A three-headed monster: Meet the trio of Central pitchers excelling on the mound for the Jags

Pitching is usually at a premium for high school teams.

Even the largest schools have, usually, at most two pitchers to led their respective programs throughout the year. When schools are playing upward of three to four games a week, those names and numbers are call upon consistently.

And at an age where arm fatigue occurs toward the end of the season, the more top-notch pitchers, the better.

Luckily, for the Central baseball team, the Jaguars have just that.

Enter Gavin Schmidt, Justin Smarr and Dylen Houk – the “three-headed monster,” so to speak, of the Jaguars’ pitching staff. The trio has pushed Central to a 21-3 record in 2024, and despite a loss in the District 1-1A semifinals, have a strong chance for an at-large bid into the region tournament.

Two of the team’s losses came to the No. 1 team in the state – Pensacola Catholic, a Class 3A squad. The other was the upset loss in the semifinals to fourth-seeded Northview.

But even with those losses, Central’s pitching has been a focal point for the team’s success.

“It’s a nice problem to have,” Central head coach Coy Campbell said of the three pitchers. “The special part about that is none of those guys are greedy. They’re always rooting for the other guy. That’s the big team about our team. Everybody is rooting for everybody. …

“The only downside is that a lot of our young guys haven’t had a chance to throw this year. We’ve moved them down to JV to get innings and stuff like that.”

Campbell, who’s made his rounds around the area at different high schools as a baseball coach, said he’s always had one or two pitchers to cycle throw. It’s a luxury he hasn’t taken for granted, and it’s allowed for guys to rest more between games.

If it’s a three-game week, the Jaguars can start a pitcher in each game, and then have another come on the mound in relief or an inning or two. There’s only been a handful of games – including the first Pensacola Catholic game – where pitching has been stretched thin.

“We start playing in February. They start throwing in January. It’s a long season. Their arms get tired toward the end of the year,” Campbell said. “At any point, if one of our guys is struggling, we’ve got another guy to come in. A lot of schools don’t have that luxury to do that. We’ve been fortunate. I guess that’s got a lot to do with why we’ve won 21 games this year.”

Meet the staff

When you go against the Jaguars, you could meet any one of three pitching styles.

First is the southpaw: Schmidt. His left-handed throwing provides natural movement with his pitches, and they trail a lot. Thanks to the work with Central’s pitching coach, Chance Schell, Schmidt’s made a few adjustments “here and there,” and his throwing’s improved, Campbell said.

Schmidt boasts a rotation of a changeup, a fastball, a curveball and a slider. But, depending on the day and “whatever’s moving at the time,” is what he learns toward.

“Gavin, he’s probably the purest pitcher we’ve got,” Campbell said. “He throws four pitches for strikes. He eats up a lot of good hitters.”

Then there’s the power thrower in Smarr, who, upon first glance, looks like the pitcher that throws a fiery fastball. Yes, he is the Jaguars’ “hardest thrower,” Campbell said, but Smarr also possesses some nasty breaking pitches – especially his curveball.

Smarr’s arsenal includes a fastball and a curveball. He’s also got a changeup, but Smarr said he hasn’t had to use that yet this year.

“I don’t care what level of baseball it is, it’s hard to get hits off him,” Campbell said. “But yeah, he’s definitely our hardest thrower.”

And last but not least is Houk, who usually pitches the third game of the week if there is one. If not, Campbell opts to use Houk’s precise accuracy and ability to hit spots in a relief role. Houk’s mentality has also allowed him to excel in those later innings, Campbell added.

Houk “mainly likes to throw fastballs,” he mentioned, but with a weird arm slant, there’s some good run to the fastball. Houk said he also utilizes a slider and a splitter.

“Dylen comes in and does his job – that’s why we moved him to the closer role,” Campbell said. “He’s our leader out there.”

‘This is a unique group’

Campbell likes that none of the three pitchers have a negative competitive nature with one another. “They’re just here to win baseball games,” he added. But that’s not to say the trio of senior pitchers still don’t have a friendly competition among themselves.

“There’s no need to fight for a spot,” Houk said. “In the sense of who’s trying to do the best, there definitely is (competition).”

“But it’s all good. We’re all friends, Smarr said. “We help each other out. Like, if Dylen is at shortstop and notices something I’m doing, he’ll tell me so I can fix it.”

“It’s all friendly,” Schmidt said. “We’re just out there throwing. Our chemistry is good. I think that helps a lot.”

After the District 1-1A semifinal game on Tuesday, Smarr led the three pitchers with 51.1 innings pitched and 112 strikeouts. He’s given up just three earned runs. Smarr’s picked up nine wins on the year, as well.

Schmidt’s struck out 61 batters in just 34.2 innings, allowing four earned runs. Schmidt has won five games. Houk, in 40.1 innings, has fanned 57 batters, allowing 17 earned runs. Houk has earned five wins on the bump.

The three pitchers’ strikeout rate has been incredible, and that’s resulted in 11 shutouts this year. The Jaguars have given up five runs or more only four times in 2024.

“If we go out and score two or three runs, with our guys on the mound, we feel good about winning the game – especially if we score early,” Campbell said. “Our guys have done what they’ve needed to do to give us a chance.”

There’s equal confidence in all three pitchers. And if one pitcher is struggling at any given time, the starter knows that the pitcher coming to replace him can pick him up.

“It’s nice knowing you have guys out there that can hold it down,” Schmidt said.

“You don’t have to worry about putting all the weight on your shoulders, because there’s a guy who can come in behind you,” Houk said.

The Jaguars have posted their most wins in a season since the 2016 season, where Central went 17-5, ultimately falling in the Class 1A state semifinals. And with an at-large bid likely in hand, Campbell said the pitching – and the rest they’ve gotten between games with three different pitchers – should hopefully prove beneficial in what could possibly be “hopefully a playoff run.”

“This is a unique group. I’ve told them since Day 1 that they’re special,” Campbell said. “No matter what happens now – especially with playoff time – this group will always be special to us.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Central baseball highlighted by three pitchers Schmidt, Smarr and Houk