Siloam Springs’ Pilcher signs to play baseball at UALR
Siloam Springs senior Andrew Pilcher signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock on Wednesday, Nov. 9, inside Panther Activity Center.
The Trojans recruited Pilcher as a pitcher after he went to a camp at the university prior to his junior. Pilcher committed to UALR shortly after that.
Pilcher said he was “super excited” to sign with the Trojans, who went 2427 in 2022 and are moving to the Ohio Valley Conference.
“I went to a camp in the winter (of 2022),” he said. “I threw in front of them and they contacted me.”
Pilcher was projected to be a big part of the 2022 Siloam Springs baseball team before his junior season was sidelined with a torn ACL injury, the third time he’s suffered that injury.
Pilcher battled arm trouble as a sophomore, pitching nine innings with 15 strikeouts in 2021. He did play third base and hit .274 with 18 RBIs.
Pilcher said his arm is healthy and ready to go.
“My arm feels great,” he said. “It feels better than it ever has.”
First-year Siloam Springs baseball coach J Keith said Pilcher sits around 85-87 mph in fastball velocity and has touched 92 once, but the pitch that has him excited its Pilcher’s curve ball.
“With Andrew man, it’s a kid that anytime you can find a guy that can spin it up there at 2800 (rpm) plus, that’s Major League Baseball stuff,” Keith said. “That’s something you can’t teach. When he throws his curve ball he does it at the same level as all those guys on the Razorbacks. … It’s fun to have a guy in Siloam Springs that goes up there and from just a pure stuff standpoint he can hang up there with anybody. That’s fun as a coach, getting to sort of play with it, toy with it.”
Keith said the Panthers will continue to work on Pilcher’s mental side of the game.
“He’s done a really good job stepping into a leadership role,” Keith said. “I’m a little bit different cat than a lot of people around here. He’s done a great job of buying into that process and that gets me super excited. … It’s been fun to watch him grow. Hey man, don’t shy away from his bat, too. Kid can swing it.”