ST. ALBANS – An AP Calculus and Physics student near the top of his class, BFA-St. Albans senior Ryan Connor has thrived figuring out sweeping lines and parabolas. The southpaw's curveball and approach to pitching prove as much. "It's no coincidence that he's a 4.0 student and that smart on the baseball field," BFA coach Geoff Murray said. "It carries over." "Because he pays attention to detail, in the classroom and in his life, that carries over into baseball," Murray said. "He does not miss a thing on the field. He knows exactly what's going on, from their batting order to every pitch he's thrown batters. He's just a real intelligent kid and a real intelligent pitcher." And what that combination routinely produces was central to the Bobwhites' unbeaten first half of the season — five of their eight consecutive wins started with Connor on the mound. The outings included routs, shutouts and nailbiters, but the circumstances didn't change how the BFA (9-1) ace employed his four-pitch arsenal. "I try to not let the score dictate how I'm going to go out and throw," Connor said. "I just kept trying to go out and throw my hardest, most accurate, limit free bases and things like that." By attacking the strike zone and picking his spots, Connor — with an earned run average below 1.00 heading into Thursday's game against Middlebury — has served up performances such as his complete-game two-hitter against Burlington that required a mere 80 pitches. It's also kept his team afloat in games such as a see-saw 7-6 victory over North Country in 11 innings earlier this month. Connor stretched his 120-pitch limit over 8 2/3 innings, striking out 15 and allowing just four hits before stepping down with a no-decision. "There's, I think, a certain positivity that he exudes and the nice thing about Ryan is that he does not get rattled," Murray said. "He is one of the most composed players that we've had. If they hit him or he makes a mistake, it's really hard to tell when he's pitching if we're winning or losing. "I think that composure rubs off on everybody." His penchant for first-pitch strikes — whether they are fastballs, changeups, curves or knuckleballs — gives opponents fits. "He uses his curveball to set up his fastball, actually. He uses more first-pitch curveballs than anyone I've seen all year," said BHS coach Marcel Girouard, whose team got one runner as far as third base in its 7-0 loss. "He's sort of like Roy Halladay. He could strike out 14 or 15 a game if he wanted to, but he wants to go all seven every game so he uses his defense," Girouard said. "It's amazing how much confidence a pitcher has when he has a good defense behind him." Connor, also emerging as a force at the plate after a dedicated winter of practice in the batting cage, has thrown crucial innings for the Bobwhites for three varsity seasons. His relief efforts in the 2012 final against Champlain Valley helped keep the game close. His near-shutout gem against the Redhawks in last year's quarterfinals ended up a 1-0 loss "I kind of think it's fun," Connor said. "Over my career here, just growing up, that's when I think I come into my element a little, when it's tough situations." Article by Austin Danforth - Burlington Free Press
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