SPORTS
“I just fell in love with baseball when I was a little kid going to Dodger games with my dad and brother,” Rauh said.
The undefeated Rauh (10-0) is leading Chapman’s pitching staff in ERA (2.42), total appearances (16), saves (4) and strikeouts (89). Rauh has recorded the second-best strikeout total in the last 43 years.
“He has the physical ability – good arm, good velocity, good off-speed – but he also has confidence in himself and in his abilities,” Head Coach Tom Tereschuk said.
When he was younger, Rauh tried his shot with basketball but never continued playing in high school. He began playing baseball as a catcher. Eventually, he found his home toeing the rubber.
“Having him out on the mound, I know he’s going to give us a great chance to win the game,” junior catcher Adam Kordich said.
In August, Rauh wasn’t in-shape for the coming season. He took the effort upon himself and improved during the off-season, growing physically and mentally, Tereschuk said.
“As a freshman, I didn’t really have any expectations and I didn’t know what to expect as far as innings go, but I just worked hard and it has gotten me a long way,” Rauh said.
Rauh is well liked by his teammates, easy to coach and open to suggestion from Pitching Coach Dave Edwards, Tereschuk said.
“You can see that every time he steps out on the mound he is willing to do everything to win,” Kordich said. “I love listening to the umpires rave about how great his pitches are.”
Despite his many successes, Rauh has faced countless injuries throughout his career.
“I have faced many setbacks. I don’t want to name them all because the list would take up a few pages, but basically I have had problems in all my joints,” he said.
The most significant injuries on his list are osteochondritis dissecans in his knee, Panner’s disease in his elbow and Sever’s disease in his heels and ankles, he said.
Osteochondritis dissecans is caused by reduced blood flow to the end of a bone.
The result is a piece of cartilage and thin layer of bone coming loose from the end of the bone and causing pain during physical activity.
Panner’s disease works in the same way, but directly effects growth plates in the elbow.
Sever’s disease is the most common cause of heel pain in athletes and is caused by overuse or minor trauma in sporting activities.
Rauh set his sights on Chapman for academic and athletic reasons. He earned the Presidential Scholarship for his academic achievements and “as of now,” is majoring in business.
“[Chapman] is not too far from home so I can go home whenever I want. And obviously Chapman has one of the top [Division] III programs for baseball in the country and I wanted the opportunity to play baseball here,” he said.
The Panthers finished their regular season on Saturday with a record of 30-9.
“Rauh knows that he is part of a team and the goal is to win a championship. He does the things he can to help the team win – whether this means helping out on a chart or going out and throwing a complete game,” Kordich said.
Contact this reporter: katelyn.geary@thepantheronline.com
