Geneva's Shea Arkenburg headed to Lake Erie for school, baseball
Jan. 20—Geneva senior Shea Arkenburg remembers watching his older brother, Noah working out in the gym or throwing a baseball.
Noah had received many offers to play college baseball and eventually signed to play for Marshall University in West Virginia.
Unfortunately, Noah never got the chance to pitch as he spent multiple years rehabbing after hip and elbow injuries.
Now, Shea has his own opportunity to play college baseball as he has committed to play for Lake Erie College in Painesville.
"After my junior year this past summer, I was talking with a few colleges and would tell them how I did and kept in touch," Arkenburg said. "Lake Erie reached out to me and that meant a lot to me. At that point, I knew I had it in me and I knew there was many more to come."
Going into summer travel ball, Arkenburg injured his latissimus dorsi muscle and didn't get to pitch in a couple of tournaments.
But he was able to quickly recover and several colleges expressed interest in having Arkenburg play for them.
"After I came back from injury about five to six colleges reached out to me that summer," Arkenburg said. "Lake Erie was the first to reach out. I knew being the first to reach out made that decision easier when it came down to it.
"I got a pretty good deal to go to Lake Erie and I love the atmosphere and I like the coaches, they are young and can relate to me," he added. "I also have a couple of friends who play for Lake Erie."
Arkenburg plans to major in criminal justice, leaning toward a career in forensic science.
He's always been a two-way player, but in the past year or two, Arkenburg decided that pitching was the way to move forward with his baseball career after high school.
"I've always loved pitching. I still have a lot to learn and have made some pretty big chunks in velo and other things. I topped out at 89 mph this past summer at a scrimmage," Arkenburg said. "Consistently I throw around 85-88 and I'm working with my pitching coach down in Canton now.
Arkenburg said he's always been able to throw fast, but if a pitcher doesn't have a good secondary pitch or a third pitch, he won't make it that far.
"Once a hitter knows a fastball is coming it's pretty easy to hit. I have a really good changeup and a slider and curveball," he said. "I will mix them up a lot, it depends on the game."
Personal goals for Arkenburg include earning first team in the Chagrin Valley Conference and being considered the best pitcher in the CVC. He also plays second base when not pitching.
"Obviously hitting and fielding come with that, but pitching is my main focus right now," Arkenburg said.
He also played basketball for Geneva through his sophomore season, but decided to concentrate on baseball.
"I realized being 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds probably wouldn't get me very far," Arkenburg said.
Geneva coach Terry Hejduk said Arkenburg is one of those guys who is fun to be around and has a long background of athleticism.
"Shea's a different character, he's one of those guys that make you smile. He has a long background of athleticism," Hejduk said. "He is an athlete and is amazing. He's going to pitch but he's swung one of the best bats I've ever seen. The kid could be a hitter if he wanted to be. Shea is crazy athletically."
