An Ole Miss-bound freshman lives up to the buzz as Gulfport clinches a region title
The buzz has been following Ethan Surowiec as Gulfport High School’s potential next big baseball star, and the freshman right-hander showed Thursday night in the biggest game of the season that’s ready to live up to expectations.
Surowiec tossed six shutout innings to spark the Admirals (11-13, 7-2) to a 7-0 victory over Harrison Central to claim the Region 8-6A championship and earn a first-round bye in the Class 6A South State playoffs.
The Ole Miss commit didn’t always hit his spots against Harrison Central, but he finished with seven strikeouts, four walks and only two hits allowed.
After battling some arm issues early in the season, Surowiec delivered with 110 pitches in by far his most durable outing of the season.
“He’s very, very competitive,” Gulfport coach Jamie McMahon said. “Every inning I’d check, ‘Are you good?’ He said, ‘I want it. I want it.
“He hadn’t pitched that much all year. We protected him a little early. He’s a competitor and he wanted it so we kept running him out there.”
Surowiec has a fastball that tops out at 89 miles per hour, but he showed Thursday night that he can get batters out without his top velocity.
“I think he started off the game about 87, which is real fast. He had arm problems earlier in the year” Gulfport senior catcher Miller Matthews said. “His velocity dropped (Thursday night), and he pitched a little. He dropped in a few curves, started not relying on the velocity, just location and pitch. That’s probably what makes him the best. He’s got velocity early and if he falls off he knows what to do next.”
Surowiec wore a broad grin after the game, elated that he delivered for a group of seniors battling for a regional title.
“I loved competing with this team, these seniors — every single one of them,” Surowiec said.
Ethan Surowiec survives adversity for Gulfport
How Surowiec responded to his worst moments in Thursday’s game gave the best insight into his potential on the mound.
Surowiec walked two and hit a man after retiring the first two batters in the second inning, but he managed to keep the game scoreless by forcing a groundout to end the inning.
In the top of the third, it appeared his luck was ready to run out after Christian Turner came up with one-out single on the infield. Turner stole second and then took third as the next man up, Jeremiah Farmer, walked to put men on first and third with one out.
Devin Culberson then sent a grounder to Gulfport shortstop Cooper Garrison, who scooped up the ball and hurried to second base to try and start a double play. Farmer was called out at second, but he and Garrison made contact and the throw was unable to get Culberson at first.
Turner initially scored on the play, but the two umpires convened and the home plate umpire ruled that Farmer committed interference on the play and Gulfport would be awarded a double play, ending the top of the third.
Harrison Central coach Neil Frederic strongly disagreed with the call and went back and forth with the umpires for several minutes.
“It’s a 1-0 game,” Frederic said. “I know it’s a judgment call. That kid running didn’t intentionally run into anybody. It’s a judgment call. I don’t agree with the judgment call. It’s baseball. Maybe the gods didn’t have it lined up there for us.
“But it’s a total different game being 1-0. It was a big momentum killer right there. They made the call and I’ve got to live with it.”
Gulfport took its first lead 1-0 in the bottom of the third.
With a little encouragement from his senior catcher, Surowiec showed he can overcome early struggles and get better as the game goes along.
“He’s so young,” Matthews said. “(The coaches) told me before the game to try to keep him calm. I tried to let him know he’s our dude. He’s going to Ole Miss so he’s doing something right. I just let him know he’s the guy and there’s no one else we’d rather have on the mound.”
The game remained 1-0 in favor of Gulfport until the Admirals got a leadoff single by Keagan Kelly in the bottom of the sixth to spark to a six-run outburst. Harrison Central helped out Gulfport by issuing three walks and committing a pair of errors in the field in the sixth.
Ethan Surowiec chooses Ole Miss
Surowiec committed to Ole Miss back on March 12, choosing the Rebels over a long list of programs that were also recruiting him, including Auburn, Alabama, Southern Miss and Tulane.
“It’s just committing to a school that gave me a shot, saw me early,” the 6-foot, 170-pound Surowiec said. “I love that organization.”
Surowiec’s fastball should only gain more juice with time, but McMahon believes the freshman already has a solid foundation in place.
“It’s his maturity,” McMahon said. “He knows the game. He does the little things, hold runners on. His level of maturity separates him a lot.”
On Thursday, he showed that he can effectively work in three different pitches.
“He’s got location with three pitches,” McMahon said. “His breaking ball wasn’t good early, and then he figured it out. Fastball, curveball, change-up, he throws them all for strikes. He locates and he’s got a little velocity, but he locates all three pitches.”
Surowiec’s star turn Thursday night capped off a regular season that McMahon and the rest of his team won’t soon forget.
“We had a rough patch at the beginning of the year,” Matthews said. “The word of the year was, “Noise” … just blocking out the noise from people outside, who were telling us we’re not the team to beat and all that. It feels good with COVID and against all the odds to put a team together and go out and win. It’s just fun.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 12:10 AM.
