Pittsburgh A Special City For Konuszewski Family

SAGINAW - When the radar gun hit 89 the recruiting process exploded for Heritage southpaw Quin Konuszewski.

With it came an opportunity to play in the same city - Pittsburgh - that his father Dennis pitched in the major leagues.

“Last year we wanted to take a vacation and we went to two or three Pirates’ games,” Konuszewski reflected. “We wanted to walk around the city.”

There was also a matter of checking out the University of Pittsburgh.

“I threw a bullpen for a guy who was friends with the head coach,” Konuszewski noted. “My dad played baseball in Pittsburgh and knows a few guys and one was close to the Pitt head coach.”

An 83 velo at the Michigan Future Game Trials in June of 2019 increased to 89 at the Michigan Top Prospect Games II in July of this year.

“Recently I had a good velo jump and started talking with them more and more about an offer,” the 16th-ranked 2021 left-handed pitcher in the state said about Pitt. “A couple weeks ago they offered and I instantly connected. Three or four days later I accepted the offer.”

There was a lot for Pitt to be impressed with in the 6-1 180-pounder.

“They like the fact that I’m left-handed and I have really quick arm action,” Konuszewski explained. “I’ve got good movement on my fastball and I dominate left-handed hitters.”

The 148th-ranked incoming senior in Michigan did not take any college visits during his recruitment, but had an offer from Northwood and was talking with Old Dominion, Central Michigan, Kent State and Eastern Michigan as well as “a little bit” with Louisville.

“But I always liked Pitt,” Konuszewski said. “They brought in new coaches two years ago and the head coach, Mike Bell, is also the pitching coach. He was a left-handed pitcher when he played.”

Konuszewski’s father was also a former pitcher, taking knowledge learned on the mound at the University of Michigan and then as a professional and passing it on to his son, who is now 17-years-old.

“He’s worked with me my entire life,” Konuszewski pointed out. “We’ve played catch for as long as I can remember.”

More recently help came during the quarantine.

We played catch and long toss in the backyard,” Konuszewski noted about his workout regimen while spring baseball was shut down. “We worked on sequences and on different pitches.

“Obviously, he’s helped me out a lot with the amount of experience he has. He knows what to do in certain situations. He stopped calling pitches for me four years ago, I already knew what to throw.”

A six-mile-an-hour increase in velo over the past year has proven beneficial when it comes to the future for the sixth-ranked LHP in the state’s 2021 class to make a college commitment.

“I hit the weight room hard and played as much long toss as possible,” Konuszewski related. “When I hit 89 for the first time I was at Four Winds Field, the Cubs Triple-A stadium. They had the velo on the board and when it showed 89 my teammates were pumped.”

There has been more improvement made by Konuszewski than just throwing the ball faster.

“Over the past few years control has been a little bit of an issue,” Konuszewski admitted. “This year my control is much better.”

Plans are for more improvement in the immediate future.

“I’m working on my change more and I’m developing a slider,” Konuszewski said. “I’ve also been working on my pickoff move.”

With a 3.04 GPA and business management as a college major, Konuszewski believes he can bring a great deal to a Pitt baseball program that has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1995.

“I feel I can keep hitters off balanced, either as a starter or reliever,” noted Konuszewski, who looks forward to playing for Bell, a former assistant with Tennessee, Oklahoma and Florida State before taking over the Panthers in July of 2018. “If I get ahead of hitters I can put them away. Left-handed hitters have never been successful off of me my entire life.”

Heritage head coach John Sullivan and assistant Tim Smith have been a big part of the development of Konuszewski.

“He’s coached me since I was nine,” Konuszewski said of Sullivan. “Both of them have always been in my corner pushing me and working with me.”

It has led to an opportunity to pitch in the same town his father played in the majors.

“The recruiting process was a lot different than I expected,” Konuszewski admitted. “I would have loved to take four or five visits to beautiful schools across the country but that couldn’t happen (due to COVID-19). It all came at me real fast. I topped 89 and all of a sudden my phone blew up.”

A commitment came soon after.

“It feels great to know I can continue at the next level and to do it at the highest level,” Konuszewski said about playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. “I’m ready to keep working and try to dominate at the next level.”