Benjamin’s Armstrong switch-pitches in loss
PALM BEACH GARDENS — L ef t - handed Kris Armstrong pitched a fifine game Thursday. The righthanded Armstrong did not fare as well.
Fort Lauderdale-Calvary Christian, which traveled to Palm Beach Gardens to play Benjamin, faced both versions of the Buccaneers’ junior hurler, as Armstrong pitched with both hands in the same high school game for the fifirst time. He pitched the fifirst three innings lefthanded, then switched to his right hand for the next three.
Unfortunately for the No. 9 Buccaneers (13-7), he gave up six runs, four of which were earned, as a right-hander, and Benjamin fell 6-1.
“I think it’ll take a little time to get used to,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong, a Florida Gators commit, is a natural right-hander and bats right-handed (and does it well, hitting .440 last year and .378 this season entering this week), but he taught himself to hit and throw left- handed when he was young. He usually pitches right-handed but will occasionally pitch with his left hand. He has a specially made, six-fingered glove he can use with either hand.
Coach Wesley Logsdon said there was no specifific reason for having Armstrong switch-pitch Thursday, but he said his junior pitcher, whom MaxPreps rated as the No. 45 junior prospect in the nation, had worked toward it for a while.
“It’s been something he’s been wanting to do,” Logsdon said.
Armstrong throws the same pitches with both hands: a fastball, change-up and curveball. He said his change-up and curveball are usually better left-handed. But he throws his fastball as hard as 94 mph as right-hander, while topping out at 86 mph from the left side.
Switch-pitching is rare, with the only active player in the majors or minors who can switch-pitch is Pat Venditte, who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies’ Triple-A team.