The arm: Blake Fox
Rice University baseball’s 2014 NCAA Regional matchup against the University of Texas had just concluded the bottom of the seventh inning. The Owls, holding a 2-1 lead over their rivals at Reckling Park, received a standing ovation from their supporters. Thanks to timely hitting and a dominant start from sophomore left-handed pitcher Blake Fox, Rice was six outs from a crucial victory over their in-state rivals.
Fox said the moment was surreal; he described it as the single coolest moment of his career thus far.
“It gave me the chills,” Fox said.
Though the Owls were unable to win the game, the strong performance they received from Fox was nothing out of the ordinary. As a freshman, Fox finished with a 6-0 record while coming primarily out of the bullpen. As a sophomore, he compiled a 12-0 record with a 1.46 earned run average.
His success on the field has earned him a number of accolades. Following his sophomore season, Fox was named a first team All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association, first team All-Conference USA and Rice Male Athlete of the Year, among several others.
Fox made the transition from reliever to starter between his freshman and sophomore years. Typically, such a transition requires considerable strength training to build stamina, as well as an expansion of the pitcher’s repertoire.
According to Fox, strength training was a big part of the offseason and the addition of a slider to his repertoire over the summer of his freshman year as necessary for the progression to start.
“It’s about having your goals in mind during the season [and] offseason and having the discipline and focus to achieve them,” Fox said.
Head Coach Wayne Graham said Fox is a well-rounded pitcher and the ideal Rice player.
“We’re always looking for good, reliable players, and that’s exactly what Blake is,” Graham said. “He’s very disciplined on the mound.”
According to Fox, the coaches have had a significant impact on his success on the mound.
“[The coaches] coach the mental side of the game very well,” Fox said. “They’re really aware of different situations, and that helps us perform better as players.”
Through his development, Fox has developed a unique pitching style that has allowed him to enjoy so much success in a short amount of time. His greatest strength, perhaps, is his confidence in each of his four pitches: fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. While most pitchers have one “out pitch” that they will call upon in pressure situations, this is not the case with Fox. According to Fox, he has the confidence in his pitches. Further accentuating this point is the fact Fox pitches to his strengths. While he is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of hitters on the mound, Fox still prefers pitching to his strength rather than a hitter’s weakness in a given situation.
Additionally, Fox describes himself as a strike thrower who prefers to go for a direct strikeout, rather than trying to get the hitter to chase.
“I throw strikes,” Fox said. “If someone in our infield makes a play or if I strike a guy out, I don’t really care as long as the guy’s out. But if I walk someone, then nobody gets to make a play, and that hurts us.”
The ability to throw strikes, as Fox said, is particularly important given an NCAA rule change regarding the baseballs that will be used during games. While balls that were used last year are described as “high-seam” balls, the ones that will be used this year “low-seam.”
This upcoming season, Fox will serve the role of “weekend starter” for the Owls. Doing so gives him six days of rest between starts, all of which are necessary to recover from the soreness that results from consistently pitching deep into games. According to Fox, the rest is a critical aspect of being able to pitch at a consistently high level throughout the season.
“There definitely is some soreness the day after you pitch, so you spend a lot of the week recovering from that,” Fox said.
As for what constitutes this recovery, Fox mentioned long toss, bullpen sessions and running, all of which he uses in addition to typical resting protocols to stay sharp between starts. While six days is longer than most professional pitchers have to recover from starts (typically four days at the Major League level), the pitcher’s responsibility of staying sharp places additional emphasis on the fitness and conditioning training that is typically done during the offseason.
As for Fox and the Owls, the goal this year is the same as it always is: win the Conference USA title en route to winning the College World Series in Omaha. The 19-time reigning Conference USA champions begin their season Feb. 13 against Texas in Reckling Park.
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