SEMO senior Noah Niznik pitching like an ace again

Southeast Missouri State senior pitcher Noah Niznik lived up to the role of ace and threw seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts, leading the Redhawks to an 8-0 win over Butler on Friday at Capaha Field.

“I'm really just staying focused out there,” Niznik said. “We had some traffic early but I like to pride myself on staying calm, staying focused, and just keep making pitches. We didn't have to changeup as great as I wanted to early on, but as we went on, I got more of a feel for it. And then playing the fastball off of it really helped.”

This was Niznik’s best performance so far this season. Prior to Friday, Niznik has allowed two earned runs in each of his three starts but his last outing was the first time this season he pitched into the seventh inning. Niznik said his mental toughness is the key to his success.

“I've learned the mindset from a young age,” Niznik said. “My pitching coach back home always taught me to stay focused. Things are gonna happen, It's baseball, you're not going to always have it go your way but you just gotta stay focused.”

SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers sees Niznik has "refound" the form that made him a successful pitcher as a freshman. Niznik, who came to SEMO after winning a state championship at St. John Vianney alongside Atlanta Braves prospect Andrew Keck. He posted a 3.63 ERA his freshman season but recorded an 8.25 ERA over 14 appearances in 2021 and a 7.74 ERA in 2022, two seasons in which the Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship.

“He had an amazing freshman year, came in and was like fastball changeup guy and can really pitch in,” Sawyers said. “Then that third year he kind of lost a little bit, and lost command of the fastball. He was always more of a low-to-mid '80s [MPH] guy. Then he was throwing harder but his command wasn't good and then he was nowhere near as good for two years. There we question if he was going to come back and play his fifth year."

Coming back has paid off for Niznik, who pitches the opener of every weekend series and sees himself as "the leader of the pitching staff." In four starts, the senior has a 2.49 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched.

"I'm sure glad he has because he's kind of refound who he was," Sawyers said. "He had a really good summer. He kind of regained that fastball command, and he is commanding the fastball the way he used to. He still has a good changeup, one thing he has added is he's pitching more north and south. He's throwing the ball up more on purpose."

The SEMO bats are starting to heat up as the weather gets warm. Seven Redhawk batters plated a hit, including Carlos Aranda, who hit his fifth home run of the season to highlight a five-run fourth inning.

SEMO (5-10) has won three of its previous five games. As the Redhawks manage through their sluggish start of the season, their confidence in winning a third straight conference championship has not wavered.

"I think we're still learning every day," Niznik said. "We got a lot of new pieces. We've lost some big pieces from the last couple of years, but I got full faith in the guys we brought in, the guys we have still and I think we're just as good as we've ever been really. I think we're as good as anybody in the conference and I think we got a great shot of going back there this year."