Ex-Lourdes baseball star hitting for huge numbers for Division I junior college

Apr. 22—Joe Sperry has figured out his role as a member of the University of South Carolina Lancaster baseball team this season and he has been performing it to near perfection.

After having a strong season at the Division I junior college as a freshman last spring, Sperry has really stepped up as a right-handed power hitter for Lancaster. He is also a starting pitcher.

In 2023, Sperry, a Rochester Lourdes grad, had a little bit of a feeling out process as he started his college baseball career.

"In your first year of college, you don't really know what to expect," he said. "But this year I had a lot of expectations and I knew what I was getting myself into. So there's a lot of comfortability there and I've kind of taken off."

Sperry has gotten more comfortable in his approach to hitting. His biggest improvement has come in the mental part of the game.

To say Sperry has been mashing the ball all season might be an understatement as the regular season winds down for Lancaster. The 6-foot-2 Sperry has been lethal and the most feared hitter in the Lancaster lineup.

He nearly always hits in the No. 3 spot and through 50 games he was hitting a lusty .418 with 14 doubles, a whopping 18 home runs and 73 RBIs. He had a .477 on-base percentage and a gaudy .863 slugging percentage for an OPS of 1.340. The No. 2 run producer for Lancaster has 35 RBIs.

"This year I think I've taken it to another level," Sperry said. "I have a more mature approach and knowing my role has led to more home runs. The guys in front of me are getting on and I'm bringing them in every time."

His elite hitting, and being a two-way player, caught the attention of Division I scouts. Sperry has committed to playing at Winthrop University, which is located in Rock Hill, S.C., and only about a half hour from where he currently plays in Lancaster. Winthrop is a Division I school that plays in the Big South Conference.

"I'm looking forward to moving on to the Division I level," Sperry said.

"Winthrop wants me to pitch and hit," he added. "But they kind of left it up to me if I want to continue to do that or take up a position next year. I'm pretty sure I want to do the two-way, do the pitching and hitting."

This season Sperry realizes that his role is to produce on offense and to drive in runs. He said his approach is to drive the ball as hard and as far as possible. He's not afraid of swinging and missing if it means producing runs. But even with a hard-hitting approach, the 20-year-old has struck out just 19 times in 171 plate appearances.

"Last year I didn't really know what my role on the team was," he said. "But I think this year I kind of figured out I'm the guy who's going to produce a lot of damage in the offense."

Sperry has also been one of Lancaster's top pitchers. But his pitching, for his standards, has not been as good in 2024. He is a modest 3-4 with a 6.75 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 19 walks in 45 1/3 innings. He said he has been hurt by giving up too many walks and home runs and has often lost some velocity later in games.

In his 12 starts, Sperry has given up 11 home runs.

He said a shift to the bullpen might be a good option for him at Winthrop.

"I think I might have to take up a reliever role when I go to the next level," Sperry said. "I have a really solid two or three innings and then once I get to the fourth or fifth, my stuff kind of gets softer and guys are able to hit it."

Sperry has been timed at 93 miles per hour, but more often throws in the 88-91 range. He will try to to increase his velocity this offseason as he heads to Winthrop in the fall.

Lancaster was 25-24 heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Sperry said the goal for the team is to win a Region 10 title after falling in the championship game a year ago.

Sperry was around 220 pounds, but during the course of this season, he has dropped down to just under 210.

"I'm going to have to bulk up this summer," he said.

Last summer, Sperry returned home and played amateur baseball most of the season with the Rochester Royals. He finished up by playing a few games with the Rochester Honkers in the Northwoods League.

He will return to Rochester again this summer, but he plans to take about a month and a half off and then play for the Honkers beginning in early July.

He is looking forward to a break from playing games. By the end of this season, he will have played more than 50 games with Lancaster.

"I don't think I'm going to play for the Royals this summer," he said. "I'm going to train for the first month and a half and spend time with family and friends. ... I feel like I need that mental break to spend time with people I care about. It's kind of hard to be away from home nine months a year."