had a 3-1 record with one save. He had an ERA of 1.32 with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks.

As a junior he became the team’s ace, the go-to in marquee matchups. He started seven games, compiled a 4-1 record. He struck out 67 batters and walked just six in 35 innings. His 0.40 ERA was a school record.

“I really feel like I’ve developed as a pitcher,” said Thwaits, who is undecided on a major. As a sophomore, he had an above-average fastball that topped out in the high 80s, but his offspeed wasn’t the greatest.

As a junior, he honed in his curveball, developed a changeup and added velocity to his fastball. He was clocked at 93 MPH during the summer.

His pitching isn’t even what he feels is his best attribute.

“The mental side, I felt like I’ve grown the most,” he said. “How to react when you give up hits and how to bounce back from certain situations.”

It’s being so headstrong this past season that has been the most helpful to the Tribe program.

“Nick has come in and shown everybody the work it takes, the dedication it takes to get where you get an opportunity to become a Division I athlete,” FRHS coach Jerry Kaup said. It’s great for our program. It’s great for us to be around him and see what he brings and can do.”