Century graduate is sizzling as freshman pitcher for Iowa Central
Apr. 14—FORT DODGE, Iowa. — It took Iowa Central Community College baseball coach Eric Stein about 15 minutes to realize he had something special in Ryan Ohm.
That happened as the former Rochester Century star started showing his pitching stuff in a fall workout.
It was good stuff. Real good.
"When he threw his first bullpen session in the fall, I could see the action on his (pitches)," Stein said. "You could tell that it was going to be difficult to hit him. Then you mix that good action with him throwing it over the plate a bunch and the multiple pitches he throws. We knew he was going to be good."
In his first year with the powerful Division II junior college baseball program, Ohm has been more than good. He's been closer to a star.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed freshman entered this week with a 6-1 record, an excellent 2.66 ERA and 49 strikeouts.
He's had no complaints, as he plays on a tightly-knit team that is 30-5.
"I'm pretty happy so far," Ohm said. "I'm hoping to continue to be consistent. We're starting to play tougher teams now."
Iowa Central Community College is a school of 6,204 students, many of them commuters to Fort Dodge (population 24,657), a primary commercial center for north central and northwestern Iowa.
The town is nicknamed "Little Chicago," because architects modeled its downtown buildings to resemble Chicago of the mid-1900s. Ohm makes it clear that Fort Dodge, located 190 miles from Rochester, has nothing of a Chicago vibe now.
Quite the opposite. And that's not been at all a bad thing for Ohm.
"In Fort Dodge, there isn't a lot to do," Ohm said. "You have to make your own fun. But our baseball team, we do everything together. Our best friends are each other. We started bonding really quickly. This team has been awesome. We are around each other 24/7."
What has brought them together most is their shared passion for baseball. And for many of them, including Ohm, it is their shared desire to move on after two years and play at the Division I level.
That is something that Ohm seems on a clear path to do.
As good as he was last year as a Century senior (2.0 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 35 innings), he has taken a large step this season.
He's done that as he's become all baseball, all the time. Also a standout basketball player at Century, that bigger ball has been all but put away now.
"I do miss playing in those basketball games; that was a blast," Ohm said.
But what he appreciates even more now is making strides in his favorite game, baseball. Thanks to eating more and devoting himself like the rest of his team to the weight room, Ohm has moved from 185 pounds last year to 200 now. That's helped his fastball jump from the mid-80s as a Century senior to hitting 90 mph now. Stein believes that pitch will take another jump next year and be in the 93 mph range.
Couple that fastball — which Stein says sinks dramatically — with Ohm's biting slider and an excellent changeup, and he's a handful.
It's that sweet combination of offerings that makes him special.
"His fastball, his slider, his changeup, they all mesh together and they all have action on them," Stein said. "Plus, he makes them all look the same (when he releases the ball), which they're not. He definitely has Division I capabilities. He's proving that he can get college hitters out at a high clip. I think by next fall, there is going to be a big buzz about him."
As much fun as Ohm is having right now, and as much as this team is on a mission to go far in the playoffs, he has a bigger mission on his mind.
It's to be a Division I pitcher and to do it at a school that is well south of Fort Dodge.
"I want to go and play down South," he said. "I love warm weather. I want to be outside all the time."
