Senior Brandon Gragilla uses off-speed pitches to help Hough

Hough’s top pitcher doesn’t overpower batters, but the 6-foot-6, 240 pounder’s off-speed arsenal can intimidate opponents on the mound nonetheless.

Left-hander Brandon Gragilla was at times dominant for the Huskies last season to lead them to a second-place tie in the I-Meck 4A, a conference tournament championship and a 4A state finals appearance.

“He’s not a guy who’s going to go out there and strike out 15 every time he toes the rubber,” said Hough coach Jimmy Cochran. “He’s had to figure out other ways to get guys out with the stuff that he has.”

Gragilla relies on his curveball and change-up to get an upper-hand against batters.

“He can locate, change speeds and keep the hitter off balance,” said Cochran. “I think that’s what makes him successful.”

Gragilla hopes last year’s success will carry over into his senior season. But Gragilla knows another all-state caliber performance will not come easy.

“I’m going to have to work even harder if I’m going to have a year like that,” the 18-year-old said. “But you never know what’s going to happen when you get on the mound. You just have to go out there and do your best to try to put your team in the best position to win.”

In addition to focusing on his location, Gragilla said he worked on his velocity in the offseason to make his fastball more effective. His fastball lingered in the mid- to high-70s last season.

Cochran thinks Gragilla’s biggest asset to the Huskies this season may be his experience.

“He’s not intimidated,” said Cochran. “I don’t think any stage is too big for him at this point.”

Gragilla, a three-year Hough varsity player, struggled as a sophomore. Deep in the Huskies’ rotation, he didn’t see much time during the program’s inaugural season.

“He was still trying to figure out who he was,” said Cochran. “He’s been able to learn from that and transform himself into a real pitcher.”

Because of his development and some injuries, Gragilla vaulted to the top of the Huskies’ pitching rotation last season. He made the most of that to finish the year with an 11-2 record while recording an ERA just over 1.00.

Gragilla gives credit to last year’s experienced defense for that success.

“Our chemistry was probably the main reason why we went deep in the playoffs,” said Gragilla. “We’re good friends and that helped us play better.”

Losing eight starters from last year’s state runner-up team, the Huskies have a lot of work to do.

Hough has seven senior varsity returners, including catcher Pierce Suttles, third-baseman Andrew Altamira, second-baseman Greyson Oxidine and shortstop Jeffrey Williamson.

Right-hand pitchers Zach Moore and Derek Fuller were on the mound for some key innings last season.

That group of seniors should play a key role for Hough this year.

“We’ve got some experience back,” said Cochran, “but it is a new team. We’re going to have to create our identity this year and not live off of anything that’s happened in the past.”

The coach said the team’s focus will be on developing its defense, which he said was the 2012 team’s strong suit.

Cochran has been pleasantly surprised offensively, but there’s still a lot of work to do done.

“It’s about getting better every day,” said Cochran, whose team kicks off its season on Feb. 27 at Independence. “Our goal is to be better tomorrow than we were today. That’s where our focus is.”

Gragilla, who has committed to play at Wake Tech next year, agrees, but he can’t help but hope to get another shot at a state championship.

“Getting to the state finals was a great opportunity,” he said. “I want to go back there and win this year.”