Lofty lefties: Niwot, Skyline hurlers among area’s top southpaw pitchers

By Joshua Lindenstein
For the Ledger

As a young kid, Erik Lockwood always hated the fact that left-handed baseball players were generally restricted to three positions — pitcher, first base and outfield.

Ryan Strufing is one of four area southpaws who aim to make a difference this prep baseball season. Ledger file photo

A lefty himself, Lockwood counted Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter among his favorite players, and he liked playing short and third base.

“I think (shortstop) is the glory position,” the Broomfield High senior said.

As he got older, Lockwood began to realize, however, that being a lefty could be his ticket to a college scholarship .

When it comes to the collegiate and pro ranks, left-handed pitching is a precious commodity.

“I think I’ve always kind of known that it was my advantage over other people,” he said.

Lockwood isn’t the only one.

He is one of three local southpaws who have already signed to play at the Division-I level.

Lockwood is headed to Pacific. Boulder senior Jared Moore has a scholarship to play at Kansas State. And Niwot’s Ryan Strufing will be pitching for Long Beach State next season.

That’s not to mention David Boddiger, a Division-II prospect who returns after a 7-1 junior season at Skyline. Or pitchers like Skyline’s Nicolo Loardi who also figures to impact for their squads.

All are left-handed.

“It’s really a unique set of circumstances this year,” Boulder coach Steve Disbrow said.

If mile-per-hour readings on the radar gun were the sole qualifier, this year’s local group of lefties might not be so special. Among the three Division-I signees and Boddiger, all throw somewhere in the mid to upper 80s.
But that’s what’s special about being a lefty.

While righties generally need to throw in the upper 80s to low 90s to get major attention from college and pro scouts, that standard is lower for lefties .

“All the way up, there’s a dearth of left-handed pitching in college and pro baseball,” said Skyline coach Mike Hoog — a star at Niwot in the 1980s who himself was one of the best southpaws to come out of this area before pitching at North Carolina and in the Atlanta Braves’ farm system.

Of course, even at the high school ranks, lefties are a treat for coaches. Because most high school pitchers are also right-handed, hitters from both sides of the plate simply aren’t accustomed to facing lefties yet.

“Any time you have kids with quality stuff and command of more than one pitch, that makes lefties extremely tough because they’ve got that arm-side run,” Hoog said.

Strufing, Moore and Lockwood are all three- and four-year starters who have been excelling at the prep level for years.

Boddiger, meanwhile, came out of nowhere last season to become one of the top pitchers in the area. He said he’s benefitted greatly from Hoog’s tutelage.

“I think it’s great having a lefty coach like that,” Boddiger said. “It’s easy for me to relate .”

While there might be some personal rivalries between the local lefties, all four generally like to see each other succeed.

Strufing and Lockwood will be squaring off for years to come as they both join the same conference in college. But their potential battles this season should be entertaining as well.

Broomfield — with the 1-2 southpaw punch of Lockwood and Coleman to go with big righty Nick Halliday — is one of the favorites to win the 4A crown. And while Niwot is looking for the Northern League crown, the Cougars will have to get past rival Silver Creek, which returns a squad that made the state semis in 2009.