Baker and Hood barreling through Big East

While they have taken different paths to get there, Pitt pitchers Corey Baker and Nathan Hood… While they have taken different paths to get there, Pitt pitchers Corey Baker and Nathan Hood now stand together atop the Big East.

Ranking No. 1 and No. 2 in innings pitched in the Big East, Hood and Baker helped lead the team to its best start since 2002.

Baker and Hood also rank first and fourth, respectively, in wins.

Baker, a junior, has been a starting pitcher since his freshman year at Pitt, when he finished third on the team in strikeouts that season. Last year, he lead the team in wins.

Yet, Hood has taken a much different route to his top-seated standing.

Now a senior, he spent his first two years of college playing at North Central Texas Community College, where he was known more as a hitter before transferring to Pitt last year.

He played primarily in the outfield for the Panthers last season, pitching only 16 innings all year as he dealt with a nagging elbow injury.

Even with those few innings of Big East pitching experience, head coach Joe Jordano knew what he had in Hood and approached him at the end of last season, letting him know that he would be one of the go-to pitchers this spring.

“Towards the end of last year and into the summer, he checked in on me a few times and pretty much told me that he was going to need a big effort off the mound from me,” Hood said. “I know I had the stuff to do it, and Coach just gave me an opportunity.”

His “stuff” has been almost unhittable so far this year, as his three-pitch arsenal of a fastball, slider and split-change have been baffling hitters all season. Up to this point, he’s met Coach Jordano’s expectations, going 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA and is third in the Big East in strikeouts with 47.

Hood said his best start of the season came in a 13-0 win over Fordham during spring break, during which he threw eight shutout innings while giving up only two hits.

The pitcher directly behind him in the Big East in strikeouts: Corey Baker.

Baker has taken the next step to become one of the premier pitchers in the league. He’s 6-0 with a 3.20 ERA, but with his experience, he knows the season is far from over.

With Hood already tripling his inning total from last season, they know it’s important to keep their arms fresh. Baker’s learned that from first-hand experience.

“Last year, I threw a lot of innings too, and I kind of got tired there in the end,” Baker said. “I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping up with my running, conditioning and lifting in the offseason and taking that into the season.”

Hood credits team trainer Tim Beltz for helping him, Baker and all the other pitchers with their conditioning, as they both cited that lifting between starts has helped build their arm strength.

For Hood it’s just been a matter of training all year to reach this point.

“During fall practice, I pitched a lot more than I did last year, so that helped me out a lot,” Hood said.

With Baker being the Big East veteran of the two aces and learning what it takes to compete not just physically but mentally at that level, he’s helped Hood adjust to the grind of facing some of the top hitters in the country three or four times per start.

“He knows what it takes to pitch in the Big East,” Hood said. “He’s helped me with how to take care of my arm and how to condition.”

With the team off to a 19-6 start, Baker and Hood know that as they get into the heart of the conference schedule, none of that matters.

“Stats are fun to look at every now and then,” Baker said. “But the team wins are what really matters.”