Honesdale senior southpaw Peter Modrovsky is once again the ace of the Hornet staff

HONESDALE — Peter Modrovsky first stepped on the baseball diamond when he was just 6 years old.

By the time he was 8, he had embarked on a pitching career that’s lasted nearly a decade. He started off twirling for White Sox, Cubs and Braves during his HLBA days, then graduated to teener league and travel ball competition.

Modrovsky is now the ace of Honesdale’s varsity staff, a flame-throwing lefty who’s currently one of the Lackawanna League’s elite pitchers.

This week, Modrovsky etched his name in the Hornet record book during a brilliant performance versus Western Wayne. It was just the latest in a long line of on-field achievements that will eventually lead to the college diamond at DeSales University.

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Milestone moment

On Monday afternoon, Modrovsky authored a masterpiece against the Wildcats. The senior southpaw worked six innings in leading his Hornets to a 3-1 victory.

Modrovsky was overpowering, allowing just three hits and piling up a season-high 14 strikeouts. He has yet to surrender an earned run this spring across a total of four starts and 19 innings.

“I think Peter has been a pitcher from the day I met him,” coach Ernie Griffis said. “Early on he was a soft contact guy who kept guys off-balance. Now he has the ability to take care of any batter on his own.”

In addition to picking up the win against Western Wayne, Modrovsky celebrated a milestone moment. Midway through the game, he notched the 200th strikeout of his varsity career. His total now stands at 208.

Modrovsky is 1-0 this year in Lackawanna League action. He’s allowed only 11 hits while fanning 39 batters with an 0.00 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.

“There isn’t much that rattles him,” Griffis said. “Peter is very confident in his ability and we are confident when he takes the hill.”

Digging down deep

Confidence is crucial to Modrovsky’s success as an athlete.

A multi-sport star who also excels at golf and basketball, Modrovsky exuded that confidence on the mound against Western Wayne.

“I was feeling confident and that’s definitely the most important factor to success,” Modrovsky said. “You just have to believe in your own ability and that your teammates will make every play behind you.”

Modrovsky threw a total of 102 pitches across six innings, 67 of which went for strikes. The vast majority of those were fastballs (which sat between 82 and 85 miles per hour) with an array of nasty breaking pitches mixed in.

“I relied on my changeup more as I feel it’s my best pitch and I could throw it for a strike when I needed,” Modrovsky said. “It’s not just the physical stuff like velocity, but also the mental side of pitching too.”

The battery

There’s no underestimating the value of a catcher in any pitching achievement.

Fortunately for Modrovsky and the rest of the rotation, Honesdale boasts one of the area’s best backstops.

Grant Tonkin is a battle-tested senior who excels in every aspect of catching. He handles the Hornet staff with aplomb, controls the opposition's running game and swings a big bat as well.

“It’s really easy when you have a catcher like Grant that you can trust to block a ball or frame a pitch,” Modrovsky said. “He does a great job and we have a great relationship. I almost never have to shake off a pitch.”

Griffis agrees.

“We let Grant call most of the pitches,” the skipper said. “He and Pete work together extremely well. They both have a great understanding of how to attack batters.”

In the end, though, the most basic facet of baseball is the one-on-one duel between pitcher and batter. And it’s this showdown that fuels the fire in Modrovsky’s furnace.

“I think it’s important to keep your head on straight and keep battling,” he said. “You may get down and lose faith a little bit, but if you continue to fight you will consistently put your team in a position to win.”

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale senior southpaw Peter Modrovsky is once again the ace of the Hornet staff